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Police searched the home of journalists Bill Birtles and Michael Smith last week. They were told they were “interesting” in the investigation against Australian newscaster Cheng Lei, who was detained on unofficially stated grounds.
As both were prohibited from leaving the country, they feared, in different parts of China, being arrested. Therefore, they headed to the embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai, respectively.
And after negotiations between Australian and Chinese diplomats, Birtles and Smith were allowed to leave the country.
– We are talking about China, one of the worst countries in the world in terms of freedom of the press and the fact that they are journalists with foreign citizenship is not surprising either, says Erik Halkjaer, who describes China as “the prison of journalists biggest in the world”.
Pressure on the media increases
The fate of Australian journalists is just the line of foreign journalists who have recently been arrested or forced to leave China, after authorities increased pressure on the media, especially from the United States and Australia.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since Australia criticized China for what it sees as an aggressive exercise of power by China in Asia since Xi Jinping took office in 2013.
In recent years, China has been outspoken with its harsh rhetoric against journalists. And it has gotten worse.
– It was better before Xi Jinping. With him, it has been publicly and officially said that China follows a policy in which it must convey the image of China as a good and development-changing state. This is done through the media and journalists, says Erik Halkjaer.
19 journalists have been forced to leave China since the turn of the year, according to Reporters Without Borders.
