China asks Thailand to deport Chinese journalist, rights groups warn of persecution

By Mei Mei Chu

BEIJING, July 16 (Reuters) – China has asked Thailand to promptly extradite a Chinese journalist who rights groups say faces political persecution and torture back home because of his investigations into corruption in China.

Bai Zhaodong faces the risk of deportation following ‌pressure on Bangkok from Beijing over his reporting on the Chinese government, media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders and Safeguard Defenders, an Asia-focused rights group based in Spain, said in a statement.

The groups have urged Thailand not to deport Bai. They said ​Thai authorities have detained Bai since January, barred him from leaving Thailand ​and are holding him at a Bangkok immigration centre.

China has submitted an extradition request to Thailand for the “prompt return” of Bai, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Reuters in a written response, saying he was suspected of extortion and bribery by a non-public servant.

“The Chinese government protects its citizens’ freedom of speech according to law, and the achievements in the development of its journalism sector are clear for all to see,” it said.

The Thai foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is in China until Monday, is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.

Bai exposed a large corruption and financial fraud network implicating local government officials and higher-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party, the rights groups said. This led to persecution by the authorities, including intensified surveillance, criminal charges, interrogations and detentions, they said.

Bai fled China in 2023, and the next year the Public Security Bureau in the Chinese city of Yulin issued an arrest warrant against him, they said.

“Thai authorities must withstand the growing pressure from (China) to forcibly detain and return individuals sought for clear political persecution by the Chinese Communist Party and uphold its commitments under international and domestic torture prohibitions,” Laura Harth, a director at Safeguard Defenders, said in Wednesday’s statement.

It said Bai faces “foreseeable, present, personal and real risk of political persecution, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other serious human rights violations” if deported to China.

Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Reporters Without Borders, said: “Should Bai be forcibly returned to China, he would face not only persecution but also grave risks to his personal safety.”

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by William Mallard and Timothy Heritage)