Reporter forced to leave China

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BEIJING, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- New York Times correspondent Chris Buckley has left China after his visa was not renewed, an example of China's shaky relationship with foreign media.

Buckley, who had worked in China since 2000 for the New York Times and for Reuters, left Beijing for Hong Kong after his visa expired Monday and the Chinese government had not acted on his application for a new one, the British newspaper Financial Times reported Tuesday.

The case comes as foreign journalists uncover and publish growing revelations about financial dealings and power struggles within China. Some senior party members, frustrated with corruption and inertia in government reform, are turning to international media to publicize their views, the newspaper said.

Buckley was among the foreign reporters breaking news last year on the scandal involving Bo Xilai, the ambitious Communist Part politician purged in March.

"I regret that Chris Buckley has been forced to relocate himself outside of China despite our repeated requests to renew his journalist visa," said New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson in a statement, noting Philip Pan, the Times' Beijing bureau chief, also awaits his visa.