An Open Letter to Mr. Jia Qinglin Chairman,
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, PRC
June 27, 2006

Dear Honourable Chairman Jia,

We extend to you our warmest welcome on your visit to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We believe your visit will contribute to deepening your understanding of the HKSAR's circumstances.

Ching Cheong, our long-time friend and seasoned journalist, has now been detained by the Mainland authorities for over fourteen months. We hope the case will be expeditiously concluded. The longer it drags on, we believe the more it will cause harm to the international reputation of our Country's legal system.

Ever since his graduation from University, Ching Cheong had dedicated himself to journalism, and he had served the patriotic news agencies for a long time. Among his peers, he was known for his sharp and noteworthy news analysis, as well as his high standards of self-discipline and professional ethics. Although it is common practice for international professional journalists to research wide and deep into subject matters, we recognize that there might not be a total convergence of the laws and regulations of journalistic practice between the Mainland and the international community. We have therefore continued to appeal to the authorities to consider the Ching case in the light of the differences in the laws and regulations under ‘One Country, Two Systems', and to handle the case in a lenient manner.

Having known Ching Cheong for some 30 to 40 years, we steadfastly stand by his character and integrity. He has always had great love for the Motherland and Hong Kong , been earnestly promoting communication across the Strait and striving for the Country's unification. His unambiguous and well-known stance has won him much deep friendship in Hong Kong , Singapore , both sides of the Strait, and elsewhere in the world. Among Ching Cheong's Hong Kong friends and peers are many of the hardcore patriotic Hong Kong-belongers who regard him as a role model. If our Country was to penalize Ching Cheong, a well-intended person known for loving his country and its people, it will send a wrong message to society creating major conceptual confusion and emotional antagonism.

The Ching case has been an important concern of a large cross-section of the community for a long while now; those who support an early, rational and reasonable resolution of the case are by no means confined to Ching Cheong's old friends and professional peers, nor are they restricted to certain social strata and political affiliations. In fact, the widespread concern of the Ching case reflects the deep-seated apprehensions amongst the HKSAR citizens since the handover about their rights in the Mainland pertaining to protection, freedom, and legal representation. Accordingly, we sincerely request you, Mr. Chairman, to lend assistance in securing fair treatment and early resumption of Ching Cheong's freedom so that the HK citizens' worries might ease.

At the risk of intrusion, we venture to request a meeting with your goodself so that we can present to you direct our understanding of Ching Cheong as a person and our bewilderment and thinking about the Ching case, all for the purpose of finding a satisfactory conclusion of the incident.

We extend to you our warmest regards,

Yours faithfully,

The Ching Cheong Incident Concern Group