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| Australian citizen and television anchor Cheng Lei |
Britain has issued new a travel advisory for China, warning that its nationals may be at risk of arbitrary detention, after several foreigners were held on various charges including cases involving state secrets and national security.
โChinaโs authorities have under certain circumstances detained foreigners citing โendangering national securityโ,โ the British Foreign Office said in its latest advice posted on its website.
โThere is also a risk of arbitrary detention, including of British Nationals,โ it said.
British advice previously contained no reference to the risk of arbitrary detention.
A spokesman for the British embassy in Beijing said the advice had been updated to โclearly and factually reflect recent incidentsโ.
โBut the level of our advice has not changed,โ the spokesman said.
The British warning comes after several foreigners were detained in China on national security charges, including Canadians, Australians, Japanese and at least one American. Some of them remain in detention.
In one of the latest high-profile cases, Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen and anchor on Chinese state television, was detained in August for โcarrying out criminal activities endangering Chinaโs national security,โ according to Chinaโs foreign ministry.
Her detention follows a period of strained relations between China and Australia.
REUTERS
