BEIJING, July 16 — 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.
Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders and Spain-based Asia-focused rights group Safeguard Defenders said that Bai Zhaodong faces the risk of deportation following pressure from Beijing on Bangkok over his reporting on the Chinese government.
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.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry told Reuters in a written response that Beijing has submitted an extradition request to Thailand for the "prompt return" of Bai, 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 (July 20), is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.
The rights groups stated that Bai exposed a large corruption and financial fraud network implicating local government officials and higher-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party. This led to persecution by the authorities, including intensified surveillance, criminal charges, interrogations, and detentions.
He fled China in 2023, and the next year, the Public Security Bureau in the Chinese city of Yulin issued an arrest warrant against him.
"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," said Safeguard Defenders' Laura Harth in the statement.
The groups added that 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.
Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific region advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said: "Should Bai be forcibly returned to China, he would face not only persecution but also grave risks to his personal safety."
