A Chinese court has sentenced an American citizen, 78 years old, to life in prison on espionage charges.
According to a statement on the court's social media account, John Shing-Wan Leung, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was convicted of espionage and granted a life sentence on Monday.
China Jails American on Espionage Charges
State security authorities in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, arrested Leung on April 15, 2021. The court also confiscated personal property valued at $70,000.
On Leung's detention and the court proceedings that led to his conviction, Chinese authorities, and state media have not previously disclosed any details. State security-related cases are typically conducted behind closed doors in China, as per CNN.
The US Embassy in Beijing confirmed on Monday that it was aware of the reported sentencing of Leung. Leung's sentencing occurs when relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in half a century due to escalating competition over trade, technology, geopolitics, and military supremacy.
It also coincides with the resumption of high-level engagements between American and Chinese officials after a dispute over a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon derailed efforts to restore ties earlier this year. Leung is one of an increasing number of foreign nationals caught up in China's intensifying crackdown on espionage under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
In March, Chinese authorities detained a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma in Beijing on suspicion of espionage, marking the seventeenth Japanese national detained in China since the anti-espionage law was enacted in 2014.
Two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were detained by China for nearly three years in another high-profile case.
China had closed its borders and implemented stringent domestic travel restrictions and social controls to combat the spread of COVID-19 before his arrest. Such investigations and prosecutions are conducted behind closed doors, and only vague accusations of infiltration, amassing secrets, and endangering state security are made public.
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US-China Relationship
Relations between Washington and Beijing are at their lowest point in decades due to disagreements over trade, technology, human rights, and China's increasingly aggressive territorial claims regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea. Due to Beijing's contradictory messages, high-level government visits have been postponed, and US companies are delaying significant investments.
The sentencing occurs as US President Joseph Biden travels to Hiroshima, Japan, for the Group of Seven summits, followed by a visit to Papua New Guinea. China has sought to increase its economic, military, and diplomatic influence in this Pacific island nation.
After China's gains in the region, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies increased their regional presence by providing investments and financial aid comparable to China's. According to AP News, China is expanding its presence in ports, railways, and other infrastructure from Europe to Southeast Asia and beyond as the world's second-largest economy.
While the Suzhou court did not indicate a connection to China-US relations, espionage charges are highly selective, and supporting evidence is withheld. This is standard procedure for most nations seeking to protect their personal connections, networks, and information access.
However, China's authoritarian political system and the Communist Party's absolute control over legal matters, civil society, and the freedom of information thwart requests for additional information and court appeals. The Chinese Communist Party has total control over the Chinese judicial system, Daily Express reported. Earlier this year, US and Chinese relations also suffered when a Chinese court upheld the death sentence of an American citizen.
Mark Swidan, a businessman from Texas who was detained in 2012 on drug-related allegations, had been incarcerated for over a decade. In 2019, he was found guilty of narcotic manufacturing and trafficking by the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province.
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