Thai authorities began extradition proceedings on Thursday against a Chinese investigative reporter wanted by Beijing and detained for months in Thailand, his lawyer and an official told AFP.
Bai Zhaodong, 56, exposed government corruption in China over two decades before leaving in 2023 to escape "mounting persecution from the state", according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
He arrived in Thailand in 2024 and has been in detention in the Southeast Asian country since January 2026, the media rights group says.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in July that Bai was suspected of extortion and bribery, and said an extradition request had been submitted to Thailand.
"The prosecutor is bringing a case against him at court now. It is the beginning of the extradition hearing process," Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for Thailand's attorney general, told AFP on Thursday.
Bai's lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman also confirmed to AFP that he had been taken to court to face extradition proceedings.
The journalist has been held at Bangkok's Suan Phlu immigration detention centre since January 21, according to the Southeast Asia Legal Defense Initiative, which represents him.
RSF says a third country has offered him asylum, without specifying which, but Thai authorities had twice cancelled his flight and extended his detention.
Bergman has called on Thailand to grant the journalist permission to leave the country.
Thursday's development came on the eve of an expected decision on a legal challenge brought by Bai's lawyers against Thai authorities over his continued detention.
Beijing has long sought to clamp down on dissidents overseas, and campaigners accuse authorities in the Southeast Asian country -- where several notable activists have moved over the years -- of complicity in China's efforts.
Thailand is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention, but is bound by the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which bars countries from sending people back to places where their lives or freedom are in danger.
Nonetheless Bangkok deported 40 Uyghurs to China in February last year over the objections of activists, who said the men could be tortured or mistreated.
