Veteran Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu, a 2007 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, has been sentenced by a Beijing court to seven years in prison on espionage charges.
Commenting on the decision, Nieman Foundation curator Ann Marie Lipinski said: “Dong Yuyu is a talented reporter whose work has long been respected by colleagues in China and abroad and whose routine reporting activities are now unjustly characterized as espionage. He is a cherished member of the international Nieman Fellows community, where he is known for the care and diligence he has brought to his writing. We stand with many in hoping for a speedy reversal of this harsh decision so he may return to his family as soon as possible.”
Dong, a senior columnist and editor at the Communist Party newspaper Guangming Daily, had been detained on Feb. 21, 2022, while dining with a Japanese diplomat in a Beijing restaurant and has been in custody ever since. The diplomat was also briefly detained before being released. Dong was officially charged with spying in March 2023.
In a statement, Dong’s family said: “Today’s verdict is a grave injustice not only to Yuyu and his family but also to every freethinking Chinese journalist and every ordinary Chinese committed to friendly engagement with the world.” They added “Yuyu will now be known as a traitor in his own country, instead of being recognized as someone who always fought for a better Chinese society. This baseless assault on Yuyu’s love for his country is unacceptable, and we will support Yuyu’s upcoming appeal of his conviction.”
In the course of his work, Dong often met with foreign diplomats, academics and journalists and advocated for change in China in his writing. He contributed to various Chinese publications and wrote articles for The New York Times Chinese website. In addition to his Nieman Fellowship, he was a visiting scholar at two Japanese universities.
On X, U.S. ambassador to China Nicholas Burns stated “I condemn today's sentencing of veteran Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison on espionage charges. Punishing Dong for exercising his freedom of speech and the press, guaranteed by the PRC’s constitution for all its citizens, is unjust.”
Speaking to The Guardian, writer Ian Johnson, Dong’s friend and Nieman classmate, noted that the sentence “shows that the government is trying to send a message that normal contacts with the outside world are undesirable. The government presented no evidence that Mr. Dong committed espionage. Instead, it made the dubious argument that meeting with diplomats is in itself suspicious behaviour.”
Edward Wong a 2018 Nieman Fellow and diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, commented on X: “China sends a message to the world with this harsh sentencing — telling them that anyone engaging in people-to-people exchanges could be labeled a spy. Dong Yuyu, 62, was a respected journalist and @Harvard fellow doing ordinary meetings with diplomats and foreign journalists.”
CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi said “Interacting with diplomats is part of a journalist’s job. Jailing journalists on bogus and vicious charges like espionage is a travesty of justice … We condemn this unjust verdict and call on the Chinese authorities to protect the right of journalists to work freely and safely in China. Dong Yuyu must be reunited with his family.”
Additional reading:
Family Statement on Dong Yuyu’s Verdict and Sentencing (Nov. 29, 2024)
The New York Times
Chinese Court Sentences Journalist to 7 Years in Prison for Espionage
Dong Yuyu, who has written articles critical of the Communist Party, was arrested in 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat.
The New York Times
U.S. Condemns China’s Harsh Sentence for a Prominent Journalist
The sentencing of Dong Yuyu, a former Harvard Nieman fellow, signals that officials consider some exchanges between Chinese citizens and foreigners to be espionage.
The Washington Post
Chinese journalist and former Harvard fellow sentenced to 7 years
Dong Yuyu’s conviction on espionage charges shows how the space for independent thought and open discussion in China has narrowed since Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
The Committee to Protect Journalists
CPJ condemns 7-year jail sentence for Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu on spy charges
The Guardian
China sentences journalist to seven years on spy charges, family says
Dong Yuyu was detained in 2022 after meeting Japanese diplomats named agents of ‘espionage organisation’
