Australian journalists evacuated from China after five-day diplomatic standoff

The diplomatic standoff began when two men – Bill Birtles, a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Beijing and Michael Smith, a Shanghai correspondent for the Australian Financial Review (AFR) – were told they were “interested in the investigation.” on Cheng Lei, Australian state broadcaster CGTN, according to AFR… The Australian government said last week that it was detained by the police in China…

Zhao also confirmed that Birtles and Smith were questioned by the authorities about the “case,” but he did not respond to reporters’ questions about whether it was Cheng-related.

ABC added that Birtles, for example, was hosting parting drinks when police visited his apartment and told him that he was barred from leaving the country and that he would be called in for questioning the next day on a “national security case.” The broadcaster did not say what Birtles was asked about.

The two journalists then took refuge in Australian diplomatic missions in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively, while Canberra negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to leave the country. The standoff lasted five days before the travel bans were lifted and they were able to fly back to Sydney.

Australian Foreign Minister Maryse Payne said in a statement that the government “provided consular support to two Australian journalists in China to help them return to Australia.”

Birtles told ABC on Tuesday that “it was very unpleasant to leave under the circumstances.”

“It is a great relief to return to the country with true rule of law,” he added. “It was a whirlwind and not a very good experience.”

Speaking to CNN Business after the Australian quarantine, Smith said the visits to his apartments and Birtles’ apartments were “very political.”

“It has been a very stressful few days,” he said of his time at the Australian Consulate in Shanghai. He added that he and Birtles were allowed to leave China on condition that they allow China’s Ministry of State Security to be interviewed about Cheng Lei.

Increased tension

Relations between Australia and China have deteriorated in recent months after Canberra called for an investigation into the causes of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, countries have imposed tit-for-tat trade restrictions.

For the Australian media industry, the departure of Birtles and Smith is very important: ABC reports that there are currently no more journalists working for Australian media in mainland China. This has not happened since 1972, when Canberra normalized relations with Beijing.

While some Australian journalists still work in China, they all work for non-Australian media companies.

Another news outlet, The Australian, reported on Tuesday that Canberra advised him not to send Chinese correspondent Will Glasgow back to the country. Glasgow is currently in Australia but was due to fly to Guangzhou last Sunday, he said on Twitter.

Bad relationship

Trevor Watson, who was an ABC correspondent in Beijing from 1988 to 1990, told CNN Business that there has been a marked shift in the Chinese government’s attitude toward Australian journalists.

When Watson worked in the country, including when he covered the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, “there was a recognition that ABC and Australian journalists operate independently of their government.”

According to him, now the situation has changed dramatically.

“They were very lucky to get out of there,” he said of Birtles and Smith. “Since I have been in China regularly since 1979, I think it will be a long time before I return.”

Smith told CNN Business that being forced to leave China is “very sad.”

“It is getting harder and harder to be a foreign correspondent in China,” he added. “It becomes really difficult for people to talk to you. It becomes more authoritarian. I think this is getting more risky and it really highlights it. “

He said that prior to this event, he had ignored any potential risk to Australians in China.

“If they are going to impose a travel ban on journalists, you do not know what they are ready to do with a famous businessman or anyone else who is in trouble,” he added.

Journalists in China

And earlier this year, Beijing effectively expelled about a dozen journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal after the Trump administration limited the number of Chinese citizens allowed to work in US offices of China’s state media.

Since then, Washington has designated an increasing number of US government news organizations’ offices as “foreign missions,” requiring them to file their finances and personnel documents with the US authorities. Beijing retaliated by demanding the same from several US outlets in China.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said that “in the first half of 2020 alone, China expelled a record 17 foreign journalists, revoking press authorization.”

“At least 12 more foreign correspondents in China received fine short-term visas, sometimes for up to 1 month, instead of standard visas for a year,” the organization added. “This is in addition to increasing harassment and surveillance of foreign journalists, including physical attacks and cyber attacks.”