PARIS/BEIJING (Sputnik) — Beijing-based French journalist Ursula Gauthie confirmed that she was being expelled from China, as the country's authorities had refused to renew her press credentials due to an article about the Uighurs ethnic minority facing governmental repressions.
On November 18, Gauthiera, a correspondent for the news magazine L'Obs, wrote an article criticizing the Chinese authorities for drawing parallels between the November 13 deadly terrorist attack in Paris and the deadly September 18 attack in Xinjiang, when dozens of miners were allegedly killed by a group of Uyghur militants.
According to the article, the Xinjiang tragedy has nothing in common with the Paris terrorist attacks, as the Chinese authorities' repression of the Uighur Muslim minority led to this act of violence.
According to Gauthier, she can not apologize for things she has never written.
"I have never supported terrorism, and I can not apologize for that," Gauthier stressed.
The L'Obs editorial office also confirmed that Gauthier would have to leave China by December 31.
"Our correspondent in Beijing, Ursula Gauthier, said she has received confirmation from the Chinese authorities that she would be de facto expelled from the country on December 31, following the refuse to renew her press accreditation and visa," the French media outlet reported on its website.
Members of the Uighur minority have voiced opposition to China's ruling Communist Party attempts to influence their culture and lifestyle in their native Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.