Move comes as Premier Li Keqiang winds up five-day visit to Australia to discuss trade and globalisation
Chinese authorities have blocked an Australia-based academic from boarding a flight home, Australia said on Sunday, after what sources said was repeated interrogation over his links to liberal intellectuals in mainland China. The case of long-serving University of Technology Sydney (UTS) associate professor Feng Chongyi comes just as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang winds up a five-day official visit to Canberra and Sydney espousing free trade and closer economic ties between Australia and China. Feng, who is an Australian permanent resident but retains his Chinese passport, entered China three weeks ago. He was first held for questioning in Kunming, the provincial capital of southwestern Yunnan province earlier this week, before being barred from boarding a flight to Sydney at Guangzhou’s international airport on Friday morning, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. He is travelling with his wife, who is an Australian national. Having subsequently requested help from Australian authorities, Feng felt confident his case had been resolved and he would be free to travel, one of the sources said. But he was again notified he was on a no-fly list when attempting to board a second flight home late on Saturday. “The Australian government is aware that a UTS professor, who is an Australian permanent resident, has been prevented from leaving China,” a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Sunday.
