Press organizations are making themselves major concerns about Hong Kong journalist Minnie Chan who disappeared in China. She has not been heard from since she attended a security conference in the Chinese capital Beijing at the end of October. Her employer South China Morning Post told the Japanese news agency Kyodo News on Friday that they were “private leave” is, but did not want to provide further details for her privacy.
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Chinese authorities to immediately provide clarity on Chan’s whereabouts and guarantee her safety. Press group Hong Kong Free Press is “deeply concerned”. Chan’s last post on Facebook was dated November 11, but she never responded to any comments on it. Friends fear she will post that did not post yourself.
Chan has worked for the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper since 2005 South China Morning Post and is a specialist in the field of defense and diplomacy in China. Her last piece, published on November 1 was about the balance that China would have to find in order to play an active mediating role in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The International Federation of Journalists points out that China “has a long history of targeting journalists critical of the Chinese government” and that Chan’s disappearance “amid Hong Kong’s increasing repression of independent media is deeply troubling.”