Chinese law enforcement agencies have arrested Bloomberg news agency in China, Haze Fan, „on suspicion of involvement in subversive activities.“ The investigation was ongoing, Foreign Office spokesman Wang Wenbin told the press in Beijing today. He rejected a critical EU response to the arrest. The EU should „respect the legal sovereignty of China and stop making irresponsible remarks“.
117 media workers in custody
The EU had called for the immediate release of all journalists in China who were detained in connection with their reporting. Other reporters have also been arrested in China this year, an EU spokesman said. According to a report by the organization Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for journalists, there are currently 117 media workers in prison in China – more than in any other country in the world and almost a third of all journalists imprisoned worldwide.
The Bloomberg employee was arrested last Monday. „We are very concerned about them and have actively spoken to the Chinese authorities to better understand the situation,“ said a Bloomberg spokesman. “We will continue to do everything we can to support them while we look for more information.” Chinese citizens are not allowed to work as journalists for foreign media in China. As a rule, they work as employees who help with research and translate.
FCCC: Translators do „invaluable services“
The China Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCC) expressed „great concern“ about fans‘ fate. Chinese employees provided „invaluable services“ to foreign media in China with research and language support, a statement said. „Without your support, it would be difficult for foreign media to work in China.“ Fan joined Bloomberg in 2017 and previously worked for Al Jazeera, CBS News, CNBC and Thomson Reuters.
A Chinese employee of the German weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” had been imprisoned in China for nine months since 2014 and was only released after strong pressure from the German government.
