The Australian government is investigating the reported disappearance of a Chinese-Australian writer following concerns he may have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Novelist and influential online commentator Yang Hengjun did not complete the second leg of a journey from Sydney to Shanghai after flying out of Australia on January 18 with his wife and son, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Friends of Dr Yang are concerned he may have been detained by Chinese officials before boarding the flight from Guangzhou.
Australia's foreign affairs department on Wednesday said it was "seeking information about an Australian citizen who has been reported missing in China".
Former China correspondent John Garnaut says Dr Yang is "not only brilliant but extraordinarily popular among the Chinese-speaking world and a courageous and committed democrat".
"This will reverberate globally if authorities do not quickly find an off-ramp," Mr Garnaut wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Similar concerns were raised for Dr Yang's safety in 2011 when he disappeared after calling a friend from a Chinese airport claiming he was being followed by three men.
He later claimed the matter had been a "misunderstanding".
