The Chinese government has detained an employee of Japan’s Astellas Pharmaceuticals on suspicion of espionage. This is the second incident of detaining employees of foreign companies in recent days.
Chinese authorities detained an employee of Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc., 4503.TO. It is the second detention of employees of a foreign company in recent days, as Beijing seeks to reassure the business community that it is committed to a policy of openness.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said on Monday that China had notified the Japanese embassy in Beijing that a male Japanese citizen in his 50s had been detained in Beijing. Matsuno also said the Japanese government was seeking consular access and hoped the citizen would be released soon.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing Monday afternoon that the Japanese citizen, who was detained earlier this month, was suspected of engaging in espionage activities in violation of China’s criminal and anti-espionage laws. At the press conference, she also confirmed reports that five Chinese employees of the Beijing office of the U.S. due diligence firm Mintz Group were detained in a raid last week on suspicion of operating illegally.
Mao Ning said that in recent years, similar cases of Japanese citizens have occurred frequently. But she did not elaborate.
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Chinese authorities detained an employee of Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc., 4503.TO. It is the second detention of employees of a foreign company in recent days, as Beijing seeks to reassure the business community that it is committed to a policy of openness.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said on Monday that China had notified the Japanese embassy in Beijing that a male Japanese citizen in his 50s had been detained in Beijing. Matsuno also said the Japanese government was seeking consular access and hoped the citizen would be released soon.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing Monday afternoon that the Japanese citizen, who was detained earlier this month, was suspected of engaging in espionage activities in violation of China’s criminal and anti-espionage laws. At the press conference, she also confirmed reports that five Chinese employees of the Beijing office of the U.S. due diligence firm Mintz Group were detained in a raid last week on suspicion of operating illegally.
Mao Ning said that in recent years, similar cases of Japanese citizens have occurred frequently. But she did not elaborate.
A spokesman for Astellas Pharmaceuticals said a Japanese male employee in his 50s had been detained in China, but declined to give further details.
“We are currently gathering information through the (Japanese) Ministry of Foreign Affairs while putting the safety of our employees first,” he said.
Chinese officials have repeatedly reassured foreign business executives in recent days that China is open and welcoming to foreign companies and investment. It is part of China’s efforts to boost the domestic economy after years of strict anti-epidemic measures.
Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang told foreign company executives attending a government-sponsored conference in Beijing on Sunday that China will comprehensively optimize the business environment to make foreign companies willing to come and stay.
In recent years, foreign companies have complained about China’s deteriorating business environment, expressing concerns about market access, government support for the state sector, intellectual property rights and visa controls.
New York-based Maxwise said five Chinese nationals were detained without prior notice at its Beijing office, which is now closed.
A Maxwise executive told The Wall Street Journal last week that the company doesn’t know who is detaining them, when they will be released, or why they were targeted. to the raid.
In recent days, the profile pages of at least two managing directors of Maxwise have disappeared from the company’s website. A cached version of the pages on Google showed that the profile page of Jesse Si, head of the Beijing office of Maxwise, was still accessible until March 11; the profile of Julie Yoon, the managing director in Hong Kong, was still accessible until March 11. The page will remain accessible until March 19.
When trying to visit the profile pages of the two men on the Meisizhi Group website on Monday, the result returned was: “The page cannot be found.”
A representative for Maxwise said the company had no further comment beyond Friday’s statement.
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