Second SCMP reporter dropped out of contact in China last year, sources say

Taipei, Taiwan - A Hong Kong reporter who has been unreachable since travelling to China more than one month ago is the second journalist at her newspaper to have a lengthy unexplained absence from work in as many years, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. Minnie Chan, a reporter with the South China Morning Post, has been out of contact with friends since travelling to Beijing in late October to attend the Xiangshan Forum, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Thursday, raising fears she may have been detained by Chinese authorities. Chan's absence comes after another SCMP reporter dropped out of contact in China for a number of months in 2022, raising concerns among colleagues that they may have been detained, four people familiar with discussions in the newsroom told Al Jazeera. The reporter, whose work was not published at SCMP for a period of nine months, later returned to work at the newspaper, but in a different section covering less politically sensitive news. The reporter has not written for SCMP for a number of months and it is unclear if they are still employed at the newspaper. The SCMP declined to comment on "Speculative reporting" about the second reporter, citing privacy considerations. China is among the world's worst jailers of journalists, with at least 43 reporters in custody in 2022, according to the CPJ. Last month, Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist who worked with Chinese state-run CGTN, was released after spending three years in custody on national security charges.