Family Calls for Release of Imprisoned Chinese Journalist Over Health Issues

Family members and activists have called for the release of an imprisoned Chinese journalist due to health concerns. The journalist, an editor at the state-owned Guangming Daily, was detained in 2022 while meeting a Japanese diplomat for lunch. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage in 2024.

The family said in a statement Thursday that he is now effectively facing a death sentence. He was hospitalized at a prison-affiliated hospital in Tianjin on April 27. Doctors diagnosed heart arrhythmia and a lung tumor that his family fears is malignant.

The journalist had been working long hours in prison making clothes and has not been able to rest properly, according to his family. His son, who is based in the U.S. and has advocated for his release, said his mother and he are very sad and anxious.

An activist with Reporters Without Borders stated that the international community must increase pressure on Beijing to secure his release on medical parole. The activist also called for permission for the journalist to travel abroad for treatment and to reunite with his family.

The journalist had worked for the state-backed Guangming Daily, based in Beijing. He also wrote for other publications, including Chinese magazines and The New York Times’ Chinese-language website. He wrote articles arguing for constitutional democracy, political reform and transparency in politics.

Those views were allowed to circulate freely in the past but are now taboo in China.