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China arrests EU employee

The EU said that a Chinese national working for the bloc had been arrested in China, and expressed concern for his health.

“We can confirm a local employee of the European Union (EU) mission in China has been detained since September 2021 and we are concerned for his health,” said Nabila Massrali, EU spokesman for foreign affairs said on April 29.

Since then, the EU has not been provided with any information about the allegations against this employee, Ms. Massrali said.

“We have repeatedly asked the Chinese authorities for information, but so far have not received any notification about the specific allegations that our employees are facing. We will continue to ask until the time comes. get the right answer,” she said.





EU flags (left) and Chinese flags at the Diaoyutai guesthouse in Beijing 2018. Photo: Reuters.

EU flag (left) and Chinese flag at Diaoyutai guesthouse in Beijing 2018. Photo: Reuters.

The incident was initially reported Le Monde reported by France. Accordingly, the arrested employee named An Dong, works in the information technology department of the EU mission in Beijing. According to the newspaper, An Dong is being held in Sichuan province, thousands of kilometers west of the Chinese capital.

The newspaper said that the reason An Dong was arrested was “fighting and causing trouble”. According to Le Monde, the EU wrote to China’s Foreign Ministry in October last year, asking to investigate and explain the detention and ensure its staff had access to a lawyer of his choice. instead of a court-appointed representative.

China has not yet commented on the case.

The incident is a rare case of an employee of a Western diplomatic mission being arrested in China. Simon Cheng Man-kit, a British consulate employee in Hong Kong and also a Hong Kong citizen, was arrested in China in 2019 for violating public security laws after visiting a prostitute.

Cheng said he was tortured after being detained for 15 days during a business trip to mainland China. In 2020, Cheng was granted political asylum in the UK. Beijing accuses Cheng of inciting political unrest during the Hong Kong protest movement, charges Cheng denies.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was also detained in China in 2018 on espionage charges, along with fellow countryman Michael Spavor. The two were sentenced to prison but were released and returned to Canada last September, after Ottawa released Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.

Huyen Le (According to SCMP)

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