Ching Cheong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ching Cheong (Chinese: 程翔) (born December 3, 1949) is a senior journalist in The Straits Times. He is presently detained by the People's Republic of China for espionage.
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Life
Ching was born in Guangzhou, China. Some sources indicate that he was born in Hong Kong. He is a holder of a Home Visit Permit, a entry permit issued to PRC citizens and which he used to enter mainland China. He also holds a British National (Overseas) passport. He was educated in St. Paul's College, Hong Kong and he graduated from Hong Kong University in 1973 with a degree in Economics. In 1974 he joined the pro-China newspaper Wen Wei Po (文汇报), of which he eventually became its vice-editorial manager. After the Tiananmen incident of June 4, 1989, Ching Cheong and around 40 others left the newspaper in protest. After that he, Li Zhisong and others founded Commentary, a magazine commenting on China. In 1996 he joined the staff of the Singapore Straits Times. At first he was assigned to Taiwan where his articles clearly show that he was pro-unification. These articles are collected in a book called Will Taiwan Break Away: The Rise of Taiwanese Nationalism.
Arrest under Spy Charges
Ching Cheong, now chief China correspondent for the Straits Times, is presently detained in Beijing on charges of espionage. In the spring of 2005 he had entered mainland China on a Home Visit Permit, apparently to research former Communist Party leader, Zhao Ziyang. On April 22, 2005 he was charged with spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and was arrested in Guangzhou. The PRC Foreign Ministry later reported that he had confessed to these accusations. Formal charges were drawn up on August 5th. 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. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. Ching Cheong's wife, Mary Lau, says the charges are ludicrous.
In June 2005, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders organized a petition (http://www.petition-chingcheong.org) calling for Ching Cheong's immediate release. The petition, containing more than 13,000 signatures, was sent to Hu Jintao, president of the People's Republic of China. The International Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists have also protested Ching Cheong's detention.
Published Works
- Will Taiwan Break Away: The Rise of Taiwanese Nationalism (Singapore University Press, 2001) ISBN 981024486X
- with Ching Hung-Yee: Handbook on China's Wto Accession and Its Impacts (Imperial College Press, 2003) ISBN 9812380612
