Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Safeguard Defenders has called on Thai authorities to refrain from deporting detained prominent Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong to China. Due to his reporting on corruption at the highest levels of the Chinese Government, a potential return to the country would place him at grave foreseeable, present, personal and real risks, including but not limited to enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment.
The NGOs say that the Thai authorities have an obligation to uphold international law and must ensure Bai’s rights are fully protected.
RSF and Safeguard Defenders received confirmation from local sources that Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong, detained at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, faces the risk of deportation to China following pressure from the People’s Republic of China.
The news comes just ahead of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s scheduled visit to China from July 16 to 20, 2026. Bai managed to flee China on 29 November 2023. In September 2024, he was subjected to an arrest warrant issued by the Public Security Bureau of Yunlin City on trumped up allegations of “extortion”. Thai authorities have since prevented Bai’s relocation to a safe third country and prohibited him from leaving the country. He has been held in Thai detention since January 2026. If deported, the journalist is at grave foreseeable, present, personal and real risk of political persecution, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other serious human rights violations.
Bai Zhaodong has worked as an investigative journalist in China for over 25 years, most recently with the renowned Beijing Caijin Magazine. His work exposed a large-scale corruption and financial fraud network involving money laundering and other illicit financial activities. The investigation implicated both local government officials and higher-ranking officials within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Thai government must uphold its obligations under international law and demonstrate its clear commitment to established human rights standards, or risk serious damage to its global reputation. In recent years, the Chinese regime have gained notoriety for the systematic persecution of journalists and remain the world’s leading jailer of reporters, with 120 individuals currently detained. Should Bai be forcibly returned to China, he would face not only persecution but also grave risks to his personal safety.” said Aleksandra Bielakowska Advocacy Manager, RSF Asia-Pacific
