China sentences a 78-year-old American to life imprisonment on spying charges

We know that there are tensions between China and Taiwan right now and since the US is supporting Taiwan in this war-like situation, there are tensions between China and the US as well. However, we have also seen that China is cracking down on people who are accused of spying on them and we recently saw reports of two Taiwanese citizens who were officially arrested for different charges related to spying. Now, we have a new report but this time we have a US passport-holder who has been imprisoned for life by China on the accusation that he was spying on the Chinese government.

According to a report, “John Leung, who is also a Hong Kong permanent resident, was sentenced in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou on Monday, according to the court’s official WeChat page. In addition, some 500,000 yuan ($71,808) of Leung’s property was confiscated”. “Given the opacity of the charges, and evidence against the defendant, the verdict further erodes the foreign business community’s confidence in the environment”, a Beijing-based Lawyer said and added that “This is not a welcomed development”.

It is worth noting that “Beijing has also launched a nationwide anti-espionage crackdown targeting consulting firms. One global expert network, Capvision, has been accused of leaking state secrets and having ties with foreign intelligence agencies. The company has since vowed to follow China’s national security laws and set up a committee to manage compliance issues”, as per a Bloomberg report. As per the report, “Leung was arrested on suspicion of espionage in April 2021” and no further details were given but it can be said that after 2 years in jail, his charges have been found true and he has been sentenced for life in China.

One thing to note, however, is that China is not the only country to be taking such action against foreign nationals as we have seen that the US is also taking action against Chinese citizens for spying on them and giving out state secrets. Since the law firm Perkins Coie has said that these developments are not welcomed, we are likely to see this matter get into court very soon.