Australian correspondents pulled out of China after five-day diplomatic standoff over national security case

Bill Birtles, the ABC’s correspondent based in Beijing, and Mike Smith, the AFR’s correspondent based in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Sydney last night after the pair were questioned separately by China’s Ministry of State security.
 
Birtles had spent four days sheltering in Australia’s embassy in Beijing, while Smith took refuge in Australia’s Shanghai consulate as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to safely leave the country.