Australian correspondents pulled out of China

 
Bill Birtles, the ABC's correspondent based in Beijing, and Mike Smith, the AFR's correspondent based in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Sydney last night after the pair were questioned separately by China's Ministry of State Security, reports ABC News. Birtles had spent four days sheltering in Australia's embassy in Beijing, while Smith took refuge in Australia's Shanghai consulate as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to safely leave the country.

The saga began early last week, when Australian diplomats in Beijing cautioned Birtles that he should leave China, with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade giving the same advice to ABC's managing director David Anderson in Sydney.Subsequent advice prompted the ABC to organize flights back to Australia for Birtles. He was due to depart last Thursday morning.

But the threatening behavior from Chinese officials peaked before he could leave, when seven police officers arrived at Birtles' apartment at midnight last Wednesday as he was holding farewell drinks with friends and colleagues.They told him he was banned from leaving the country, and that he would be contacted the next day to organize a time to be questioned over a "national security case".

Birtles described the late-night visit as "extraordinary and unprecedented"."On one hand, this is urgent enough for them to rock up to my front door at midnight, with a total of seven people to tell me I'm involved in a state security case, on the other hand they say, 'Hey, we'll ring you tomorrow afternoon to organize a chat,'" Birtles said."It posed more questions than answers."

Birtles called the Australian embassy and arranged to be collected from his apartment. He stayed in the Beijing diplomatic compound for the next few days, where he was contacted by Chinese officials demanding an interview.He initially refused to speak with them, citing fears for his personal safety.

Birtles was interviewed by Chinese authorities on Sunday after an agreement was reached between Australian and Chinese officials that his travel ban would be lifted if he spoke to them."I felt like I suddenly, unintentionally had become a pawn in some sort of diplomatic tussle," he said.