InternationalNews
Chinese Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Espionage After Meeting Japanese Diplomats
Sudan Events – Agencies
A Beijing court sentenced Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison for espionage, his family reported on Friday.
Dong, a prominent columnist for the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Guangming Daily, was arrested in February 2022 alongside a Japanese diplomat at a Beijing restaurant. The diplomat was released after several hours of questioning, but Dong, 62, was charged with espionage last year.
According to a statement shared by Dong’s family with AFP, the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing convicted him of espionage, a charge requiring prosecutors to prove the defendant knowingly acted on behalf of intelligence organizations or their agents.
The court identified the Japanese diplomats Dong met, including then-Ambassador Hideo Tarumi and Masaru Okada, the current senior diplomat in Shanghai, as agents of a “spy organization,” the family said.
“We are shocked by the Chinese authorities’ blatant designation of a foreign embassy as a spy organization and their accusations against the former Japanese ambassador and other diplomats as spies,” the family stated.
Reacting to the case, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday, “China is a country governed by law.”
The Japanese embassy declined to comment on the case directly, but a spokesperson told AFP via email, “The diplomatic activities of Japanese missions abroad are conducted lawfully.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the verdict as “unjust” and called for Dong’s immediate release.
“Engaging with diplomats is part of a journalist’s work,” said Beh Lih Yi, the committee’s Asia program coordinator. “This verdict cements China’s position as the world’s largest jailer of journalists.”
Under Chinese law, espionage convictions can lead to three to ten years of imprisonment in less severe cases, while more serious offenses can result in life imprisonment.