Singapore Publisher Says Detained Journalist Innocent Until Proven Guilty

SINO DAILY

Activists sell t-shirts of imprisoned senior reporter of the Singapore Straits Times, Ching Cheong prior to a commemoration of the 04 June 1989 Beijing Tiananmen Square massacre in Victoria Park, Hong Kong 04 June 2005. It is 16 years since the tanks rolled onto Tiananmen square killing possibly hundreds of students, in an event still not forgotten by the people of Hong Kong. AFP Photo by Mike Clarke.

Singapore (AFP) Jun 07, 2005
Singapore's leading media group said Tuesday its senior China correspondent being detained in China on espionage charges was innocent until proven guilty and justice must be served in his case.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), publisher of the Straits Times, said much was at stake in Beijing's allegations that detained correspondent Ching Cheong had been spying for an unidentified foreign espionage agency.

This included the journalist's liberty, China's national security and the transparency of the investigative and judicial processes, it said in an editorial

"SPH takes the position that Mr. Ching is innocent until proven guilty," the editorial said.

"If and when he is formally charged, a proper judicial process done expeditiously should be conducted.

"As much as China permits no sabotaging of its national interest, it has to be cognizant of the fact that there is a worldwide expectation from uninterested quarters that justice be seen to be served -- for the accused no less than for the accuser."

Ching, 55, was arrested on April 22 in China's southern city of Guangzhou. Chinese authorities announced late last month he was being held on espionage charges.

They have given few details, saying only that he had admitted spying for "overseas organs" in return for money. He is under house arrest in Beijing.

His wife, Mary Lau, said she believed Ching's arrest was connected to his attempts to acquire the manuscript of a publication about the late former Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang.

Zhao was purged and kept under house arrest for the last 16 years of his life for opposing the military crackdown on Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989.

Ching's arrest has caused international uproar and activists in Hong Kong have petitioned the government to bring its influence to bear on China.

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CYBERWARS

Satellite Equipped With Anti-Jamming Feature: APT

Beijing (XNA) Apr 15, 2005
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