Beijing – A veteran Chinese journalist who labored at a ruling Communist Party-affiliated newspaper and was a Harvard University fellow faces espionage expenses after being detained whereas assembly with a Japanese diplomat in a restaurant, his household mentioned Monday.
Dong Yuyu, deputy head of the editorial division at Guangming Daily, often met with overseas journalists and diplomats to assist perceive world tendencies. But Chinese authorities regarded his contacts with overseas diplomats as proof of spying, in keeping with a household assertion.
Dong is the most recent in a collection of liberal Chinese voices to be accused by the federal government of being linked to what it phrases overseas interference.
As a non-Communist Party member, he was some of the pro-reform voices at Guangming Daily and wrote articles in favor of an unbiased authorized system, his household mentioned. He was awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-07 and have become a visiting fellow at Keio University in Japan in 2010. Four years later, he served as a visiting professor at Hokkaido University in Japan.
But his writings brought about him issues in China. In 2017, an investigation by social gathering authorities discovered that a few of his articles have been ‘anti-socialist’ and Dong was threatened with demotion, his household mentioned.
He was detained in February 2022 whereas consuming lunch with a Japanese diplomat at a restaurant in a Beijing lodge the place he typically met with overseas associates, the assertion mentioned.
The diplomat was additionally detained, triggering a powerful protest from Japan’s Foreign Ministry. The diplomat was launched after a number of hours, however Dong has remained in detention.
Last month, his household was instructed that Dong shall be tried however the date remains to be unclear, the assertion mentioned. In China, espionage could be penalized with a jail time period of greater than 10 years.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning mentioned she didn’t know the specifics of Dong’s case when she was requested about it. The ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for additional remark.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to remark when he was requested concerning the case, citing the sensitivity of the difficulty.
Dong’s case has drawn worldwide consideration, with the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., issuing an announcement on Monday calling for his launch.
More than 60 folks, together with outstanding overseas journalists and teachers, additionally signed a petition urging the Chinese authorities to rethink the fees in opposition to Dong, saying conferences with overseas diplomats and journalists shouldn’t be considered proof of espionage.
‘Who would wish to come to China to fulfill Chinese journalists, teachers or diplomats if these conferences might be used as proof that the Chinese aspect is committing espionage?’ they wrote within the petition.
Separately, a bunch of writers and students issued an announcement on Saturday calling for the discharge of Taiwan-based writer Li Yanhe, who was reportedly detained in Shanghai. They mentioned his lawyer and members of the family haven’t been allowed to see him. Radio Free Asia reported final week that Li was detained throughout a visit to go to relations in China.
Last 12 months, an Australian journalist, Cheng Lei, was tried in China on nationwide safety expenses however has not but discovered of the decision, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong mentioned final month. Cheng was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets and techniques.