China: Hard Times for an Easy Rider

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The Chinese government sent a blunt reminder last week of its determination to keep foreign journalists on a leash. New York Times Bureau Chief John Burns was detained for 15 hours at Peking's Shoudu Airport as he and his family tried to leave the country on a vacation. Officials from the Peking Public Security Bureau told the U.S. embassy that Burns was being investigated for "entering an area forbidden to foreigners, gathering intelligence information, and espionage." After being questioned at the airport, Burns was first escorted to his Peking apartment, where security officers conducted a two-hour video-taped search, and then to the Paozhu detention center.

The charges apparently grew out of a recent motorcycle trip Burns made through Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in north-central China. A.M. Rosenthal, executive editor of the New York Times, described Burns' excursion as "purely journalistic."