(Beijing, May 2015) – Christine Adelhardt, ARD German TV
After five years as correspondent and bureau chief of ARD German TV in Beijing, my company organized a reception to bid farewell to me and to introduce my successor. For this event the Chairman of ARD and my chief editor came from Germany to Beijing.
We invited Chinese officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomats from various embassies, colleagues from international media, and interviewees I used to work with for my reporting. The German ambassador and his wife were also among the guests.
The day before the reception, police came to the venue (a restaurant in the Gulou area) and threatened the manager, warning that she was about to host “an anti-government-event”. They said that they would have a close look and come again the next day if the reception takes place.
I invited my guests by email and by invitation card sent to their homes. The day before the event, police came to the apartments of four of my guests. The police told them that they are not allowed to leave their homes the next day. They didn’t give an explanation why.
In two cases, police were stationed in front of the apartments of my guests for 24 hours to make sure that they would not leave their homes. Two of the guests never received the invitation card sent by mail. Three weeks later, the post office sent the cards back to me. On the envelope was written that it couldn’t be delivered although the address was correct.
The party did go ahead as planned.