Last 2 Australian journalists flown out of China amid diplomatic standoff

Birtles spent four days sheltering in Australia's Embassy in Beijing, while Smith took refuge in Shanghai consulate as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to safely leave the country, the report said. Smith and Birtles landed safely in Sydney on Tuesday after the “exit ban” was lifted when they submitted to a request from China’s Ministry of State Security to be interviewed, the AFR reported.


PTI | Melbourne | Updated: 08-09-2020 11:31 IST | Created: 08-09-2020 11:31 IST
Last 2 Australian journalists flown out of China amid diplomatic standoff
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Two journalists from Australia working in China have been evacuated after they were questioned by Chinese police and were forced to seek refuge in Australian diplomatic missions in the communist nation amidst a diplomatic standoff between Canberra and Beijing. The development came days after Beijing publicly confirmed the arrest of an Australian journalist, Cheng Lei, who was working for China's state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News reported. Bill Birtles, the ABC's correspondent based in Beijing, and Mike Smith, the Australian Financial Review's (AFR) correspondent based in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Sydney on Monday night after they were questioned separately by China's Ministry of State security, the report said. They landed in Sydney on Tuesday.

With the two journalists moving out of China, Australia now has no accredited reporter left in the country for the first time since the mid-1970s. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in a statement on Tuesday said consular officials had provided support to the journalists.

"The Australian Government has provided consular support to two Australian journalists in China to assist their return to Australia. Those Australians have now arrived in Australia. Our Embassy in Beijing and Consulate-General in Shanghai engaged with Chinese Government authorities to ensure their wellbeing and return to Australia," she said. Seven uniformed officers simultaneously visited the homes of Smith in Shanghai and Birtles in Beijing on Thursday morning. Both journalists were told they were persons of interest in an investigation into Cheng who was detained last month, the AFR reported.

According to ABC, the reporters were told they were banned from leaving the country and needed to organise a time to be questioned over a "national security case". Birtles spent four days sheltering in Australia's Embassy in Beijing, while Smith took refuge in Shanghai consulate as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to safely leave the country, the report said.

Smith and Birtles landed safely in Sydney on Tuesday after the "exit ban" was lifted when they submitted to a request from China's Ministry of State Security to be interviewed, the AFR reported. "It's nice to be home but deeply disappointing to leave China under such abrupt circumstances," Smith tweeted. The diplomatic standoff marks further deterioration in the Australia-China relationship, already buffeted by trade tensions, espionage, Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. In July, Australia changed its travel advice for China, warning that its citizens faced "arbitrary detention" on the mainland.

In the statement, Payne reiterated that the government's travel advice for China, which was updated on July 7, "remains appropriate and unchanged". Referring to Cheng, she said, "The Australian government continues to provide consular support to Australian citizens detained in China, including Ms Cheng Lei. We are unable to provide further comment owing to privacy obligations." The move against Birtles and Smith follows a broader crackdown on foreign journalists in China. In March, Beijing expelled 14 American journalists working at the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post in retaliation for the Trump administration's decision to restrict staff at Chinese state media outlets in the US..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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