Zhao Yan
Encyclopedia
Zhao Yan is a Chinese researcher employed by the Beijing bureau of the New York Times. He was imprisoned for a three year period starting 17 September 2004, on charges of fraud, after originally being arrested for revealing state secrets. According to the BBC, he was released on September 15, 2007.
The accusation that he disclosed state secrets is related to an article in The NY Times on September 7, 2004, that correctly predicted the retirement of Jiang Zemin
, former president and Communist Party chief. Jiang retired on September 19 of that year. The NY Times had said that Zhao did not provide that information.
On 17 June 2006, Zhao was tried in a closed-door session in Beijing. He was found guilty of fraud but not of revealing state secrets. Zhao was sentenced to three years jail on 24 August 2006; at that time, he had already served almost two years of his sentence. He is the first person to be charged with, but acquitted of revealing state secrets in China.
Before joining The New York Times, Zhao was a well-known investigative journalist who reported on farmers' rights issues for the Beijing-based Zhongguo Gaige 中国改革 (China Reform) magazine. http://www.wan-press.org/3may/2006/articles.php?id=44 He had written extensively on the plight of some 20,000 peasants who had been relocated in the 1990s to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir in Hebei Province (see Tangshan Protest
). He was sacked by China Reform after more than 11,000 farmers submitted a petition to the National People's Congress.
The accusation that he disclosed state secrets is related to an article in The NY Times on September 7, 2004, that correctly predicted the retirement of Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
, former president and Communist Party chief. Jiang retired on September 19 of that year. The NY Times had said that Zhao did not provide that information.
On 17 June 2006, Zhao was tried in a closed-door session in Beijing. He was found guilty of fraud but not of revealing state secrets. Zhao was sentenced to three years jail on 24 August 2006; at that time, he had already served almost two years of his sentence. He is the first person to be charged with, but acquitted of revealing state secrets in China.
Before joining The New York Times, Zhao was a well-known investigative journalist who reported on farmers' rights issues for the Beijing-based Zhongguo Gaige 中国改革 (China Reform) magazine. http://www.wan-press.org/3may/2006/articles.php?id=44 He had written extensively on the plight of some 20,000 peasants who had been relocated in the 1990s to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir in Hebei Province (see Tangshan Protest
Tangshan Protest
In 2004 more than 11,000 farmers in Hebei Province of China signed a petition calling for the removal of Communist Party officials who were allegedly involved in corruption...
). He was sacked by China Reform after more than 11,000 farmers submitted a petition to the National People's Congress.
External links
- Zhao Yan collected news and commentary at China Digital TimesChina Digital TimesChina Digital Times is a bilingual "collaborative news website covering China’s social and political transition and its emerging role in the world," according to the site's About page...
- "China Ex-President May Be Set to Yield Last Powerful Post", Abstract of the Sept 7, 2004 NY Times article
- Chronology of NYT researcher Zhao Yan, Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
- Prisoner Profile: Zhao Yan (2004)
- Zhao Yan Tried Behind Closed Doors - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- "Chinese court jails NYT researcher for 3 years", Channel News Asia, 25 August 2006