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The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
has grave concerns over a Hong Kong journalist's
arrest and detention in Guangzhou, China.
According
to information from IFJ affiliate, the Hong Kong
Journalists' Association (HKJA), Ching Cheong,
chief China correspondent for Singapore's The
Straits Times newspaper, was apprehended by security
agents on April 22, 2005 while waiting to meet
a source in Guangzhou, China.
It
is alleged that Cheong's detention is in connection
to a government investigation preventing the publication
of secret interviews of Zhao Ziyang, the former
premier and party chief who opposed the Tiananmen
massacre and died in January after nearly 16 years
under house arrest.
Mary
Lau, Cheong's wife kept Cheong's detention a secret
in the hope of his release after she was threatened
by Chinese authorities not to go public about
his arrest.
Lau
decided to go public after mainland officials
told her that the Chinese Government intended
to charge him with "stealing core state secrets".
Cheong's
arrest follows the arrest of Zhao Yan, researcher
for the Beijing bureau of the New York Times on
September 16, 2004. Zhao Yan has been held incommunicado
without trial since his arrest.
While
it is common for the Chinese Government to jail
Chinese journalists, in the past the government
has refrained from jailing foreign journalists
and those employed by foreign news agencies.
The
consequence of Cheong's and Zhao Yan's arrests
has the potential to have a chilling effect on
foreign news operations in China.
"This
latest crackdown by Chinese authorities on foreign
journalists and media outlets is indicative of
their systematic policy of silencing the media,"
said Warren.
The
Straits Times has failed to report Cheong's detention
but released a written statement that Cheong is
"assisting security authorities in Beijing
with an investigation into a matter not related
to the Straits Times." As told to them by
the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.
Cheong,
a Hong Kong citizen and legal resident of Singapore
is a
well-respected and experienced journalist covering
China.
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