Two international human rights organizations are pressing Thailand to stop the possible deportation of a Chinese journalist who uncovered corruption within China’s government, warning that sending him back would put his life and freedom at serious risk.
Reporters Without Borders and Safeguard Defenders, an Asia-based rights organization headquartered in Spain, issued a joint statement Wednesday saying that Bai Zhaodong is facing deportation pressure after Beijing pushed Bangkok over his reporting on the Chinese government.
According to the groups, Thai authorities have held Bai in custody since January, prevented him from leaving the country, and are currently keeping him at an immigration detention center in Bangkok.
Neither the Chinese nor Thai foreign ministries responded to requests for comment. Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is currently visiting China through Monday and is expected to hold a meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The rights groups say Bai uncovered an extensive network of corruption and financial fraud involving local government officials as well as higher-level members of the Chinese Communist Party. That reporting triggered a campaign of retaliation against him, including increased surveillance, criminal charges, interrogations, and detentions, according to the organizations.
Bai left China in 2023. The following year, the Public Security Bureau in the Chinese city of Yulin issued an arrest warrant for him, the groups said.
Laura Harth, a director at Safeguard Defenders, called on Thai officials to stand firm. “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,” she said in the statement.
The statement described Bai as facing a “foreseeable, present, personal and real risk of political persecution, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other serious human rights violations” if he is deported to China.
Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Reporters Without Borders, highlighted China’s record on press freedom. “In recent years, the Chinese regime have gained notoriety for the systematic persecution of journalists and remain the world’s leading jailer of reporters, with 120 individuals currently detained,” she said. “Should Bai be forcibly returned to China, he would face not only persecution but also grave risks to his personal safety.”
