A former senior editor at a major Chinese newspaper affiliated with the ruling Communist Party was indicted in March for allegedly leaking information to multiple Japanese diplomats, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
Dong Yuyu, a 61-year-old former deputy head of the Guangming Daily editorial department, went missing in February last year after meeting with a Japanese Embassy official in Beijing.
The sources said Dong, known as a liberal commentator, was detained by authorities shortly after that meeting on Feb. 21, 2022, and arrested in September. He was indicted on March 23 on a charge of espionage but denied the allegation, they added.
Amid tense bilateral relations with Japan, China has been cracking down on those allegedly involved in espionage to ensure national security. A senior employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. was detained by China last month on suspicion of engaging in spying activities.
In February 2022, the Japanese diplomat in Beijing who had met with Dong was detained temporarily while on duty, with China justifying its action on grounds that the official was engaged in activities "inappropriate" for his job.
At that time, Tokyo demanded that Beijing issue an apology and prevent a recurrence saying the incident clearly violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which requires the hosting state to prevent any disturbance of the peace of a diplomatic mission or impairment of its dignity.
More than 60 people including American journalist Bob Woodward and Tomoko Ako, a China studies professor at the University of Tokyo, have signed an open letter of concern over Dong's indictment, saying he faces more than a decade in prison for what they believe were "normal contacts with foreigners."
The former senior editor, who is not a Communist Party member, knew numerous Japanese and American journalists, scholars, and diplomats. He was awarded fellowships at Harvard University and Keio University and was a visiting professor at Hokkaido University in Japan, according to Dong's family.
Dong is a longtime friend of Hideo Tarumi, the current Japanese ambassador to China, and was invited to his residence for a Lunar New Year celebration in early 2021, the family added.
The letter said that no evidence indicating Dong's acceptance of bribes has been presented to his legal team.
A family member suspected Dong's indictment was politically motivated and said he was made a "scapegoat" for deteriorating Sino-Japanese ties.
In 2009, a former senior employee of China's official Xinhua News Agency was sentenced to 18 years in prison for passing state secrets to foreign diplomats, including then Japanese Ambassador to China Yuji Miyamoto.
Miyamoto handed cash worth over $30,000 to the former Xinhua official, according to sources familiar with the situation.
In China, it is customary that allegations concerning national security are not released and trials are closed to the public. Even after rulings are finalized, the details are not announced in most cases.
