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BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 14: A television shows a Chinese journalist wearing a protective mask during a news broadcast in a subway station on February 14, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of the deadly new coronavirus COVID-19 rose to more than 55000 in mainland China Friday, in what the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global public health emergency. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medicals experts have confirmed can be passed from human to human. In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities have maintained and in some cases tightened the travel restrictions on the city which is the epicentre of the virus and also in municipalities in other parts of the country affecting tens of millions of people. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 1380 on Friday, mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and screening has been stepped up at airports around the world. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travellers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China.
After the detention of a Bloomberg News employee spread, the European Union has urged the Chinese government to release all journalists and citizens held in connection with their reporting.
Based on Bloomberg, Haze Fan, who is a Chinese citizen, was taken from her home by plain-clothes security officials on Monday and based on the statement that Beijing shared, Fan had been detained due to suspicion of endangering national security.
According to Aljazeera, the spokesperson of the EU shared during a statement that all of those who were detained and arrested in relevance to their reporting activity should be released as soon as possible.
Based on the statement, the spokesperson also mentioned that other Chinese journalists and even citizens have disappeared this year, or been harassed, or detained after such engagement in any of the reporting, the Manila Times reported.
The statement also stated that the EU expects that the authorities of China will grant the Chinese Bloomberg news employee any medical assistance once it will be needed, contacts her family, and prompt access to a lawyer of her choice.
On the other hand, the Chinese foreign ministry earlier mentioned that the case of Fan was still under investigation.
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The Arrest
The Chinese national who is working at the bureau of Bloomberg News in Beijing was detained by the authorities in China because of suspicion of endangering national security.
Based on Bloomberg News, Haze Fan, their news employee in Beijing made her the last contact with one of her editors was before noon on Monday and a number of witnesses also shared that she was seen being escorted from her apartment building by authorities who were only wearing plain clothes during the time of the arrest.
The global media and financial data and analytics conglomerate, Bloomberg reported that they even sought information regarding the whereabouts of Haze Fan from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Chinese authorities.
The news organization shared on Thursday that they had received confirmation that the authorities of China have detained Fan as she was suspected of participating in activities that may put the national security of China into danger.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Friday which states that the news employee was detained because she was suspected of engaging in criminal activities that can put the national security of the country into jeopardy, as the investigation regarding Fan still continues, according to the South China Morning Post.
Bloomberg also shared that they are ensuring the legitimate rights of their news employee and even the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China also stated that they were very concerned about the detention of Fan.
In the released statement by the club, the Chinese nationals offer linguistic support for foreigners that are reporting in China and even offer critical research as well.
The club also mentioned that without the support of news employees like Fan, the foreign media that operates in China will have a hard time in terms of the language barrier.
Related Article: Chinese Authorities Detain Bloomberg Staffer Due To National Security Grounds
