10 Facts About Ching Cheong

Ching Cheong is a Chinese senior journalist with The Straits Times.

Ching Cheong is best known for having been interned by the People's Republic of China on allegations of spying for Taiwan.

Ching Cheong was detained in April 2005 and spent over 1,000 days in prison; his sentencing in August 2006 was for five years' imprisonment, scheduled to end in August 2011, but he was released just before Chinese New Year in February 2008.

Ching Cheong was charged with passing state secrets to the Republic of China over a period of five years.

Ching Cheong is the first Hong Kong journalist to be charged with spying since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997.

Ching Cheong added that Cheong had apparently fallen victim to entrapment by an intermediary as he was trying to obtain recordings of secret interviews with the former Prime Minister.

The British Government was asked to intervene as Ching Cheong held a British National passport.

On 22 February 2006, the prosecutor in charge of Ching Cheong's case decided to send his file back to the State Security Department for further investigation.

Ching Cheong was tried in camera, found guilty of spying, and was sentenced on 31 August 2006 to five years' imprisonment.

On 1 September 2006, Ching Cheong's wife reported that her husband had called the verdict "very unfair" and vowed to appeal the sentence.