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BEIJING (REUTERS) – China said on Thursday (September 10) that the Australian embassy in China obstructed the application of the law when it protected two journalists who were wanted for questioning in the country and returned to Australia this week.
Last week, Chinese police told correspondents for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that they could not leave the country and were wanted for questioning in connection with the case of Ms. Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist currently detained in China.
The journalists took refuge in the embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai for several days while diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to leave, the Australian foreign minister said.
“The Australian embassy in China provided safe haven for relevant journalists (allowing them) to avoid China’s investigation. This was a blatant obstruction and interference in the application of China’s normal law,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. from China.
The couple were finally questioned by the Chinese Ministry of State Security before their departure.
These actions were beyond the scope of the consular services and the Australian side must provide an explanation, Zhao said, speaking at a daily press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident comes as tensions between China and Australia have escalated in recent days as the two sides accused each other of endangering the safety of journalists.
China’s Foreign Ministry has maintained that questioning the journalists was part of normal law enforcement.
Ms. Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen and a high-profile presenter on Chinese state television, was arrested in China last month.
China’s Foreign Ministry has said she is suspected of illegal activities, but Australia has said they do not know why she was detained.
This week, China said that four journalists working for state media in Australia were “harassed and oppressed” in a previously undisclosed incident in June when Australian intelligence authorities raided their homes and seized electronic devices.
They said the raids were related to an anti-interference investigation that is still ongoing in Australia.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organization has declined to comment.
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