CHING CHEONG'S FAMILY AND HONG KONG LEGISLATURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 004786

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM
NSC FOR WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH
SUBJECT: CHING CHEONG'S FAMILY AND HONG KONG LEGISLATURE
APPEAL FOR EARLY RELEASE ON MEDICAL PAROLE

REF: A. HONG KONG 2452


B. HONG KONG 3559

Classified By: E/P Chief Laurent Charbonnet. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: The family of detained "Straits Times"
reporter Ching Cheong formally requested on December 16 that
mainland authorities release Ching on medical parole, or
allow him to serve his sentence in a Guangdong prison,
following last month's decision by a Beijing appeals court to
uphold his five-year sentence for espionage. Ching's family
also has asked Hong Kong Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang to
hand the detained reporter's medical records directly to
Chinese leaders during his annual duty visit to Beijing in
late December. Various Hong Kong groups have submitted
petitions calling for Ching's early release on medical
parole, and the legislature passed a motion calling on the CE
to help secure an early release for the jailed journalist. A
former colleague of Ching's told us that PRC "middlemen" may
have led Ching's family to believe that his five-year
sentence might be commuted during the appeals process; the
family therefore was disappointed when the appeals court
upheld the original sentence. End Summary.

Family Requests Medical Parole
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2. (SBU) The family of detained "Straits Times" reporter
Ching Cheong formally requested on December 16 that mainland
authorities release Ching on medical parole, or allow him to
serve out his sentence in a Guangdong prison. The request
follows the November 24 decision by a Beijing appeals court
to uphold Ching's five-year sentence for espionage. The Hong
Kong Legislative Council (Legco) passed a motion on December
13 calling on the Chief Executive (CE) to help secure medical
parole for the jailed journalist; separately, forty-five
Legco members, including democrats and pro-Government
legislators, signed a petition calling for Ching's early
release on medical grounds. Secretary for Security Ambrose
Lee, responding to the Legco motion, said the Government had
conveyed the family's requests and the Legco petition in
support of Ching to Beijing authorities, and also had
assigned an official to liaise with the journalist's family.
Lee cautioned, however, that assistance by the HKG was
limited under the "one county, two systems" framework.
Ching's family also has requested that Tsang hand the
detained reporter's medical records directly to Chinese
leaders during the CE's annual duty visit to Beijing,
scheduled to take place at the end of this month.


3. (SBU) The Ching Cheong Incident Concern Group submitted a
petition, signed by over 1,800 people, calling for Ching's
release on humanitarian grounds to CE Donald Tsang on
December 12. Signatories include former Chief Secretary
Anson Chan, National People's Congress (NPC) deputy Allen
Lee, and Civic Exchange CEO Christine Loh. The Hong Kong
Journalists Association also is collecting signatures for a
similar petition calling for Ching's release by medical
parole, which it will present to the HKG on December 22.

Family Shocked by Appeal
--------------


4. (C) Johnny Lau, a former Ching colleague and veteran China
analyst, told us recently that he continued to believe Ching
was not involved in espionage activities and his arrest was
not related to his attempts to retrieve a manuscript on Zhao
Ziyang (Ref A). Lau believed the Ministry of Public Security
(MPS) began its investigation of Ching without any evidence
of espionage activities, and was only able to build a case
after gaining access to Ching's computer. Ching personally
authorized his wife to provide his computer to PRC security
officials after his detention, because he felt he had
"nothing to hide," recounted Lau.


5. (C) Ching's family appeared stunned and disappointed by
the decision of the Beijing Higher People's Court to uphold
the lower court's verdict. According to Lau, PRC "middlemen"
may have led Ching's family to believe that his five-year
sentence might be commuted. As a result, Ching's family had
hoped that if they kept a relatively low profile, Ching's
prison sentence might be reduced during the appeals process.
Now, however, his family has decided to adopt a more
high-profile approach in seeking medical parole for Ching.


6. (C) Despite the family's disappointment with the ruling,
Lau saw some positive developments. While Ching originally

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had been accused in the mainland press of having a mistress,
accepting bribes worth millions of Hong Kong dollars, and
conducting espionage activities for Taiwan for four years,
now -- 20 months after he was first detained -- there is no
longer any mention of a mistress. In the "leaked" version of
Ching's original court verdict, he was convicted of accepting
a smaller sum of HKD300,000 (USD38,500) and of conducting
espionage activities for the shorter period of a year and a
half (Ref B). Also according to Lau, PRC authorities
normally do not reduce charges in these types of criminal
cases.


7. (C) Ching's case is atypical because of his strong ties to
prominent pro-Beijing Hong Kongers. Lau told us that several
high profile, pro-Beijing individuals had sent private
messages to Chinese leaders asking for the courts to grant
leniency when sentencing Ching, including: Ng Hong Kong Man,
veteran NPC deputy and key founder of the Democratic Alliance
for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB); Tsang
Yok-sing, Executive Council member and former DAB Chairman;
C.H. Tung, former Chief Executive; Henry Fok, the late
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
Vice Chairman; and Elsie Leung, retired HKG Secretary for
Justice. While Beijing would consider the views of Hong
Kong's pro-Beijing community, Lau said this was by no means
the most important factor. He speculated that PRC Vice
President Zeng Qinghong was aware of the strong local
interest in Ching's case, but it would be difficult for Zeng
to interfere in an MPS case.
Cunningham