His trial was conducted behind closed doors. Even relatives were not informed about it. Lu, together with the journalist, Ching Cheong, was accused of leaking “top state secrets”.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A Chinese academic Lu Jianhua has been secretly tried and sentenced to 20 years in jail for leaking state secrets. Lu (photo) was arrested last year in connection with the arrest and detention of journalist, Ching Cheong, also convicted of spying and leaking state secrets.
Lu's wife, Qu Liqiu, was not allowed to meet her husband and was only informed about the sentence once it had been handed down, on 18 December.
The sentence handed down to Lu is strangely harsh. Those convicted of serious charges of leaking state secrets are generally given 10-year sentences.
Lu, 46, is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. According to reports that appeared in the press, he wrote articles for the journalist Ching Cheong containing "top state secrets". The media reports claimed that Ching sent the articles to a Taiwan-based foundation.
Ching was sentenced to five years in August. His appeal was rejected in November.
In China, most information pertaining to the life of the nation is considered to be "state secret" and revealing it through the media is branded as "an attempt against state security". Currently at least 42 journalists are in prison because of this. Dissident figures have told AsiaNews that the reasons for Ching Cheong's arrest are to be found in his research on Zhao Ziyang, who was secretary of the Party during the time of the pro-democracy uprisings, and about the Tiananmen massacre, ordered by the then prime minister Li Peng.
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