Reciprocation. The word means “a mutual giving and receiving” as defined by Dictionary.com.

It is also the word that best defines the sentiment behind a recent bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives on September 11.

The Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011 (H.R. 2899), introduced by U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California, is intended to “amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure open and free journalism access in the People’s Republic of China by establishing a reciprocal relationship between the number of visas issued to state-controlled media workers in China and in the United States.”

At issue is the fact that there are reportedly about 650 Chinese citizens practicing journalism in the United States, whereas there are only two American journalists who work for outlets run by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and allowed to work from mainland China.

“There is a very alarming disparity between the number of Chinese state media workers who we grant visas to and the number of visas the Chinese grant to their American counterparts,” Rohrabacher said in a press release from his office.

The BBG oversees all United States’ civilian international broadcasting, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio and TV Marti and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

According to the congressman, while Chinese reporters in the U.S. enjoy vast press freedom, the two BBG reporters in Beijing – one from Radio Free Asia and the other from Voice of America – have been “routinely harassed by Chinese police and have been assaulted and detained by Chinese officials. Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have been regularly jammed by the Communist government for years”.

The question though is whether the U.S. Congress passing H.R. 2899 will actually make a difference. Will it actually force a country known for its severe limits on press freedom to allow more U.S. state media into the country? I have my doubts.

Yesterday’s New York Times reported that Communist leaders in China are “imposing new limits on media and Internet freedoms that include some of the most restrictive measures in years.” On Tuesday, 25 October, the state Administration of Radio, Film and Television, in fact, asked 34 regional television stations to limit entertainment to two 90-minute shows per week, the Times said.

In this kind of climate, what are the possibilities for opening to outside media and allowing them to report freely? I, for one, hope the Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011 will prompt China to open its doors to not only BBG journalists but others as well to practice journalism unencumbered. And if those doors are opened, the next task will be to prevent harassment, detainment and censorship of the work of these journalists.