China says it has released Bloomberg staffer Haze Fan on bail

Fan was detained in December 2020 on suspicion of endangering national security

The news agency says it was ‘encouraged’ by a statement from the Chinese embassy in the US but has not yet been able to contact her

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Haze Fan worked for Bloomberg’s bureau in Beijing. Photo: Twitter

Published: 6:59pm, 14 Jun 2022Updated: 9:55pm, 14 Jun 2022

Bloomberg News said on Tuesday it was “encouraged” to learn that Chinese authorities had apparently released its employee Haze Fan on bail, more than a year after she was detained for suspected national security violations.

Fan, a Chinese national who worked for the US news outlet’s bureau in Beijing, was detained in December 2020, a few months after Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei was held on similar charges.

According to a statement on the Chinese embassy in Washington website dated last month, authorities have released her although she remains under investigation pending trial.

“At the request of Fan’s lawyer, China’s state security authority decided to release her on bail in January 2022,” the statement said.

Bloomberg News said in a Tuesday news report it was only made aware of the statement last weekend, and had not been able to contact Fan.

“We are encouraged that Haze is out on bail,” Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait said.