Xi Yang And Freedom Of The Press In Hong Kong

EDM number 1128 in 1993-94, proposed by Austin Mitchell on 27/04/1994.

That this House condemns the twelve-year sentence imposed by the Chinese authorities on Xi Yang, journalist for Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong, on 28th March 1994, and the rejection of his appeal; notes that although Xi Yang was arrested and imprisoned for allegedly spying and stealing state financial secrets there is no evidence that he was performing anything other than a normal news gathering task when acquiring information about interest rates at the People's Bank of China, and that the story he filed in no way damaged China's state interests; notes further that the freedom of the press in Hong Kong is enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration but this amounts to political pressure on journalists because Xi Yang was denied a fair trial under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which China is a signatory in that the trial was conducted in secrecy and he was denied legal representation until his appeal, and his twelve-year sentence is disproportionate to his alleged crime; and urges Her Majesty's Government to ask the Chinese Government to give a full account of the case immediately, as well as giving concrete clarification and assurance on the future interpretation and application of state secret laws, and to release Xi Yang especially in the light of 3rd May 1994 being International Press Freedom Day.

This motion has been signed by a total of 43 MPs.