Hong Kong (AsiaNews/SCMP) Card Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, bishop of Hong Kong, took part last night in the prayer vigil meant to proclaim the innocence of journalist Ching Cheong and pray for his early release from jail on the mainland.
The prelate compared the journalist's fatefive year in jail en espionage chargesto that of Jesus' crucifixion. "Ching Cheong is nailed on the cross but he will resurrect. We hope he can come back to us soon," he said.
About 600 well-wishers, friends, journalists and politicians joined the two-hour prayer vigil.
Before the event, Ching's wife, journalist Mary Lau Man-yee, said his lawyer was preparing his appeal and that she felt very optimistic.
Ms Lau read out a letter she sent to her husband to the gathering at Choi Hung Estate Catholic Secondary School, saying she missed him and believed he would never do anything to hurt his country.
Ching, chief correspondent in mainland China for the Singapore-based The Strait Times, was arrested in April 2005. According to Chinese media he confessed of selling military information to Taiwan and setting up an espionage ring to sell state secrets to foreign powers.
For the journalist's lawyers, the sentence was "wrong because it lacked evidence". In Taiwan the authorities said the charges were baseless and unequivocally affirmed the journalist's innocence.
In China almost anything concerning the country can be deemed a 'state secret'. Revealing them is seen as an 'attempt against the security of the state'. Currently, some 42 journalists are behind bars for this reason.
Dissidents have told AsiaNews that the real reasons behind Ching Cheong's arrest are his research into the activities of Zhao Ziyang, party secretary during the pro-democracy demonstrations and into the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
The government still maintains the slaughter was the lesser of two evils, a necessary step to maintain stability ad order in the country and lead it into economic progress.