National Press Club Leadership Signs Open Letter on Chinese Journalist Yuyu Dong

WASHINGTON, May 31 – Following is a statement from Eileen O’Reilly, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, on an open letter signed by leading journalists in support of Chinese journalist Yuyu Dong. Mr. Dong has been detained in Beijing for more than a year and was recently indicted on charges of espionage.

“We have signed the letter below in support of Mr. Dong, a career journalist from China’s Guangming Daily who was swept up by Chinese authorities for having lunch with a Japanese diplomat, which is not a crime under Chinese law, and held for 18 months before his recent indictment for espionage. Mr. Dong is well known to western media and scholars, and this is also not a crime under Chinese law. He is not a spy. Mr. Dong is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. We encourage other journalists to also sign the attached letter which was drafted by some of Mr. Dong’s Nieman colleagues.”

Dong Yuyu Open Letter

We are writing to express our concern about Dong Yuyu, a journalist at the leading Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily, who faces more than a decade in prison for what we believe are normal contacts with foreigners.  

On Feb. 21, 2022 Mr. Dong was detained by Chinese law enforcement officials while having lunch with an officer from the Japanese embassy. He has since been charged with espionage and his case referred to the court for trial. According to Chinese criminal court procedures, this means that a trial is pending, and the charges are fixed. Based on Chinese criminal law, the sentence could be more than ten years. 

According to family members familiar with Mr. Dong’s case, the evidence supporting the charges are his regular contact with diplomats as well as his felowships and exchages in the U.S. and Japan. No evidence has been presented to his legal team that Mr. Dong accepted bribes. 

Like many journalists around the world, Mr. Dong regularly met foreign diplomats, journalists, and academics. Some of us were among those he met in China. Our meetings were always transparent. We made our plans openly, often via WeChat, and we met at public restaurants because we wanted our contacts to be above-the-board. 

Others of us studied with Mr. Dong during some of his fellowships abroad, including a Nieman fellowship at Harvard (class of 2007). We valued his open, humorous and humane view of life and his insights into world questions. He was inquisitive, objective, and an excellent ambassador for China. 

Others of us are familiar with Mr. Dong’s pro-reform articles and books. He co-edited an important book that promoted rule of law, which for decades has been a government priority. His articles for the history journal “China Through The Ages” includes constructive calls for the Chinese government to address darker chapters in recent history, such as the Cultural Revolution. He also argued that China needs a republican form of government.  

“All of us can attest to Mr. Dong’s high professional standards and ethics. We exchanged frank and open views about our countries and the world situation. Our exchanges were a normal part of what is sometimes called “people to people diplomacy,” something the Chinese government supports. 

We would like the Chinese government to reconsider the harsh charges that Mr. Dong faces. Meetings with people like Mr. Dong are essential if China and the rest of the world are to have productive, open, and stable relations. Meetings with foreign diplomats and journalists, as well as fellowships abroad, should not be construed as evidence of espionage, without calling into question the entire system of normal interactions between people in the world. Who would want to come to China to meet Chinese journalists, academics or diplomats if these meetings could be used as evidence that the Chinese side is committing espionage? 

All of us value our interactions with Chinese colleagues. Please make it possible for us and other foreigners to have contact with Chinese counterparts such as Mr. Dong without putting them at risk.” 

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The letter was signed by 120 journalists and academics including Bob Woodward, Jason Rezaian, Dexter Filkins, Ann Marie Lipinski, Bob Giles, Edward Wong, Ian Johnson, Nicholas Kristof, Erik Eckholm, John Pomfret, Matthew Pottinger, Orville Schell, Philip Pan and Rose Luqiu.

