More than 150 global China experts have added their voices to demands that the New Zealand government protect Anne-Marie Brady, a China academic who says she has been the victim of a year-long harassment campaign.
Brady, an expert in Chinese politics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zeland, had her home and office burgled in February, and her car was allegedly sabotaged last month.
Brady says she became a target after the release last year of a paper on Chinese foreign influence, and has asked the New Zealand government for extra security for herself and her family.
After the government failed to respond, academics, human rights advocates and journalists within New Zealand last week called on New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to step in and provide security for Brady.
Now 150 China experts from around the world have signed an open letter calling for action.
The letter states that under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) rule domestic repression in China has increased, “as illustrated by the fate of hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists rounded up in 2015,” as well as the “re-education” camps in Xinjiang.
At the same time, the Chinese government has targeted critics overseas, the letter says.
“Another form of this escalation are the unprecedented attacks on foreign scholars and researchers of contemporary China, be it in the form of Cultural Revolution-style in-class harassment for their views and opinions, denial of visas, threatened or actual libel suits or, in some cases, detentions during research visits in mainland China,” it says.
“Brady has become the target of a series of incidents, which, taken together with attacks from [Chinese Communist] Party-directed media, are consistent with an intimidation campaign,” it says. “New Zealand authorities have been less than forthcoming in their support for a prominent scholar targeted by a foreign power, at times even adopting a dismissive posture — an attitude appreciated by PRC [People’s Republic of China] state media.”
The 165 signatories include global China experts from 17 nations, including US author, journalist and social commentator Bill Bishop, Danielle Cave from the International Cyber Policy Centre and Swedish human rights advocate Peter Dahlin.
A spokeswoman for the New Zealand prime minister said Ardern “supports and defends the legal right to academic freedom,” but it was not appropriate to comment further before the police investigation had been completed.
Last week Brady told the Guardian that she and her family had requested security assistance from the government, but it was not forthcoming.
“I am really concerned about the safety of my family. About four months ago we asked for more protection from the New Zealand security intelligence service. We haven’t had a reply,” Brady said. “We are doing everything we can to improve security in our home, but New Zealand is a very open society. We’re just doing the best that we can by ourselves, but we’re not security specialists.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from