China sentences US citizen to life in prison for spying

[SBFNews]

China sentences US citizen to life in prison for spying
– DW – 05/15/2023
www.dw.com

A 78-year-old US citizen was sentenced on Monday by a Chinese court to life imprisonment for spying.

Reuters news agency reported that John Shing-wan Leung was a permanent resident of Hong Kong and also a United States passport holder.

According to the Associated Press, Leung was detained on April 15, 2021 by the counterintelligence agency in the southeastern city of Suzhou.

News of his sentencing came by way of the WeChat account of an Intermediate People's Court in Suzhou on Monday.

'Guilty of espionage'​

The court said in a statement that Leung "was found guilty of espionage, sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life."

While the court announced Leung's sentence, no further details were given relating to what he had been charged with.

Media outlets in China and Hong Kong reported that Leung was previously a senior member of the US-China Friendship Promotion Association, a Chinese patriotic group.

The US Embassy in Beijing told news agency AFP that it was aware of the reports that a US citizen had been sentenced.

"The Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas," the spokesperson said. "Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson also declined to comment on the case during a press briefing on Monday.

Relations between Washington and Beijing are frayed with disputes over trade, technology, human rights and China's approach towards territorial claims.
kb/jsi (AP, Reuters, AFP)

https://www.dw.com/en/china-sentences-us-citizen-to-life-in-prison-for-spying/a-65623281​

 

[SBFNews]

China jails US citizen for life on espionage charges​

Hong Kong resident John Shing Wan Leung was chair of Texas branch of Chinese ‘reunification’ association
Helen Davidson in Taipei
@heldavidson
Mon 15 May 2023 03.13 EDT

A Chinese court has sentenced a 78-year-old US citizen to life in prison on espionage charges.

John Shing Wan Leung, a Hong Kong permanent resident, was detained in April 2021 by Chinese security services. His sentence was announced on Monday by the Suzhou intermediate people’s court on its public WeChat account. No further information about his trial or charges were listed.

Leung’s sentence also included deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of personal property in the amount of 500,000 yuan. There are no previous reports or notices of Leung’s arrest or trial. Espionage cases in China are treated with almost no transparency, with trials often conducted in secret and long delays between convictions and sentencing. China’s justice system also regularly reports a conviction rate above 99%.

This month, amendments to China’s anti-espionage law came into force, broadening its scope and increasing the risk to foreign individuals and organisations operating in the country, according to observers.

It is not clear what Leung is accused of. Leung, whose Hong Kong and US ID numbers were published by the court, was born in Hong Kong, and was chair of the Texas branch of the Association for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China (APPRC), according to Hong Kong media. The Guardian has not independently confirmed his identity.

National and state level APPRCs operate around the world, promoting Beijing’s claim over Taiwan and its plans for what it terms “reunification”. They are believed to be connected to the Chinese Communist party’s united front work department, a global influence operation.

In October 2020, the then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo designated the Washington DC-based National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU) as a united front work department. The website of the NACPU, which says it was founded in the 1970s, also refers to itself as the Association for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification.

It describes its purpose as fostering cross-straight relations, uniting overseas Chinese, and to “adhere to the one-China principle and oppose all words and deeds that split China’s territory and sovereignty”.

“It is feasible to study the unification of China plan, and strive for the final and complete reunification of China,” it said

In 2015, the man Hong Kong media has identified as Leung was also reported to have funded eye surgeries for 60 rural Chinese children, through the Guangming hospital. State media and government releases in recent years have also praised his commitment to furthering US-China ties, and working with multiple Chinese overseas cultural organisations and the united front department.
The NACPU has been contacted for comment.


Additional research by Chi Hui Lin
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ails-us-citizen-for-life-on-espionage-charges

 

[eatshitndie]

this ccp shill must have gotten xick of xia xuay xi and called the cult leader xi gin na. xia xuay xi must have gotten wind of the insult (and broken wind too) and ordered the pubic sexcurity bureau to tekan him.

 

[tanwahtiu]

this ccp shill must have gotten xick of xia xuay xi and called the cult leader xi gin na. xia xuay xi must have gotten wind of the insult (and broken wind too) and ordered the pubic sexcurity bureau to tekan him.

Gaslighter mai gong lanjiao wei

 

[poore]

78 yr old spy? china done it again

 

[tobelightlight]

what is there to spy on China?

 

[ChinaCommunistSG]

I suspect George Yeo is a modern day of Lai Teck