Australian woman asked to leave China after breaking quarantine

An Australian-Chinese woman was asked to leave China within a specified period of time by Beijing police after she refused to abide by quarantine rules on preventing the novel coronavirus and went outside to exercise without wearing a mask in Beijing.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau informed the woman, surnamed Liang, on Thursday that her work-related residence permit has also been revoked in line with the Chinese Exit and Entry Administration Law.

Liang's case aroused public attention and triggered the anger of netizens after a video in which she declined to follow quarantine rules during the outbreak went viral online, state-run China Daily reported.

After a police investigation, it was learned Liang, 47, who works for Bayer - a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, arrived in Beijing on Saturday. The deadline of her work-related residence permit is September 5, according to the bureau.

Beijing is strictly implementing quarantine rules following spike in imported coronavirus cases. Instead of staying at home for the two-week observation as required, she was found running outside without wearing a mask, and did not listen and even shouted "help" when a community staff member tried to persuade her to go home.

She did not obey until the police arrived and gave her a warning, the report said.

Beijing police called for people to cooperate with quarantine and health checks after returning to the city, especially when the number of imported confirmed cases is rising. Those who do not comply with the laws and rules will be held liable, police said.

On Tuesday, the woman was dismissed by her company. Bayer's China branch said in a statement that the employee would be sacked for her behaviour, noting the company always abides by the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, and firmly supports the anti-epidemic measures of the Chinese government and people, the report said.