A Chinese court sentenced a high-ranking editor and columnist for a major Communist Party newspaper to seven years in prison on espionage charges. His family stated that the sentence was a punishment for his past writings critical of the government and a warning to Chinese citizens against engaging with foreigners.
The journalist, Dong Yuyu, 62, was arrested in Beijing in 2022 while dining with a Japanese diplomat, who was also briefly detained. Throughout his career, Mr. Dong had regular interactions with foreign diplomats and journalists and was known for advocating the rule of law and constitutional democracy, ideals that the ruling Communist Party claims to support but actively suppresses.
Mr. Dong's writings included critiques of the party's selective interpretation of Chinese history, particularly regarding events like the Cultural Revolution. Such criticisms were historically common among Chinese intellectuals, but since Xi Jinping assumed leadership in 2012, the party has nearly eliminated dissent and fostered distrust of foreigners under the guise of national security.
In 2022, China expanded its definition of espionage, prompting the state security agency to call for a "whole-of-society mobilization" against spies. Mr. Dong's family released a statement describing his conviction and sentence as a "grave injustice," asserting it affects not only him but all free-thinking journalists in China.
The statement emphasized that Mr. Dong is being persecuted for his independence as a journalist, arguing that he should be recognized for his efforts to improve Chinese society rather than branded a traitor.
Following his arrest, Mr. Dong was held incommunicado for six months before being formally charged, with his trial occurring in July 2023. The court delayed the verdict and sentencing multiple times. The charges related to national security remain confidential, and trials are conducted behind closed doors.
According to the family's statement, the judgment referenced Mr. Dong's contacts with a former Japanese ambassador to China and another Japanese diplomat as evidence of his supposed connections to espionage. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing refrained from commenting on the case while maintaining that diplomatic activities are conducted legitimately.
Authorities also scrutinized Mr. Dong's participation in fellowships and exchanges in Japan and the United States, raising concerns for many other Chinese scholars and professionals involved in international exchanges.
Mr. Dong's career flourished during a period when the Chinese government encouraged engagement with the outside world. He began working at Guangming Daily in 1987 and gained recognition for exposing corruption and advocating for various social issues.
He contributed to liberal-leaning Chinese publications and wrote articles for The New York Times's Chinese-language website, focusing on governmental priorities and his aspirations for his son's education abroad. Mr. Dong also completed a Nieman journalism fellowship at Harvard University in 2006 and was a visiting scholar at two Japanese universities.
Under Xi Jinping's leadership, the space for individual expression in China diminished significantly, with journalists prohibited from writing for foreign outlets and many academics required to seek permission before meeting foreigners. In 2017, officials labeled some of Mr. Dong's work as "anti-socialist," prompting him to continue writing under a pen name.
Mr. Dong was detained on February 21, 2022, while dining with the Japanese diplomat, who was later released following diplomatic protests. Despite his imprisonment, Mr. Dong's family reported that he remained in good spirits and planned to appeal the verdict.
Numerous academics, journalists, and media freedom advocates abroad have called for his release, highlighting a trend of increased targeting of Chinese citizens engaging with foreign diplomats. Recent arrests of human rights activists Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan further illustrate this concerning pattern, as they were sentenced in 2023 for meeting with European Union diplomats.