Today, more than 100 prominent figures from the global journalism and media community released an open letter in support of Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu, calling for his immediate acquittal. The National Press Club is proud to amplify this message and stand alongside those demanding justice.
“This letter is a statement of principle: press freedom is not a crime. Dong Yuyu was doing what journalists everywhere do-speaking openly, asking questions, engaging with the world. His conviction strikes at the heart of free expression, and we call for it to be overturned,” said Mike Balsamo, President of the National Press Club.
Open Letter:
We are writing to express our concern about Dong Yuyu (è'£éç%), a journalist at the Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily, and his criminal conviction that is not only unjust but also damaging to China's own goals and priorities. His appeal is due to be decided soon, and we want to express support for overturning his conviction.
On February 21, 2022, Mr. Dong was detained by Chinese law enforcement officials while dining with a diplomat from the Japanese embassy. In November 2024, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage.
According to family members familiar with Mr. Dong's case, the evidence supporting the charges includes his regular contact with foreign diplomats in China and his fellowships and exchanges in the U.S. and Japan, including the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard. No evidence has been presented that Mr. Dong accepted any monetary payment or leaked sensitive state secrets.
To prove the espionage charge, the Chinese authorities claimed, without evidence, that eight Japanese diplomats whom Mr. Dong met for over two decades were spies, including the former Japanese ambassador and a top diplomat. However, China never expelled those diplomats, and the top diplomat still serves in China today.
Like many journalists, Mr. Dong regularly met foreign diplomats, journalists, and academics for informal discussions. Some of us were among those he met in China. Others of us studied with Mr. Dong during some of his fellowships abroad.
All of us who have had contact with Mr. Dong want to emphasize that our meetings were always transparent and above-the-board: we arranged our meetings via open social media apps such as WeChat or by email, and we met at public restaurants. We exchanged frank and open views about our countries and the world but none of this went beyond normal discussions among friends. All of us can attest to Mr. Dong's high professional standards and ethics.
Our exchanges were part of what is called “people-to-people diplomacy,” something the Chinese government formally endorses.
However, the charges against Mr. Dong now suggest that foreigners from all countries, including diplomats, can be labeled as spies without evidence for the purpose of criminally prosecuting Chinese citizens they interact with. This raises troubling questions, such as:
— Who will want to come to China if Chinese courts are ready to label them as spies?
— Who will want to come to China to meet Chinese journalists, academics, or government officials if these innocuous meetings can be used as evidence for espionage?
Recently, the Beijing High Court heard Mr. Dong's appeal, signaling a willingness to reconsider the wrongful charges against him. We welcome such reconsideration and urge the Chinese government to acquit Mr. Dong.
All of us value our interactions with Chinese colleagues. Mr. Dong's acquittal will restore our faith in China's commitment to openness and people-to-people diplomacy. Otherwise, China only will lose friends and allies from foreign countries, and fewer foreigners will dare to engage with China and its citizens.
