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

WASHINGTON, April 23 — 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.

 

Dong Yuyu 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

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About the The National Press Club
Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world’s leading professional organization for journalists. With 2500 members representing nearly every major news organization, the Club and its Press Freedom Center are outspoken on press freedom issues in the U.S. and worldwide.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-725-7534 or [email protected] for the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club