Name: Dong Yuyu
Country: China
Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu was suddenly arrested in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing.
Dong was held in detention for two years, accused of spying and selling government secrets, before a Beijing court convicted him in November 2024. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage, an accusation that Dong firmly rejects, and a sentence which he immediately appealed. His plea was rejected by the Beijing High Court in November 2025, and he was immediately transferred to prison.
The arbitrary imprisonment of writers and reporters like Dong has increased at an alarming rate in recent years in what seems to be a widespread effort to quell freedom of expression. PEN America, which champions the freedom to write, reported that more than 400 writers were behind bars worldwide in 2025, compared with 375 in 2024. This is part of a 68% increase in the number of jailed writers over the last seven years.
While the imprisonment of writers is an issue in more than 40 nations, China is the largest perpetrator of these arrests, according to the PEN report. Publishers and writers alike face an intensely restrictive system with little to no allowance for free expression, and writers often censor themselves to avoid harsh punishment and jail time.
Dong worked for a state-run newspaper called Guangming Daily that was based in Beijing, but he also wrote for other organizations, including The New York Times’ Chinese-language edition. In China, he is widely regarded as an advocate for progressive policy change. He consistently wrote articles advocating for constitutional democracy and political reform, as well as increased transparency from Chinese political leaders. These critical writings and his activism are likely the reason he was arrested.
In 2025, Dong received both the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award and the Press Freedom Centre’s President’s Award.
Almost six months ago, Dong was hospitalized with a heart arrhythmia and a lung tumor feared to be malignant. His family blames his decline in health on long hours of forced labor in prison. However, they remain hopeful that the international community will pressure the Chinese government and secure his release on medical parole, allowing him to travel outside of China, both to seek medical treatment and see his family.
Dong’s arrest and imprisonment underscore a disturbing trend in which the Chinese government has targeted both individual writers and the idea of a free press. Dong Yuyu should be immediately released, and the United States should continue to advocate for him, the release of all jailed journalists and writers, and a broader commitment to freedom of the press.
