豪ジャーナリスト２人、拘束恐れ中国から緊急帰国

【シドニーＡＦＰ＝時事】中国の北京と上海でそれぞれ、警察当局の事情聴取を受けたオーストラリア人ジャーナリスト2人が7日、緊急帰国した。豪外交関係者に付き添われて上海から出国した2人は8日、シドニーに到着した。（写真は資料写真）
　中国から出国したのは、オーストラリア放送協会（ＡＢＣ）のビル・バートルズ氏と、豪経済紙オーストラリアン・フィナンシャル・レビュー（ＡＦＲ）のマイケル・スミス記者。
　中国在住のオーストラリア人ジャーナリストをめぐっては、国営英語放送ＣＧＴＮでビジネスニュース番組のキャスターを務めるチェン・レイ氏が、８月中旬から拘束されていたことが先日発覚したばかり。チェン氏の拘束について中国当局は理由を説明していない。
　ＡＢＣによると、北京を拠点に活動していたバートルズ氏と上海で勤務していたスミス氏は中国当局から出国禁止を命じられ、許可が出るまで数日間、オーストラリアの在外公館に身を寄せていた。
　ＡＢＣによると、オーストラリア外務省は先週、バートルズ氏に中国から出国するよう警告していた。バートルズ氏は３日に出国する予定だったが、前日深夜に警官７人が同氏の自宅を訪れ、出国禁止を伝えたという。
　警官らは「国家安全保障上の件」について事情聴取を行いたいと述べたため、バートルズ氏は豪大使館に避難した。
　その後、バートルズ氏はオーストラリアの外交官立ち会いの下、中国警察の聴取を受け、出国禁止は解除されたという。
　一方、ＡＦＲによると、バートルズ氏宅を警官が訪れた同じ日の夜に、上海でも警官がスミス氏宅を訪れた。両氏共に事情聴取はチェン氏に関連する内容だったという。
　豪政府は今年に入って自国民に対し、中国で恣意（しい）的に拘束される危険性を警告していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/09/08-14:52）

Two Australian journalists were rushed out of China overnight after Chinese police sought to question them, their employers said Tuesday.
The withdrawal of Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Review correspondent Michael Smith came shortly after China detained a high-profile Australian journalist working for its state-run CGTN TV network.
The ABC said Birtles, who was based in Beijing, and Smith, who worked from Shanghai, had sheltered in Australian diplomatic offices for several days before being allowed to leave the country.
The pair flew out of Shanghai accompanied by Australian diplomats on Monday and arrived in Sydney early Tuesday.
The incident comes amid worsening diplomatic relations between the two governments and followed the detention last month of Cheng Lei, an Australian working as a business news anchor for CGTN.
Chinese authorities have given no reason for Chen's detention.
The ABC said Australia's foreign ministry warned Birtles last week that he should leave China but on the day before his scheduled departure Thursday seven police officers visited his home at midnight and said he was banned from leaving.
The police said they wanted to question Birtles over a national security case, prompting him to take refuge at the embassy.
Birtles was questioned by Chinese police later in the week in the presence of Australian diplomats and the travel ban was lifted, ABC said.
The AFR said Smith was also visited by police the same night in Shanghai and that both men were questioned in relation to the case against Cheng.
This incident targeting two journalists, who were going about their normal reporting duties, is both regrettable and disturbing and is not in the interests of a co-operative relationship between Australia and China, the Financial Review's editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury and editor Paul Bailey said in a statement.
Australia earlier this year warned its citizens they faced the risk of arbitrary detention in China.
Ties began to sour between Australia and China -- its biggest trading partner -- more than two years ago when Australian authorities began to move against what was seen as China's growing political interference and influence-peddling in the country.
Beijing was particularly infuriated by Australia's leading role in international calls earlier this year for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Since then, China has taken steps to curb key Australian imports and encouraged Chinese students and tourists to avoid the country.
Cheng is the second high-profile Australian citizen to be detained in Beijing after writer Yang Hengjun was arrested in January 2019 on suspicion of espionage.