100+ Global Journalism Leaders Urge China to Free Journalist Dong Yuyu

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 (董郁玉), 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 | [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club

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