China expelled three reporters from the Wall Street Journal after an opinion headline read ‘China is the Real Sick Man of Asia’ when referencing their financial markets and epidemics.
Chinese officials suggest that the WSJ should apologize and investigate the incident while some United States officials, like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, say that freedom of the press also includes expressing opinions.
William Lewis, chief executive of Dow Jones explains, “Our opinion pages regularly publish articles with opinions that people disagree — or agree with — and it was not our intention to cause offense with the headline on the piece. However, this has clearly caused upset and concern amongst the Chinese people, which we regret.”