Ching Cheong (Chinese: 程翔) (born December 22, 1949) is a senior journalist in The Straits Times detained by the People's Republic of China for espionage. Image File history File links none File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Image of The Straits Times The Straits Times is an English-language broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore. ...

In the spring of 2005 he had entered mainland China on a Home Visit Permit, apparently to research former Communist Party leader, Zhao Ziyang. On April 22, 2005 he was charged with spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and was arrested in Guangzhou. The PRC Foreign Ministry later reported that he had confessed to these accusations. Formal charges were drawn up on August 5th. He was charged with passing state secrets to the Republic of China (Taiwan) over a period of five years. In particular he was accused of using money provided by Taiwan to purchase political and military information. He is the first Hong Kong journalist to be charged with spying since the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. Ching Cheong's wife, Mary Lau, says the charges are ludicrous. As of July 2005 Ching Cheong was being detained in Beijing. In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... The Home Return Permit (港澳同胞回鄉證, 港澳同胞回乡证, abbreviation 回鄉證, 回乡证) is a passport-like document issued to people from Hong Kong and Macao as the entry permit to mainland China. ... Zhao Ziyang (Simplified Chinese: 赵紫阳; Traditional Chinese: 趙紫陽; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chao Tzu-yang) (October 17, 1919–January 17, 2005) was a politician in the Peoples Republic of China. ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Location within China Guangzhou (Simplified Chinese: 广州; Traditional Chinese: 廣州; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: GwóngjaÅ«) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... 2005 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

In June, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders organized a petition (http://www.petition-chingcheong.org) calling for Ching Cheong's immediate release. The petition, containing more than 13,000 signatures, was sent to Hu Jintao, president of the People's Republic of China. The International Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists have also protested Ching Cheong's detention. Hong Kong Journalists Association was established in 1968 for practicing journalists in Hong Kong with the stated goal, to enhance press freedom and the integrity of news coverage. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, or RSF) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to freedom of the press. ... Hú Jǐntāo (born December 21, 1942) became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China on November 15, 2002. ... International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is global union federation of journalists trade unions - the largest in the world. ... The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonprofit organization based in New York which is dedicated to promoting press freedom worldwide and defending the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. ...

Ching was born in Guangzhou, China. Some sources indicate that he was born in Hong Kong. He is a holder of a Home Visit Permit, a entry permit issued to PRC citizens and which he used to enter mainland China. He also holds a British National (Overseas) passport. He was educated in St. Paul's College, Hong Kong and Hong Kong University. He joined Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, and was once its vice-editorial manager. After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he resigned with 40 editors and later joined The Straits Times where he was the chief China correspondent at the time of his arrest. Location within China Guangzhou (Simplified Chinese: 广州; Traditional Chinese: 廣州; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: GwóngjaÅ«) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. ... The Home Return Permit (港澳同胞回鄉證, 港澳同胞回乡证, abbreviation 回鄉證, 回乡证) is a passport-like document issued to people from Hong Kong and Macao as the entry permit to mainland China. ... The United Kingdom has arguably the worlds most complex nationality laws, because of its former status as an imperial power. ... St. ... The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Traditional Chinese: 香港大學; Simplified Chinese: 香港大学; pinyin: Xiānggǎng Dàxué) is an English-language medium university and the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong SAR. Its motto is the Latin phrase Sapientia et Virtus (明德格物 ), meaning wisdom and virtue or sometimes cited as Foresight & Social... Yang Liwei and Shenzhou 5 on the cover of Wen Wei Po Wen Wei Po (文匯報) is a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, which was first established in Shanghai, Mainland China in January 1938; its Hong Kong version was launched on September 9, 1948. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... The Unknown Rebel — This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester whose actions halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ...

External links

• CPJ calls for immediate release of journalist being held on suspicion of espionage : IFEX
• Hong Kong Journalists Association
• Petition to Support Ching Cheong