Subjected to daily interrogations and blocked from leaving China for more than a week, Australia-based academic Feng Chongyi (馮崇義) yesterday arrived home in Sydney, vowing to return to China later this year to complete his research.
Feng, an Australian permanent resident who retains his Chinese passport, was conducting field interviews for a project on Chinese human-rights lawyers and their political aspirations.
“If they wanted to scare me they failed miserably,” Feng, a well-known China studies expert at the University of Technology Sydney, said via telephone. “I’m not scared of them. I did not do anything illegal.”
The project, which is partly government-funded via the Australian Research Council, touches on sensitive subject matter for the Chinese government.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) administration has tightened control over almost every aspect of civil society since 2012, citing the need to buttress national security and stability.
During that time, China has detained or questioned hundreds of human rights lawyers and other government critics, international rights groups have said.
Feng said his case, as well as interviews he conducted before being interrupted, showed the space for government criticism or dissent had been tightened further.
He said he had been unmolested when he met with what he described as “sensitive contacts” on a trip to China a year ago.
“In terms of rule of law and human rights it’s getting worse and worse. It’s clear their control of Chinese citizens become harder and harder,” he said. “It’s a reflection of their [the Chinese government’s] insecurity. They can shut you down.”
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond yesterday to requests for comment.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) on Thursday said that Feng was being prevented from leaving on “national security” grounds, without elaborating.
Feng arrived in China a month ago for his work and was first held for questioning in Kunming, before being barred twice from boarding flights from Guangzhou on March 24 and 25, sources familiar with the matter said previously.
Feng said he was informed on Saturday morning by the state security officers who had been questioning him daily that he was free to leave — after a final round of questioning.
He was made to sign a statement pledging not to divulge details of his interrogation sessions as a condition of his release.
The case had prompted Australian government intervention and sparked concern among international academics over the research environment in China.
More than 80 academics signed an open letter to Chinese authorities about Feng’s case, saying they were “disturbed that a fellow researcher, who has dedicated himself to promote the understanding of and interest in China, has been prevented from returning to his home and workplace for no reason other than his conscientious work as a China Studies scholar.”
Additional reporting by AP
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