China yesterday denied that foreign nationals are under threat of arbitrary detention, following a newspaper report that Beijing had warned Washington it might arrest Americans in China.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was Washington that was mistreating foreign citizens, accusing the US of “outright political repression” of Chinese academics.
“By alleging that foreign citizens are being arbitrarily detained in China, the US side is calling white ‘black’ and trying to play the victim,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told a regular news briefing.
China protects the safety and legitimate rights of foreigners, and foreigners had “nothing to worry about” as long as they abided by Chinese law, he said.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Saturday that Chinese officials had issued repeated warnings to US government officials that China might detain Americans in response to the US Department of Justice’s prosecution of Chinese academics affiliated with the Chinese military.
China first warned the US after a Chinese researcher temporarily took refuge in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, the WSJ said.
Beijing said it would detain an American in China if the US did not permit researcher Tang Juan (唐娟) to leave the consulate and go back to China, the newspaper reported.
Tang was arrested after she left the consulate, and is currently out on bail.
Chinese prosecutors in June indicted two Canadian citizens on espionage charges, a move seen by Western governments as punishment for Canada’s arrest of Huawei Technologies Co chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) in late 2018.
Beijing has denied the indictment was related to Meng’s case and has repeatedly called for the release of Meng.
However, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin (胡錫進) on Sunday evening said that it is “common sense” for the US to worry that China might detain some Americans in retaliation for the prosecution of Chinese academics.
In a series of tweets, Hu accused the US of applying double standards when it came to arresting suspected spies.
The US saw its actions as “catching spies in accordance with the law,” while similar actions by Beijing were dismissed as “hostage diplomacy,” Hu said.
“Who gave the US God-like right to define everything” Hu wrote, before going on to say that “some US nationals” in China could be in peril. “Does Washington need to be warned? It’s common sense.”
Hu’s tweets are closely watched after he accurately forecasted previous moves by Beijing.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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