Verified signatures as of May 2023:

Jassim Ahmad, Nieman Fellow ’17 

Tomoko Ako, The University of Tokyo 

Tangeni Amupadhi, Nieman Fellow ’07, currently owner and managing director of Insight Namibia magazine 

Claudia Antunes, Nieman Fellow ’06, freelance journalist 

Atsuto Anzai, The University of Tokyo 

Fernando Berguido, Nieman Fellow ’11, Former Editor, La Prensa (Panama) 

Michelle Boorstein, Nieman Fellow ’17, religion reporter, The Washington Post 

Marcus Brauchli, North Base Media 

Ian Buruma, Bard College, New York 

Matthew Chapin, Duke University alumnus 

Timothy Cheek, The University of British Columbia 

I-Chung Chen, Academia Sinica 

Donald Clarke, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School 

Kim Cloete, Nieman Fellow ’06, Journalist & Media Specialist, South Africa 

Chris Cobler, Nieman Fellow ’06, Publisher and CEO, Fort Worth Report 

Jerome A. Cohen, NYU Law School; Council on Foreign Relations 

Lori Cohen, Nieman Fellow ’97 

Maryclaire Dale, Nieman Fellow ’18 

Georg Diez, Nieman Fellow ’17, The New Institute  

Emily Dreyfuss, Nieman Fellow ’18, research fellow Shorenstein Center, Harvard University 

Tyler Dukes, Nieman Fellow ’17, The News & Observer 

Dustin Dwyer, Nieman Fellow ’18, Michigan Radio 

Jennifer L. Eccleston, Foreign Correspondent  

Erik Eckholm, Former Beijing Bureau Chief, The New York Times 

Dorinda Elliott, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University 

Ken Endo, The University of Tokyo 

Nancy Fenstemacher, Newton Public Schools-Beijing Jingshan School Executive Committee 

Hannane Ferdjani, Nieman Fellow ’20, freelance journalist, Al-Jazeera, Ivory Coast 

Renee Ferguson, Nieman Fellow ’07, investigative reporter, Chicago 

Joseph Fewsmith, Boston University 

Dexter Filkins, Nieman Fellow ’07, former Baghdad correspondent, The New York Times, now staff writer for The New Yorker 

Leta Hong Fincher, adjunct Assistant Professor, Columbia University 

Lois Fiore, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University 

Jocelyn Ford, Journalist 

Michael Fitzgerald, Nieman Fellow ’11, Harvard Public Health 

John Garnaut, Garnaut Global 

Bob Giles, Former Curator, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University 

Eliza Griswold, Nieman Fellow ’07, freelance journalist for The New Yorker, Harper’s magazine and The New York Times Magazine 

Ken Hamilton, Retired teacher, Newton Public Schools 

Nancy Hearst, Harvard University 

Evelyn Hernandez, Nieman Fellow ’07, former Editorial and Opinion Page Editor, El Diario-La Prensa, New York 

Mauricio Herrera-Ulloa, Nieman Fellow ’07, former editor in chief, Semanario Universidad, and former Minister of Information of Costa Rica, now independent journalist and consultant. 

Margaret Kriz Hobson, Nieman Fellow ’06, former reporter, National Journal 

Wei-Hsiu Huang, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo 

Maiko Ichihara, Hitotsubashi University 

Karl Idsvoog, Nieman Fellow ’83 

Kalpana Jain, Nieman Fellow ’09, Senior Editor, The Conversation 

Susan Jakes, Asia Society, ChinaFile Editor-in-Chief 

Alagi Yorro Jallow, Nieman Fellow ’07 

Aboubakr Jamal, Nieman Fellow ’07, former editor Le Journal Hebdomadaire (Morocco), now dean of the School of International Relations, American College of the Mediterranean, Aix en Provence 

Damakant Jayshi, Nieman Fellow ’07, former reporter, The Kathmandu Post, now reporter/fact-checker, Snopes, Atlanta 

Ian Johnson, Nieman Fellow ’07, senior fellow the Council on Foreign Relations 

Jen Judson, 115th president of the National Press Club, former reporter at Politico, currently reporter at Defense News 

