Ching Cheong (Chinese: 程翔; born 22 December 1949) is a senior journalist with The Straits Times. He is best known for having been detained by the People's Republic of China on allegations of spying for Taiwan. He was imprisoned from April 2005 to February 2008; spending over 1,000 days in prison.[1]
In 1974, he joined the pro-Communist China newspaper Wen Wei Po (文匯報), of which he eventually became vice-editorial manager. After the Tiananmen massacre of 4 June 1989, Ching and around 40 other journalists resigned from the newspaper in protest.[1] After that he, Li Zhisong, and others founded Commentary, a magazine commenting on China.
In 1996, he joined the staff of the Singapore-based Straits Times. At first he was assigned to the Taiwan desk, where his articles clearly showed a pro-unification stance. These articles are collected in a book called 'Will Taiwan Break Away: The Rise of Taiwanese Nationalism' . Ching was later named China correspondent for the journal.
Arrest on spy charges
In the spring of 2005, he entered mainland China on a Home Return Permit, while researching former Communist Party leader, Zhao Ziyang. On 22 April 2005, he was charged with spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and was arrested in Guangzhou.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry later reported that he had confessed to these accusations. Formal charges were drawn up on 5 August. He was charged with passing state secrets to the Republic of China (Taiwan) over a period of five years. In particular, he was accused of using money provided by Taiwan to purchase political and military information. He is the first Hong Kong journalist to be charged with spying since the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997. Ching's wife, Mary Lau, said the charges were 'ludicrous'[citation needed]. She also added that Ching had apparently fallen victim to entrapment by an intermediary as he was trying to obtain recordings of secret interviews with the former Prime Minister.[2]
During the incident, some tabloids in Hong Kong insinuated that he was spying because he had to earn money for a mistress in China. The supposed mistress went to Hong Kong from China and gave witness that she had no relationship with Ching. The accusation ceased when a lot of evidence showed that Ching Cheong was innocent.[citation needed]
On 12 January 2006, 35 legislative councillors including 10 pro-Beijing councillors (including three from the Liberal Party, three from the DAB, and one from the Alliance Party) signed an open letter asking the Chinese authorities to release Ching unless there was sufficient evidence.
On 22 February 2006, the prosecutor in charge of Ching's case decided to send his file back to the State Security Department for further investigation. The trial was thus delayed for at least one month.
Ching was tried in camera, found guilty of spying, and was sentenced on 31 August 2006 to five years' imprisonment.[3] The family's statement on the same day stated the verdict was extremely biased, adopting only evidence of the Procuratorate while ignoring almost all defence arguments and Ching's defence.[citation needed]
On 1 September 2006, Ching's wife reported that her husband had called the verdict "very unfair" and vowed to appeal the sentence.[4]
On 5 February 2008, the Chinese government announced that they had released Ching from prison early, days before the Chinese New Year holiday.[5]
"Journalist held for seeking truth on Tiananmen killings", The Times Online, 31 May 2005.
"Detained Journalist's Wife Says China Set Him Up", Radio Free Asia, 31 May 2005.
, The Standard, 31 May 2005.
