China court jails journalist for seven years on spy charges, family says

A Beijing court sentenced veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu on Friday to seven years in prison for espionage, a family member told Reuters.

Police in the Chinese capital detained the 62-year-old former Guangming Daily editor and journalist in February 2022 while he was lunching with a Japanese diplomat, the U.S. National Press Club said in a statement. He was later charged with espionage.

Police guarded the court on Thursday, with seven police cars parked nearby, and journalists were asked to leave the area. A U.S. diplomat said they had been barred from attending the hearing.

Dong's family member spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity as the case is a sensitive one.Dong has been detained in a Beijing prison awaiting the verdict since a closed-court hearing in July 2023, the press club said in September.

"Engaging with diplomats is part of a journalist’s job. Jailing journalists on bogus and unjust charges like espionage is a travesty of justice," said Beh Lih Yi, Asia program manager at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"Chinese authorities must reverse this unjust verdict, and protect the right of journalists to work freely and safely in China. Dong Yuyu should be reunited with his family immediately."

Dong regularly had in-person exchanges with diplomats from various embassies and journalists. The Japanese diplomat he met was also detained for several hours, spurring a complaint from Japan's foreign ministry.

At the time, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the diplomat was engaged in activities "inconsistent with their capacity" in China. The diplomat was later released.

A Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2007, Dong was a visiting scholar and visiting professor at Keio University and Hokkaido University in Japan, his family said in a statement in April 2023.

He joined the Guangming Daily, affiliated to the ruling Communist Party, in 1987, after graduating from Peking University law school, and was the deputy editor of its commentary section.

He wrote opinion articles in Chinese media and liberal academic journals on topics from legal reforms to social issues, and co-edited a book promoting the rule of law in China.

His articles advocated moderate reforms while avoiding direct criticism of President Xi Jinping.

His family had initially kept news of his detention private in the hope that charges could be reduced or dropped, but were told in March 2023 that he would stand trial, they said in their statement.

Non-government bodies (NGOs) advocating press freedom have called for his release, with more than 700 journalists, academics and NGO workers signing an online petition for him to be freed.

"Dong Yuyu is a talented reporter and author whose work has long been respected by colleagues," said Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

"We stand with many in hoping for his release and return to his family."In February, a Beijing court handed a suspended death sentence to Australian writer and pro-democracy blogger, Yang Hengjun, on espionage charges.