A staff member from the Bloomberg news bureau in Beijing was detained by Chinese authorities “on suspicion of endangering national security,” Bloomberg reported.
Haze Fan, a journalist who was last in contact with her editor around 11:30 AM local time on Monday, 7 December, was shortly seen outside her apartment building, being escorted by security officials in plain clothes.
Her family was informed of this within 24 hours and Bloomberg has made efforts to find information on her whereabouts from the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC.
On Thursday, Bloomberg LP, which is the parent company of Bloomberg News received confirmation of her detention for “engaging in criminal activities that jeopardise national security.”
A Bloomsberg spokesperson said, “We are very concerned for her, and have been actively speaking to Chinese authorities to better understand the situation. We are continuing to do everything we can to support her while we seek more information.”
While the statement by the Chinese authorities reportedly says, “Chinese citizen Ms Fan has been detained by the Beijing National Security Bureau according to relevant Chinese law on suspicion of engaging in criminal activities that jeopardise national security. The case is currently under investigation. Ms Fan’s legitimate rights have been fully ensured and her family has been notified.”
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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