China to convict reporter

A Chinese court will likely convict Hong Kong-based reporter Ching Cheong (程翔) of spying for Taiwan soon and sentence him to eight to 10 years behind bars, a Hong Kong newspaper reported yesterday.

The Ming Pao Daily News, citing people familiar with the case, said it's unclear if Ching -- a China correspondent for Singapore's biggest newspaper, the Straits Times, will serve the sentence or be expelled from the country.

The Ming Pao said that Beijing's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court would soon rule on Ching, and that prosecutors have a strong case.

It said Ching will likely receive a prison term of eight to 10 years.

A man who answered the phone yesterday at Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said no one was immediately available for comment and asked a reporter to call again today.

Chinese security agents picked up Ching on April 22, last year, in Guangzhou.

Four months later, the official Xinhua news agency said Ching was charged with spying for Taiwan. State media said Ching confessed to setting up extensive espionage channels and selling classified state secrets -- especially military secrets -- to Taiwan. Ching's wife and supporters insist the veteran journalist is innocent.

Meanwhile, a Chinese court has postponed for a month its verdict in the case of New York Times researcher Zhao Yan (趙岩), who was tried earlier this month for leaking state secrets and fraud, his lawyer said yesterday.

Zhao, 44, was put on trial on June 16 at the Beijing No.2 Intermediate Court. No witnesses were summoned during the eight-hour closed-door hearing and his relatives were denied access.

"The court applied for an extension of one month ... the verdict may come out any time before July 25," one of Zhao's lawyers, Guan Anping (關安平), told reporters.

He said the delay was necessary because the court wanted time to re-examine evidence and legal documents.

"There is a big discrepancy between the prosecuting and the defending sides, so under this situation, cautiousness is a good thing," he said. "How well or badly this case is handled will have an impact on the credibility of China's legal system in the outside world."

Officials at the Beijing court were not available for comment yesterday. Guan said he had visited Zhao last week and that he appeared to be in good spirits.

"He seemed to be confident in our defense of him in court. He appeared to be well and his thinking was clear," Guan said.