Chinese Professor at Japan Univ. Missing after Returning Home

Jiji Press

13:59 JST, March 19, 2024

Beijing (Jiji Press)—Chinese professor Hu Shiyun at Japan’s Kobe Gakuin University went missing after returning to China for a temporary stay last summer, university sources said Monday.

Hu’s family in Japan also said they have been unable to contact him. He may have been held by Chinese authorities.

According to the university, Hu is from Jiangsu Province, eastern China. He started working at the private university in the western Japan city of Kobe in 2015, mainly teaching Chinese classics.

He went back to China on a temporary basis in August last year, after the end of the first semester at the university.

Hu’s family contacted the university around late September, saying that they could not contact him and that he had not arrived back in Japan.

Earlier this month, the university asked the Chinese Consulate-General in the western Japan city of Osaka to check Hu’s safety. The university has yet to receive an answer.

Under President Xi Jinping, who emphasizes national security, the Chinese government has bolstered surveillance of foreign nationals and Chinese nationals linked to foreign countries.

In July last year, Beijing put into force a revised antiespionage law to expand the scope of espionage. The law is vague on what is considered an act of espionage, leading to growing concerns over possible arbitrary application.