Such severe punishment targeting a foreign national on this basis is relatively rare in the Asian country.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of a visit to Japan by US President Joe Biden, who is scheduled to participate in the G7 summit in Hiroshima from May 19-21.
John Shing-wan Leung, also known as Liang Chengyun, He was guilty of espionage and was sentenced to life imprisonment and life deprivation of political rights
The Intermediate People’s Court of Suzhou (eastern China) said in a statement on Monday.
His personnels ont également été confisqués à hauteur de 500 000 yuan (97 000 CA $) for this procès en première instance qui s’est tenu lundi, vraisemblablement à huis closes, as c’est generalement the cas dans ce type d’ Affairs.
Unanswered questions
The authorities responsible for state security have taken since 2021 coercive measures
against this American citizen, according to the press release, a wording that generally refers to an arrest.
The press release did not say the exact nature of the charges against Jun Xing Wan Leung, nor his occupation or activity in China, nor even his whereabouts when he was arrested.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Beijing told AFP that they are aware of reports that a US citizen has been sentenced in Suzhou.
The State Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens abroad.
The embassy said. For reasons of confidentiality, we have no further comments.
In Hong Kong, where Jun Xing Wan Leung has been a permanent resident, security chief Chris Tang said the city authorities had been informed by mainland China of his arrest in 2021.
Hong Kong Police has taken follow-up action in accordance with this notification
He said, declining to give more details.
Asked on Monday during a regular press conference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to give further details.
Strained relationships
The sentencing of Jun Sheng Wan Leung could further damage Sino-US relations.
It has been strained in recent years by controversies over many topics: the trade imbalance, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing’s treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority, rivalry in the technology sector, or the issue of China’s balloons in February.
At the end of April, the Chinese parliament adopted amendments to the national anti-espionage law, which now explicitly prohibit the transmission of any national security information outside of China and expand the concept of espionage.
Foreigners are routinely accused in China of espionage or similar offences.
In February, a Japanese man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for espionage, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
Chinese-Australian writer Yang Jun was arrested in January 2019 for the same reason.
Canberra last week called for the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been held for more than 1,000 days and who worked for the Chinese English-language public broadcaster CGTN. This 40-year-old mother of two is being hounded by Beijing because of her Disclosure of state secrets abroad
.
In 2018, a few days after Meng Wanzhou, then CFO of Chinese telecom group Huawei, was arrested in Canada, China detained two Canadians on espionage charges.
Counselor Michael Spavor, who was finally sentenced to 11 years in prison, as well as former diplomat Michael Kovrig were released in 2021, just hours after an agreement for Ms. Meng’s release was struck.
