Reporter Jailed After Exposing Corruption
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BEIJING – A Chinese journalist found guilty of extortion after writing articles about official corruption was sentenced yesterday to one year in prison, his wife and lawyer said.
Yang Xiaoqing, a reporter for the state-run China Industrial Economy News, was sentenced at the Longhui No. 1 People’s Court in Hunan province, his lawyer, Zhang Xingshui, said.
Mr. Yang’s wife, Gong Jie, said she would appeal the decision immediately.
“It’s a terrible thing,” Ms. Gong said. “He has not committed a single crime. He has not done one thing wrong. To sentence him to even one day of prison is the real crime.”
She said hundreds of people swarmed the court and blocked police cars to protest the sentence. Some carried signs reading: “Corrupt officials should not bully reporters and the people!”
Telephones rang unanswered at the Hunan court yesterday evening.
