South China Morning Post (SCMP) journalist Minnie Chan is on personal leave concerning a private matter, the newspaper has said, after a local press group raised concerns about her reported disappearance following a work trip in China. Japan’s Kyodo News first reported on the matter on Thursday, citing unnamed people close to the matter.
“Her family has informed us that she is in Beijing but needs time to handle a private matter. Her family has told us she is safe but has requested that we respect her privacy. We are in contact with Minnie’s family and we have no further information to disclose,” the SCMP said in a statement to HKFP on Friday.
The newspaper added that the safety of journalists was of utmost importance to the SCMP, and that it had no further information to disclose.
The award-winning journalist had reportedly attended the three-day Xiangshan Forum in Beijing – a regional security dialogue which ended on October 31. According to Kyodo News, Chan’s friends were concerned she was under investigation by the Chinese authorities. The ex-Apple Daily journalist’s last post on Facebook was dated November 11.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said in a Friday Chinese-language statement that it was “very concerned about Chan’s safety and is asking SCMP for information about the incident.”
The International Federation of Journalists also raised concerns: “The International Federation of Journalists urges the Chinese authorities to swiftly investigate Chan’s whereabouts and ensure she is permitted to return to Hong Kong safely.”
Meanwhile, the former editor-in-chief of the SCMP, Wang Xiangwei, tweeted on Friday: “I pray for Minnie Chan, my friend and my former colleague at SCMP.”
Legal threat
The Alibaba-owned SCMP also threatened legal action over the story, in a response that came four hours after the given deadline. Four earlier calls to the SCMP switchboard, four calls to the corporate communication team, and an email to the China desk chief went unanswered.
“Based on the speculative nature of the queries you have sent us, we are concerned that you may be rushing to conclusions not supported by facts. We trust you will be responsible and ethical in your reporting. We would respectfully like to point out that we reserve all rights to take legal action against any misreporting of this matter concerning the Post,” the statement – which had no name attached – said.
The statement did not point out any inaccuracies or ethical issues in HKFP’s reporting or their enquiries – HKFP follows a strict Ethics Code.
The story was also picked up by news wire AFP, Al-Jazeera, The Guardian, Bloomberg and others on Friday.
According to Reporters Without Borders, China is the “world’s largest prison for journalists,” with over 100 currently behind bars.
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