German journalists in China ask Merkel for help

German journalists based in China and who are suffering precarious working conditions have asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to address their conditions when she meets with Chinese leaders next week in Beijing. In a letter to the chancellor published Sunday, the journalists complain of repeated arbitrary harassment by Chinese authorities. “The behaviour of the police and state security in willfully obstructing our work has not changed; they have even blatantly threatened us by saying they would not renew our visas were we to report on ‘sensitive’ issues,” it said. The letter signed by 15 German journalists notes that Melissa Chan, an American journalist working for Al Jazeera, was forced to leave the country in May. Merkel, along with several of her cabinet members, will be in Beijing on August 30 and 31 for a second round of Sino-German intergovernmental consultations.