SYDNEY: Two of Australia’s leading foreign correspondents in China have rushed home for their own safety after they were questioned separately by China’s Ministry of State Security, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday.
The two journalists – ABC’s Bill Birtles and AFR’s Michael Smith – had been banned from leaving China until they answered questions about detained Australian citizen and television anchor Cheng Lei, AFR said in a report. The journalists flew out of China on Monday night and arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning following what public broadcaster the ABC called an “extraordinary diplomatic standoff”.
The Australian Financial Review said in a statement the two journalists were “going about their normal reporting duties”.