CHINA: Hong Kong-based journalist faces jail on espionage charge

The Hong Kong journalist accused of spying for Taiwan has finally been tried in China. Ching Cheong, the chief China correspondent for Singapore's Straits Times newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He's yet to be sentenced. And Hong Kong's journalism community is closely monitoring the outcome.

Presenter/Interviewer: Heuy Fern Tay
Speakers: Willy Lam, China analyst; Ong Yew Kim, honorary research fellow, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Serenade Woo, chairwoman, Hong Kong's Journalist Association

LAU: My name is Mary Lau. I'm Mr Ching Cheong's wife. For the first month, we listened to the state security bureau's people's advice to keep quiet, so we said nothing about his detention. Both me and the Straits Times just kept our mouth shut.

TAY: After being detained for 16 months, Ching Cheong's trial ended swiftly on Tuesday, behind closed doors without any verdict, except for Mr Ching's lawyers, no one else was allowed to attend the trial, which had been postponed on numerous occasions.

Mr Ching has yet to know his fate, but veteran China analyst, Willy Lam, feels it would be difficult to secure his release. He shed light on the case when it was still in its early stages last June.

LAM: The trouble with Mr Ching's case is that it, because it allegedly involves the leakage of state secrets and also allegedly his supplying information to intelligence organisations overseas, is treated in a special way and a lot of the decisions that will be made by the Chinese authorities will be political decisions, so it's not just an ordinary, criminal or civil case.

TAY: The secretive nature of Mr Ching's trial gave rise to questions of a fair hearing. Even Chinese prosecutors themselves were unconvinced with the evidence presented before them in February this year and sent it back to the Ministry of State Security. Ong Yew Kim, is an honorary research fellow with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

KIM: (Interpretation) Mr Ching's case is complicated because the investigations include Taiwanese intelligence agencies. This is obviously difficult to do from China and because there's no direct evidence, it's caused this case to be dragged on for more than a year.

TAY: The charges of espionage laid against Mr Ching shocked the journalism community in Hong Kong, where Mr Ching is widely respected for his in-depth knowledge on Chinese affairs. They rally tens-of-thousands into signing a petition to ensure the case made its way to the top of Hong Kong authorities.

Two weeks after Mr Willy Lam spoke to us, Mr Ching's detention even appeared on Donald Tsang's agenda, when he flew to Beijing to be sworn in as chief executive of Hong Kong.

Ms Serenade Woo, the chairwoman for the territory's Journalists Association says the unsuccessful high level intervention has some local journalists on the China beat worried.

WOO: They have to go to China to cover the news and at the same time for those of them who are not so familiar with China’s laws, as the definitions of China’s laws are very ambiguous and not so easy to understand, so they keep an eye on Mr Ching's case.

TAY: Understanding the rules of the game will no doubt be challenging. Chinese law expert, Ong Yew Kim again.

KIM: (Interpretation) Some Hong Kong reporters and foreign correspondents based in China find it difficult to differentiate between news information and intelligence information. They are unfamiliar with Chinese law and they forget that they can't report as freely as they can in a Western country. Very often, they stray into areas that the Chinese Government does not want reported.

TAY: Singapore's Straits Times newspaper says it hopes for the best outcome and will continue to assist Mr Ching and his family in all possible ways.

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