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China confirmed on Tuesday that the two journalists had been investigated and at the same time sent a passport to other reporters active in the country.
“As long as foreign journalists follow the law, they have no reason to worry,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Bill Birtles and Michael Smith, the Shanghai correspondent for The Australian Financial Review, spent several days on Australian missions to China seeking protection, before reaching an agreement that would allow them to return home safely.
– It’s a relief to be back in a country with true rule of law, Birtles, a Beijing correspondent for the ABC utility, said when he landed in Sydney on Tuesday local time.
“Security violation”
Both Birtles and Smith had their homes searched by Chinese police last week and at the same time told that they would be questioned about a case related to national security, their employer claims. The questions would apply to Australian citizen Cheng Lei, who was a news anchor on Chinese state television before being arrested in August, AFR reports.
Lei is still under investigation, according to China’s Foreign Ministry, which says she is a suspect in crimes that “endangered China’s national security.”
After negotiations between Australian diplomats and Chinese representatives, they managed to ensure that Bill Birtles and Michael Smith could return to Australia safely, says Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
They are the latest in a string of foreign journalists to be arrested or forced to leave China after authorities increased pressure on the media, especially from the United States and Australia. Several American media reporters had their visas revoked and forced to leave the country.