Signed:
Mike Balsamo, President, The National Press Club
Jason Rezaian, Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club
William McCarren, Director, Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
Emily Bloch, President, Society of Professional Journalists
Emily Wilkins, Past President, Board Liaison for Press Freedom, The National Press Club
Edward Wong, The New York Times
Ann Marie Lipinski, Nieman Foundation
Orville H. Schell, Asia Society, Columbia University, USVC
Susan Jakes, Editor-in-Chief, ChinaFile
Ian Johnson, Institute for Advanced Studies, Berlin
Craig Welch, Former National Geographic senior writer
Juanita León, Director, La Silla Vacía
Tomoko Ako, The University of Tokyo
Matthew Forney, Journalist
Jerome Cohen, NYU
Evan Osnos, Author
Mary E. Gallagher, University of Notre Dame
Joshua Benton, Harvard University
Melissa Ludtke, Nieman Foundation for Journalism
Erik Eckholm, The New York Times (retired)
James Scott, Independent historian and author
Jennifer L. Eccleston, International Journalist
William Schiller, Nieman Fellow 2006
Guoguang Wu, Stanford University
Mauricio Herrera, Independent journalist
Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College
John Pomfret, Journalist
Joseph Fewsmith, III, Boston University
Matt Pottinger, Hoover Institution
Evelyn Hernandez, Nieman Fellow
Thomas Kellogg, Georgetown University Law Center
Andrea McCarren, Nieman Fellow 2007
Tini Tran, WRI
Charles Hutzler, Journalist
Wei-Hsiu Huang, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo
Kathryn Peters, Former BBC Bureau Chief, Ukraine and Russia
Michael Kovrig, International Crisis Group
Diana Duran, Nieman Fellow 2025
Jeff Eller, Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club
Kathy Kiely, Missouri School of Journalism
Maria Rodriguez, President & CEO, Vanguard Communications
Poonam Sharma, Editor, Global Strat View
Tenzin Pema, Director, RFA
Donald Clarke, George Washington University Law School
Damakant Jayshi, Journalist
Tim McKenna, Retired photojournalist
Suzuki Ken, Professor, Meiji university
Takashi Oshima, Nieman Fellow 2006
Kazuyuki Suwa, Daito Bunka University
Eiichi Hoshino, University of the Ryukyus
Inagaki Yutaka, ATTAC Japan (Greater Tokyo Area)
Kristofer Ríos, Nieman Fellow 2023
Sue Montgomery, Former Montreal Gazette journalist
Debra Silimeo, Board Member, The National Press Club
Ed Kelley, President, National Press Club Journalism Institute
Rachel Oswald, Foreign Policy Reporter, CQ Roll Call
Mark Schoeff Jr., Reporter, The National Press Club
Hidemi Shiroyama, Hokkaido University
Kalpana Jain, Nieman fellow 2009
Patrick Poon, Asian Lawyers Network
Alison Conner, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Takuya Sasaki, Rikkyo University
Ken Endo, The University of Tokyo
Susan Prestedge, Former CBC Journalist
James Feinerman, Georgetown University Law Center
Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Helen Branswell, Nieman Fellow 2011
Colin Hawes, University of Technology Sydney
Michael Waiwah Shum, Nieman Fellow, Filmmaker and Journalist
Sandrine Rigaud, Nieman Fellow
Line Vaaben, Journalist
Kyrylo Beskorovainyi, Nieman Fellow
Darcel Rockett, Nieman Fellow
Gina Smith, Nieman Fellow
Jon Collins, MPR News, Nieman Fellow
James Okong'o, Nieman Fellow
Lasha Kveseladze, Nieman Fellow
Michael Petrou, Nieman Fellow
Eduardo Suárez, Head of Editorial, Reuters Institute
Michelle Shephard, Independent Journalist
Yu-Jie Chen, Law Institute, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Nice Dale
Kevin Pare
Madison Siciliano, National Press Club Staff
Kitty Eisele, Writer
Rick Pfeiffer, Niagara Gazette/Community Newspaper Holdings
Richard Franklin Carter, Supporter of Canada's freedom of expression committee of the Book and Periodical Council
Bonny Symons-Brown, Journalist and Filmmaker
Marty Logan, Independent Journalist, Nepal
Robert Sutton
Sloan Kinnebrew Sable, Winsor School History Department Chair (retired)
Joao Pina, Nieman Fellow 2018
Brent Walth, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication
Chisomo Ngulube, Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi
Michael Petrou, Nieman Fellow
Honda Rintaro, Law and Language Lab
Chiharu Iino
Nishino Makoto, Article 9 Association
Kazumi Shoji
Teruo Kuno, Saku Gakuen
Hope Katz Gibbs, President & Founder, Inkandescent PR + Publishing Co.
Jamila Bey, Board Member, National Press Club Journalism Institute
Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Economics journalist
Ken Doyle, Reporter (retired), Bloomberg Government
Gilbert Klein, Board Member, National Press Club Journalism Institute
Patrick Host
Steven L. Herman
Andrew Kreig, Editor, Justice Integrity Project
Jodi Schneider, Political journalist
Kitty Eisele, Public radio editor/producer
Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 | media@press.org
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