Open letter in support of New Zealand scholar

Politics & Current Affairs

Scholars and China specialists around the world have signed an open letter about the harassment campaign against China scholar Anne-Marie Brady:

In New Zealand, Anne-Marie Brady, an academic who investigated the CCPโ€™s influence in local politics, has become the target of a series of incidents which, taken together with attacks from Party-directed media, are consistent with an intimidation campaign. New Zealand authorities have been less than forthcoming in their support for a prominent scholar targeted by a foreign power, at times even adopting a dismissive posture โ€” an attitude appreciated by P.R.C. state media [in Chinese].

The letter is in support of Brady, and calls on the New Zealand government to protect her from further harassment. Radio New Zealand has reported on the letter.

Related:

  • In October, Index on Censorship reported that โ€œanonymous, threatening lettersโ€ were sent to residential addresses in the U.K., apparently with the aim of stopping โ€œactivities that the Chinese government disapproves of.โ€ Recipients included family members of Tom Grundy, editor of Hong Kong Free Press.
  • โ€œNew Zealand identifies climate change as its main security threat but also remains wary of China,โ€ reports the South China Morning Post. Itโ€™s a summary of a defense policy paper released by the New Zealand government. The document is not highly critical of China, but frequently makes reference to possible challenges from Beijing to the value-based international order.