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HK reporter sentenced to five years in China

Members of a pro-democracy group hold a banner with a photo of jailed journalist Ching Cheong as they demonstrate at the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

A Hong Kong reporter for a Singapore newspaper was sentenced yesterday by a Chinese court to five years in prison on charges of spying for rival Taiwan, a high-profile verdict in a government crackdown that has seen dozens of journalists jailed.

Ching Cheong (程翔), a Hong Kong-based China correspondent for the Straits Times who has been detained in China since April last year, was also deprived of his political rights for a year and had personal property worth 300,000 yuan (US$37,700) confiscated, Xinhua news agency said.

Ching was detained in the southern province of Guangdong where, his wife has said, he had traveled to collect documents related to the disgraced former Chinese Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽).

Court officials in Beijing reached by telephone declined to comment on the verdict in a trial which was held behind closed doors. Ching's wife could not be reached.

Ching's lawyer, He Peihua (何培華), reached by telephone, said the family had asked him not to reveal any details.

Singapore Press Holdings Ltd, the parent of the Straits Times, urged China to consider freeing Ching on medical parole.

"As he is known to be suffering from high blood pressure and is not in the best of health, we appeal to the Chinese authorities to show him leniency," it said in a statement.

Xinhua said Ching received HK$300,000 from a Taiwanese foundation, which it did not identify but described as a front for Taiwan's intelligence apparatus.

Ching dealt with two people from the foundation surnamed Xue and Dai with full knowledge the pair were spies, Xinhua said, adding that -- using an alias -- he sent via fax and e-mail information involving state secrets and intelligence which he had gathered from others in Beijing.

China is the world's leading jailer of journalists, with at least 32 in custody and another 50 Internet campaigners also in prison, rights group Reporters Without Borders says.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it was "very dissatisfied" with the verdict and the lack of transparency and that Ching was likely to appeal.

Allen Lee (李鵬飛), a Hong Kong delegate of China's parliament and a friend of Ching, said the sentence was harsh.

"It's hard to imagine that he'd do anything damaging to the Chinese government," Lee said.

China-born Ching, like many Hong Kong residents, holds a passport of the Special Administrative Region as well as a British National (Overseas) passport. He is also a Singapore permanent resident.

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