It is by a circuitous route that the agency Bloomberg learned of the release of Fan Haze, an assistant in its Beijing office who had been arrested by Chinese police in December 2020. On May 3, the Washington Post published a full page on World Press Freedom Day highlighting Fan’s detention in China. In response to the American daily, on May 6, the website of the Chinese Embassy in the United States announced his release, which would date from January 2022.
Fan’s case is still pending and she is currently out on bail, Bloomberg said based on the embassy announcement. The agency attempted to contact Fan, but was unsuccessful. Fan had been indicted for “undermining the security of the nation” in July 2021, also specifies the Chinese government, “his rights have been fully respected”.
“We will continue to do everything to protect her”
“It is encouraging to know that Fan has been released, commented Bloomberg’s New York editor, she is an important person for the Beijing office, and we will continue to do everything to protect her and her family.” He did not say whether he had been previously informed of his release.
Fan joined Bloomberg in early 2017 and previously worked for several foreign media outlets in Beijing. She is one of 127 journalists detained in China, according to a count of Reporters Without Borders dating from 2021. Chinese people are not allowed to work as journalists for foreign media and are therefore employed as assistants.