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Two Australian Reporters Flee China Fearing Arrest
By: Tupaki Desk | 9 Sep 2020 12:20 PM GMT
Two Australian journalists fled Beijing on Tuesday under diplomatic protection for fear of arrest in the wake of rapidly deteriorating relations between China and Australia. The United States warned that the situation for foreign reporters in the country could get worse.
Two journalists Bill Birtles and Michael Smith hid at the Australian embassy to escape the clutches of Chinese police and fled home overnight amid dramatic conditions.
Bill Burtles and Michael Smith had to agree to a police investigation before leaving China. They were questioned about Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist who had been in police custody for a month. China finally revealed on Tuesday that Cheng Lee had been detained on national security grounds. Burtles, who works for the ABC broadcaster, was questioned by Chinese police in a hotel room on Tuesday.
"I believe that the whole episode was really one more of harassment of the remaining Australian journalists, rather than a genuine effort to try and get anything useful for that case," he told ABC.
Two journalists Bill Birtles and Michael Smith hid at the Australian embassy to escape the clutches of Chinese police and fled home overnight amid dramatic conditions.
Bill Burtles and Michael Smith had to agree to a police investigation before leaving China. They were questioned about Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist who had been in police custody for a month. China finally revealed on Tuesday that Cheng Lee had been detained on national security grounds. Burtles, who works for the ABC broadcaster, was questioned by Chinese police in a hotel room on Tuesday.
"I believe that the whole episode was really one more of harassment of the remaining Australian journalists, rather than a genuine effort to try and get anything useful for that case," he told ABC.
