Chinese Guangming Daily Editor Dong Yuyu Gets 7 Years for Espionage After Meeting Japanese Diplomat

Nov 29, 2024, 07:44 AM

On Friday, a Beijing court sentenced 62-year-old Dong Yuyu, a veteran Chinese journalist and former deputy director of Guangming Daily's editorial department, to seven years in prison on espionage charges. Dong was detained in February 2022 after meeting with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing. His conviction relates to his interactions over decades with diplomats, academics, and journalists from Japan and the United States. Guangming Daily is a major Communist Party newspaper. Dong's family described the verdict as a declaration of the 'bankruptcy of the justice system in China' and stated that they will support his appeal. The case has raised concerns about the limitations on 'people-to-people diplomacy' that Chinese authorities have claimed to support.