BEIJING - China has asked Thailand to promptly extradite a Chinese journalist who rights groups say could face political persecution and torture back home because of his investigations into corruption in China.
Bai Zhaodong faces the risk of deportation following pressure on Bangkok from Beijing over his reporting on the Chinese government, Reporters Without Borders and Safeguard Defenders, an Asia-focused rights group based in Spain, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The groups have urged Thailand not to deport Bai. They said Thai authorities have detained Bai since January, barred him from leaving Thailand and are holding him at the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre in Bangkok.
China has submitted an extradition request to Thailand for the “prompt return” of Bai, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Reuters in a written response, saying he was suspected of extortion and bribery by a non-public servant.
“The Chinese government protects its citizens’ freedom of speech according to law, and the achievements in the development of its journalism sector are clear for all to see,” it said.
The Thai foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who flew to China on Thursday for a five-day official visit, is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.
Others at risk
Also being held at the Suan Phlu centre is Zhang Xinyan, who was detained earlier this month, just hours before she was to fly to Canada under a refugee resettlement agreement.
Ms Zhang, 55, is among 19 activists based overseas who are the subject of arrest warrants issued by Hong Kong police in July 2025 for subversion under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law.
Human Rights Watch said Ms Zhang and Mr Bai are among four critics of Beijing who hold refugee status but are at risk of deportation from Thailand.
Mr Bai exposed a large corruption and financial fraud network implicating local government officials and higher-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party, the rights groups said.
This led to persecution by the authorities, including intensified surveillance, criminal charges, interrogations and detentions, they said.
Mr Bai fled China in 2023, and the next year the Public Security Bureau in the Chinese city of Yulin issued an arrest warrant against him.
“Thai authorities must withstand the growing pressure from (China) to forcibly detain and return individuals sought for clear political persecution by the Chinese Communist Party and uphold its commitments under international and domestic torture prohibitions,” Laura Harth, a director at Safeguard Defenders, said in the statement.
The statement said Mr Bai faces “foreseeable, present, personal and real risk of political persecution, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other serious human rights violations” if deported to China.
“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,” said Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Reporters Without Borders.
“Should Bai be forcibly returned to China, he would face not only persecution but also grave risks to his personal safety.”
