Bai Zhaodong fights China extradition in Thailand

Thai authorities began extradition proceedings on October 8 against Bai Zhaodong, a Chinese investigative reporter wanted by Beijing, his lawyer and a Thai official told AFP.

Bai, 56, was brought to the Criminal Court in Bangkok, where he confirmed he would fight extradition, lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman said. Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for Thailand's attorney general, said it was the beginning of the extradition hearing process.

China's foreign ministry said in July that Bai was suspected of extortion and bribery and that an extradition request had been submitted to Thailand.

Reporters Without Borders says Bai exposed government corruption in China for two decades before leaving in 2023 to escape what it described as mounting state persecution. The group says he is recognised by the United Nations as a refugee, arrived in Thailand in 2024 and has been detained there since January 2026.

Bergman said Bai had been held at an immigration centre but was moved to Bangkok Remand Prison, where he will remain during the extradition proceedings. The next hearing, to examine evidence, was set for January 25.

Reporters Without Borders advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska called Bai's treatment scandalous and said the group believes his life could be at risk if he is returned to China.

Bai's legal team says an undisclosed third country has offered him asylum, but two attempts to travel there were cancelled this year after Thai immigration authorities withheld exit clearance without explanation.