The Committee to Protect Journalists highlights two disappearances apparently connected to that of Ai Weiwei:
Family and colleagues have been unable to reach Caijing magazine journalist Zhang Jialong since the evening of April 28, according to Radio France Internationale. He was believed to have gone for a “talk” with Beijing police, but no notice of formal detention has been issued, RFI reported. Interrogations are informally referred to as “chatting” or “drinking tea” with police or security officials. The Global Post website posted a link to an online missing notice issued by Zhang’s family. Zhang, a 23-year-old intern, had reported on a contaminated milk activist, Zhao Lianhai, and on Ai, the notice said. Zhang had also actively discussed recent detentions on his Twitter account, according to RFI.
Freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker Wen Tao has been missing and believed detained since April 3, when he was taken away by officials in plainclothes shortly after Ai. Wen, a former Global Times journalist and also an active Twitter user, had been documenting Ai’s work; his whereabouts and legal status are unknown, according to international news reports.
“The disappearance of two journalists who were reporting on Ai Weiwei and other Chinese activists is deeply concerning,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “We fear they are the latest victims of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to stifle the flow of independent information.”