China rejects journalist appeal, BBC NEWS
April 23, 2023
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Not to be confused with Ching chong In this Chinese name the family name is Ching Ching Cheong Chinese 程翔 born 22 December 1949 is a senior journalist with The Straits Times He is best known for having been detained by the People s Republic of China on allegations of spying for Taiwan He was imprisoned from April 2005 to February 2008 spending over 1 000 days in prison 1 Ching CheongBorn 1949 12 22 22 December 1949 age 73 Chaochow Canton ChinaAlma materSt Paul s College Hong KongUniversity of Hong KongCriminal penalty5 years in prisonCriminal statusreleasedChing CheongChinese程翔TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinCheng XiangWade GilesCh eng HsiangYale RomanizationCheng SyangIPA ʈʂʰe ŋ ɕja ŋ Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationChihng CheuhngJyutpingCing4 Coeng4One of the Free Ching Cheong posters Contents 1 Life 2 Arrest on spy charges 3 See also 4 References 5 Published works 6 External linksLife EditChing was born in Guangzhou China on 3 December 1949 He was educated in St Paul s College Hong Kong and graduated from Hong Kong University in 1973 with a degree in Economics In 1974 he joined the pro Communist China newspaper Wen Wei Po 文匯報 of which he eventually became vice editorial manager After the Tiananmen massacre of 4 June 1989 Ching and around 40 other journalists resigned from the newspaper in protest 1 After that he Li Zhisong and others founded Commentary a magazine commenting on China In 1996 he joined the staff of the Singapore based Straits Times At first he was assigned to the Taiwan desk where his articles clearly showed a pro unification stance These articles are collected in a book called Will Taiwan Break Away The Rise of Taiwanese Nationalism Ching was later named China correspondent for the journal Arrest on spy charges EditIn the spring of 2005 he entered mainland China on a Home Return Permit while researching former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang On 22 April 2005 he was charged with spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and was arrested in Guangzhou The Chinese Foreign Ministry later reported that he had confessed to these accusations Formal charges were drawn up on 5 August He was charged with passing state secrets to the Republic of China Taiwan over a period of five years In particular he was accused of using money provided by Taiwan to purchase political and military information He is the first Hong Kong journalist to be charged with spying since the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997 Ching s wife Mary Lau said the charges were ludicrous citation needed She also added that Ching had apparently fallen victim to entrapment by an intermediary as he was trying to obtain recordings of secret interviews with the former Prime Minister 2 In June 2005 the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders organised a petition calling for Ching s immediate release from unfair detention The petition containing more than 13 000 signatures was sent to Hu Jintao then General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People s Republic of China The International Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists also protested Ching Cheong s detention The British Government was also asked to intervene as Ching Cheong held a British National Overseas passport During the incident some tabloids in Hong Kong insinuated that he was spying because he had to earn money for a mistress in China The supposed mistress went to Hong Kong from China and gave witness that she had no relationship with Ching The accusation ceased when a lot of evidence showed that Ching Cheong was innocent citation needed On 12 January 2006 35 legislative councillors including 10 pro Beijing councillors including three from the Liberal Party three from the DAB and one from the Alliance Party signed an open letter asking the Chinese authorities to release Ching unless there was sufficient evidence On 22 February 2006 the prosecutor in charge of Ching s case decided to send his file back to the State Security Department for further investigation The trial was thus delayed for at least one month Ching was tried in camera found guilty of spying and was sentenced on 31 August 2006 to five years imprisonment 3 The family s statement on the same day stated the verdict was extremely biased adopting only evidence of the Procuratorate while ignoring almost all defence arguments and Ching s defence citation needed On 1 September 2006 Ching s wife reported that her husband had called the verdict very unfair and vowed to appeal the sentence 4 On 5 February 2008 the Chinese government announced that they had released Ching from prison early days before the Chinese New Year holiday 5 See also EditJiang WeipingReferences Edit a b Ten years since arrest of Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong in Shenzhen Post Magazine Post Magazine Retrieved 3 May 2016 Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong accused of spying Press release Reporters Without Borders Archived from the original on 8 September 2006 Retrieved 31 August 2006 China jails HK reporter 5 years for spying Reuters Financial Times 31 August 2006 Retrieved 31 August 2006 Jailed China journalist to appeal BBC News 1 September 2006 Retrieved 1 September 2006 Wong Kelvin 5 February 2008 China Releases Jailed Straits Times Journalist Ching Cheong Bloomberg Retrieved 5 February 2008 China frees Hong Kong journalist BBCPublished works EditWill Taiwan Break Away The Rise of Taiwanese Nationalism Singapore University Press 2001 ISBN 981 02 4486 X with Ching Hung Yee Handbook on China s WTO Accession and Its Impacts Imperial College Press 2003 ISBN 981 238 061 2External links EditChing Cheong Foundation Ltd s official site in Chinese Reporters Sans Frontiers article Ching Cheong trial adjourned for lack of evidence International press freedom groups call for Ching Cheong s release IFEX Hong Kong Journalists Association Red Fear in Hong Kong The Asia Times 9 June 2005 Journalist held for seeking truth on Tiananmen killings The Times Online 31 May 2005 Detained Journalist s Wife Says China Set Him Up Radio Free Asia 31 May 2005 Zhao manuscript chase leads to arrest The Standard 31 May 2005 China rejects journalist appeal BBC NEWS Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ching Cheong amp oldid 1134262095, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
