STRAITS TIMES JOURNALIST JAILED IN CHINA FOR ESPIONAGE SEEKS PAROLE
January 19th 2008 02:42
The family of jailed Straits Times journalist Ching Cheong is seeking parole for the Hong Kong resident, now serving a five-year sentence for espionage in a Guangdong prison.
The Straits Times reports that it has been over 1,000 days since Ching, its chief China correspondent, was detained on the mainland in April 2005. He was convicted in Beijing of spying for Taiwan in August 2006.
Professor Ong Yew Kim of Hong Kong's Chinese University said, “He has passed the halfway mark of his jail term, which means he could be eligible for parole.”
China has granted parole to prisoners including political dissidents such as student leader Wang Dan, who was involved in the Tiananmen Square protests. He was released in 1993, four months before his four-year term was up.
Speculation over Ching's release surfaces whenever a major milestone in China draws close.
In a letter to Hong Kong's Chinese-language newspaper Mingpao Daily this week, Ching's brother appealed for his release in time for next month's Chinese New Year.
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