BEIJING: The European Union has urged China to release all journalists and citizens held in connection with their reporting, following the detention of a Bloomberg News employee.
Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen, was taken from her home by plain-clothes security officials last Monday, Bloomberg said, and Beijing said she had been detained on suspicion of endangering national security.
“All those arrested and detained in connection with their reporting activity should be immediately released,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.
The statement mentioned that “other Chinese journalists or citizens have disappeared this year, or been detained or harassed after engaging in reporting.”
“We expect the Chinese authorities to grant her (Fan) medical assistance if needed, prompt access to a lawyer of her choice, and contacts with her family,” it added.
The Chinese foreign ministry said earlier that Fan’s case was under investigation.
Bloomberg said it was “very concerned for her” and was continuing to seek more information.
Chinese citizens are forbidden by the government from working as reporters for foreign news organizations in China, but are allowed to work as news assistants.
Fan, who joined Bloomberg in 2017, has been credited as a contributor on numerous business stories.
Her detention comes months after China held a high-profile Chinese-born Australian journalist, citing similar suspicions.
Cheng Lei, a TV anchor at Chinese state-owned outlet CGTN, has not been seen in public since being held.
Two other Australian reporters — Bill Birtles and Michael Smith — fled China shortly after being interrogated about Cheng.
EU urges China to free those detained for reporting after Bloomberg employee held
https://arab.news/4qqwv
EU urges China to free those detained for reporting after Bloomberg employee held
- “All those arrested and detained in connection with their reporting activity should be immediately released,” the EU said
- Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen, was taken from her home by plain-clothes security officials last Monday
Pioneering Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Mohammed al-Shafei dies at 74
- Egyptian was known for his fearless coverage of terrorist, extremist groups
- One of handful of reporters to interview Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1970s
LONDON: Mohammed al-Shafei, one of Asharq Al-Awsat’s most prominent journalists, has died at the age of 74 after a 40-year career tackling some of the region’s thorniest issues.
Born in Egypt in 1951, al-Shafei earned a bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in 1974 before moving to the UK, where he studied journalism and translation at the University of Westminster and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
He began his journalism career at London-based Arabic papers Al-Muslimoon and Al-Arab — both of which are published by Saudi Research & Publishing Co. which also owns Arab News — before joining Al-Zahira after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Al-Shafei joined Asharq Al-Awsat in 1991 and spent 15 years on the sports desk before shifting to reporting on terrorism. He went on to pioneer Arab press coverage in the field, writing about all aspects of it, including its ideologies and ties to states like Iran.
His colleagues knew him for his calm demeanor, humility and meticulous approach, marked by precise documentation, deep analysis and avoidance of sensationalism.
Al-Shafei ventured fearlessly into terrorist strongholds, meeting senior terrorist leaders and commanders. In the 1970s he was one of only a handful of journalists to interview Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and conducted exclusive interviews with senior figures within Al-Qaeda.
He also tracked post-Al-Qaeda groups like Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Boko Haram, offering pioneering analysis of Sunni-Shiite extremism and how cultural contexts shaped movements across Asia and Africa.
During the war on Al-Qaeda, he visited US bases in Afghanistan, embedded with international forces, and filed investigative reports from active battlefields — rare feats in Arab journalism at the time.
He interviewed Osama bin Laden’s son, highlighting a humanitarian angle while maintaining objectivity, and was among the few Arab journalists to report from Guantanamo, where his interviews with Al-Qaeda detainees shed light on the group’s operations.
Al-Shafei married a Turkish woman in London in the late 1970s, with whom he had a son and daughter. He was still working just hours before he died in London on Dec. 31.