Lenka Kabrhelova, Nieman Fellow ’18, Podcast Host, Seznam Zpravy 

Pavel Kanygin, PS Media 

Matt Karolian, Nieman Fellow ’18, Boston Globe, HarvardEXT 

Shingo Kato, Keio University 

Suwa Kazuyuki, University of Shizuoka 

Michael Kovrig, International Crisis Group 

Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times 

Juanita Leon, Nieman Fellow ’07, director, La Silla Vacia, Colombia 

Ann Marie Lipinski, Curator, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard 

University 

Werner Lohe, Elected Official in Brookline, Massachusetts 

Melissa Ludtke, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University 

Rose Luqiu, Nieman Fellow ’07, former assignment editor at Phoenix Satellite Television, Hong Kong 

William Martin, Cambridge Public Library 

Andrea McCarren, Nieman Fellow ’07, former ABC and NBC News Correspondent 

William McCarren, Nieman Affiliate ’07, Executive Director, National Press Club, Advisory Board, Reporters Without Borders 

Tim McKenna, former photo editor, The Globe and Mail  

Mary Meehan, Nieman Fellow ’16 

Eugenio Menegon, Boston University 

Kondwani Bell Munthali, Nieman Fellow ’07, Former Diplomat, Malawi High Commission, London, Managing Editor and Publisher, The Investigator Magazine, Stratford Upon Avon, England 

Takeshi Nakajima, Tokyo Institute of Technology 

Patsy Nakell, Nieman Fellow ’07, former editor in chief, Ny Tid, Helsinki, Finland 

Chisomo Ngulube, Editor, Kulinji.com (Malawi) 

Jeneé Osterheldt, Nieman Fellow ’17, The Boston Globe  

Philip Pan, foreign editor, The New York Times 

Alisa Parenti, breaking news editor Bloomberg News, previously WSJ/MarketWatch, author of historical fiction. 

Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College 

Kate Peters, Nieman Fellow ’07 

Michael Petrou, Nieman Fellow ’18 

John Pomfret, former Beijing bureau chief, The Washington Post 

Matthew Pottinger, fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University 

Altin Raxhimi, Nieman Fellow ’06, freelance writer 

Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post 

Emily Rueb, Nieman Fellow ’18, former reporter, The New York Times 

Sloan Sable, Retired 

Beena Sarwar, Nieman Fellow ’06, Editor, Sapan News Network 

Takuya Sasaki, Rikkyo University 

Minoru Sawada, Sophia University 

Orville Schell, Vice President, Asia Society, and Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations 

Bill Schiller, Nieman Fellow ’06 

Gabrielle Schonder, Nieman Fellow ’22 

Johanna Schulman, Former ESL teacher, Taiyuan Gong Xue Yuan 

Mary Louise Schumacher, Nieman Fellow ’17, independent journalist 

James Scott, Nieman Fellow ’07, former reporter, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., now author, Charleston. 

Charles M. Sennott, Nieman Fellow ’06, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The GroundTruth Project  

Hidemi Shiroyama, Hokkaido University 

Robert Socha, Nieman Fellow ’17 

Ken Suzuki, Professor of Law, Meiji University 

Takashi Suzuki, Professor, Daito Bunka University 

Bonny Symons-Brown, Nieman Fellow ’18 

Eisuke Takahashi, NHK WORLD 

Gwen Thompkins, Nieman Fellow ’11, Tulane University 

Tini Tran, Nieman Fellow ’07 

Brent Walth, Nieman Fellow ’06, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication 

Ryota Watanabe, Faculty of Law, Chuo University  

Craig Welch, Nieman Fellow ’07, senior staff writer, National Geographic 

Edward Wong, Nieman Fellow ’18, Diplomatic Correspondent and former Beijing Bureau Chief, The New York Times 

Bob Woodward, The Washington Post for 52 years and Simon & Schuster author for 22 books 

Jungho Yoon, Nieman Fellow ’07, former reporter, The Chosun Ilbo, currently anchor and vice director of newsroom of TV Chosun, Seoul.

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Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world’s leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for The National Press Club