China Detains Bloomberg Employee Citing ‘National Security’ Concerns

Chinese authorities detained a Bloomberg News employee on Monday in Beijing on suspicion of endangering national security, the U.S.-based news agency revealed on Friday.

Chinese citizen Haze Fan “was seen being escorted from her apartment building by plainclothes security officials” on Monday shortly after being in contact with one of her editors, according to the news outlet. Fan works for Bloomberg News’s Beijing Bureau.

“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 jeopardize national security. The case is currently under investigation. Ms. Fan’s legitimate rights have been fully ensured and her family has been notified,” Chinese authorities said, according to Bloomberg.

When asked about the incident by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, China’s foreign ministry said that “compulsory measures” had recently been taken by the Beijing National Security Bureau against Fan. AFP noted that the term “can include arrest or detention among other measures” in China.

“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,” a Bloomberg spokesperson said on Friday.

Chinese law allows citizens to work as news assistants for foreign news agencies in China but forbids them from doing independent reporting for such organizations.

Fan began working for Bloomberg in 2017 and “has been credited as a contributor on numerous business stories,” according to AFP. Bloomberg News is an international news agency headquartered in New York City.

Fan’s detention comes two months after Chinese authorities detained Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist, citing similar “national security” concerns. Cheng worked for the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN)’s English news service. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said she was “suspected of criminal activities endangering national security.”

The Australian government says it was last granted access to the reporter in late September.

“We were granted consular access to Ms. Cheng on 28 September via video at a detention center where she is being held,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) in a statement.

The DFAT said it could not provide any further information on the matter due to privacy obligations.

Cheng “is being held in Beijing under what is called ‘residential surveillance at a designated location’,” according to ABC. “It is a form of detention in which investigators can imprison and question a suspect for up to six months while cutting them off from lawyers and the outside world — all before they have even been formally arrested.”