Fireworks are exploding like crazy outside my balcony, as Beijingers celebrate the advent of the Year of the Rat. The foreign correspondent community here has another reason to celebrate, too. Yesterday Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong was freed from a Chinese prison, after serving part of a five-year sentence on charges of spying for Taiwan. I've known Ching, a Hong Kong resident, since the 80's and was relieved to hear news of his release.
Today I spent a couple hours e-mailing colleagues on the board of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC), of which I am president, about issuing a statement on Ching's release. Since his detention in 2005, the FCCC's been pressing Chinese officials to free him and remove the veil of secrecy surrounding his case. Perceived as a goodwill gesture as Beijing gears up for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Ching's parole is a positive move, of course. I hope it means Chinese authorities are moving towards genuine transparency and due process, and not simply making a gesture with an eye to the Games. Here's today's statement by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China:
FCCC Statement on the Release of Ching Cheong
Feb. 6, 2008 -- The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China welcomes the release of Hong Kong-based Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong, who was arrested in Guangzhou in April 2005 and charged with allegedly spying for Taiwan. In August 2006, Ching was sentenced to five years in prison; he had served almost two years of his sentence before being released on parole Feb. 5, 2008.
Seen as a goodwill gesture as Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, Ching's release on medical grounds allows him to spend the traditional Lunar New Year holiday with relatives and friends in Hong Kong, where the journalistic community had organized an online petition and other activities denouncing the accusations against him. On several occasions, the FCCC publicly called on Chinese authorities to free Ching and make public the details of his case.
While Ching's release is welcome, serious questions remain regarding the opaque nature of his arrest, trial and incarceration. The FCCC is concerned about Chinese authorities' lack of transparency, and the use of national security-related charges, in cases involving media personnel. We urge the Chinese government to make public the legal proceedings related to not only Ching Cheong but all other imprisoned journalists.
