A Beijing court on Friday sentenced veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison for espionage, his family said in a statement, calling the sentence a grave injustice.
Police in the Chinese capital detained a 62-year-old former Guangming Daily editor and journalist while he was having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in February 2022, according to a statement from the American Press Club. He was later charged with espionage.
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“Sentencing Yuyu to seven years in prison without any evidence is a declaration to the world that China’s judicial system is bankrupt,” Dong’s family said in a statement provided to Reuters.
“Today’s verdict is a grave injustice not only to Youyu and her family, but also to all free-thinking Chinese journalists and all ordinary Chinese people who are committed to friendly engagement with the world. .”
The family added in the ruling that the Japanese diplomats that Mr. Dong met were “specifically designated as employees of the ‘spy organization’ that is the Japanese embassy in Beijing.”
Dong’s conviction has a chilling effect, implying that all Chinese citizens “are expected to know that the Chinese government may consider these embassies to be ‘spy organizations.'” The paper said that it had caused this.
Police guarded the courtroom on Friday, with seven police cars parked nearby, and journalists were asked to leave. U.S. diplomats said they were barred from attending the hearing.
Dong has been held in a Beijing prison since a closed-door hearing in July 2023, the Press Club announced in September.
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“Chinese authorities must reverse this unjust judgment and protect the rights of journalists to work freely and safely in China,” said Bae Li Yi, Asia program manager at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Dong Yuyu should be reunited with his family soon.”
Mr. Dong had regular direct interactions with diplomats and journalists from various embassies.
The Japanese diplomat he met, one of two he met regularly in the past, was also detained for several hours, leading to charges from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the time, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the diplomat had engaged in activities in China that were “against his capabilities.” The diplomat was later released.
Dong, who was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2007, had served as a visiting scholar and visiting professor at Keio University and Hokkaido University in Japan, his family said in a statement in April 2023.
After graduating from Peking University Law School, he joined the ruling Communist Party-affiliated Guangming News in 1987, where he served as deputy editor-in-chief of the commentary section.
He has written op-ed articles in Chinese media and liberal academic journals on topics ranging from legal reform to social issues, and co-edited a book promoting the rule of law in China.
His article advocated moderate reforms while avoiding direct criticism of President Xi Jinping.
His family initially kept news of his detention private in hopes that the charges would be reduced or dropped, but said in a statement that they were told he would stand trial in March 2023. .
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating freedom of the press have called for his release, with more than 700 journalists, academics and NGO workers signing an online petition calling for his release.
“Dong Yuyu is a talented reporter and author whose work has long been respected by his colleagues,” said Anne Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
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“We join many others in praying for his release and return to his family.”
In February, a Beijing court sentenced Australian author and pro-democracy blogger Yang Hengjun to a suspended death sentence on charges of espionage.
