记者证 (jìzhězhèng): press pass

In China, the 记者证 is a state-issued credential — only journalists registered with state-recognized media outlets receive one, and it must be renewed every five years. Without it, a working journalist cannot legally claim that title for official reporting purposes, which makes 记者证 status carry weight that the casual English term "press pass" doesn't fully convey.

memory

记者 (reporter; literally "recorder") + 证 (certificate/ID). The same 证 suffix forms 学生证 (student ID), 身份证 (national ID), 工作证 (work ID), 驾驶证 (driver's license).