China punishes veteran journalist on espionage charges: NPR

Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu is seen in this undated photo provided by his family on November 29, 2024.

Dong Yuyu’s family

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Dong Yuyu’s family

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China has sentenced a longtime Chinese state media journalist to seven years in prison on espionage charges, in a case that press freedom advocates criticized as opaque and politicized.

His family says 62-year-old Dong Yuyu was detained while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat at a Beijing hotel in February 2022 and was held in a secret location for six months before being formally charged with espionage, a charge he denies.

The 7-year prison sentence handed down in a Beijing court on Friday. months of delay In Dong’s punishment. As with all cases that China deems to be related to national security, Dong’s trial was held in secret, with no press or family present, and the court made no record of the testimony or evidence available to the public.

“Yuyu is being persecuted for the independence he showed throughout his life as a journalist,” his family said in a statement. he said.

On Friday, Dong’s lawyers and his family were allowed to appear in court for the sentencing verdict, which was read aloud but not shared in writing. The sentence accused Dong of improperly sharing information with two Japanese diplomats, including the then-Chinese ambassador, according to a statement from Dong’s family.

Known among academic and diplomatic circles for his liberal writings and scholarship, Dong worked for decades as a journalist and editor at the Guangming Daily, a publication run by the Communist Party. He frequently travels abroad and meets with foreign experts in China; which he always explained but his family now believes may have led to his arrest.

“He epitomizes the kind of people-to-people exchange that China has worked hard to establish and sustain over the past 30 years,” said the National Press Club, a Washington-based advocacy organization. he said in a statement After Dong’s case is concluded in 2023. “That era is now over.”

More than 60 academics, former diplomats and journalists signed An open letter protesting his arrest.

Dong between 2006 and 2007 studied at Harvard University after receiving the prestigious Nieman journalism fellowship. In 2010, he was a visiting professor at Keio University in Japan, and in 2014 he was a visiting professor at Hokkaido University.

HE wrote clearly He explained that he believed he could improve the rule of China’s ruling Communist Party, but that he was not a dissident or a revolutionary. In 2002, the state-run All China Journalists Association given dong a reward for a commentary track He wrote an article praising the achievements and plans of the Communist Party.

“Yuyu will now be remembered as a traitor in his own country, instead of being always known as someone who fought for a better Chinese society,” his family said.