Two Chinese scholars who had been teaching at universities in Japan for many years recently went missing within months of each other after returning temporarily to China.
Concerns are growing that they might have been detained by Chinese authorities for some reason, but the Chinese government has not offered an explanation.
This is a disturbingly abnormal situation that could hinder educational and cultural exchanges between Japan and China.
Professor Fan Yuntao of Asia University vanished into thin air after contacting the university in February during a visit home to say he was “going into recuperative care.”
It has been reported that Fan was questioned by the authorities. There are many unanswered questions about his sudden, unexplained disappearance.
An expert in international law and political science, Fan has been teaching in Japan since the 1980s.
Asked for an explanation during news conferences, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said only that it “did not have a grasp of the situation.” Its response is not good enough.
Fan is not the only Chinese academic based in Japan to go missing. Professor Hu Shiyun, who taught Chinese literature and other subjects at Kobe Gakuin University, vanished after returning to China last August.
It is conceivable that for some reason, they are being detained. Even in China, the criminal procedures from detention to trial are prescribed by law and some related information is made public.
However, when the state security departments are involved, it has been commonplace to detain individuals secretly for extended periods.
Another case concerns Yuan Keqin, who taught at Hokkaido University of Education and went missing after he returned home in 2019 for his mother’s funeral. It later emerged he was detained the following year and formally indicted on charges of espionage in 2021.
Additionally, several cases have occurred since 2013 where Chinese scholars temporarily returning to their homeland were detained for weeks or months and are believed to have been interrogated.
Wide-raging updates to the anti-espionage law that were passed last year have compounded the opacity of such cases. This is because the law broadly interprets the possession of documents and other forms of information related to “national security or interests” as espionage activities without clearly or explicitly defining the terms.
In March last year, a Japanese executive of major drug maker Astellas Pharma Inc.’s Chinese subsidiary was detained in Beijing on suspicion of espionage.
When Japanese nationals are detained in China, the Japanese government can get involved and make a noise through its embassy in China. But it is more challenging when the individuals are of Chinese nationality.
Both Fan and Hu have taught and educated many students and contributed significantly to cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between Japan and China.
The Chinese government should recognize that this situation is causing anxiety not only among Japanese businessmen operating in China but also among Chinese people who travel between the two countries.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi made a completely natural response when questioned about the disappearance of Fan, stating that the Japanese government is “closely monitoring the case with concern as it is a matter that may involve human rights.”
The Japanese government should step up its efforts to extract more information and reasonable responses concerning these cases from Beijing. Japanese society must also continue to raise its voice to ensure the safe return of the men to their families.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 27
EDITORIAL: Japan-China ties hurt by sudden disappearance of Chinese scholars
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27.04.2024
Two Chinese scholars who had been teaching at universities in Japan for many years recently went missing within months of each other after returning temporarily to China.
Concerns are growing that they might have been detained by Chinese authorities for some reason, but the Chinese government has not offered an explanation.
This is a disturbingly abnormal situation that could hinder educational and cultural exchanges between Japan and China.
Professor Fan Yuntao of Asia University vanished into thin air after contacting the university in February during a visit home to say he was “going into recuperative care.”
It has been reported that Fan was questioned by the authorities. There are many unanswered questions about his sudden, unexplained disappearance.
An expert in international law and political science, Fan has been teaching in Japan since the 1980s.
Asked for an explanation during........
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