China turns down appeal

A Chinese court today rejected an appeal by a Hong Kong reporter jailed by mainland China on spying charges, his brother said.

Ching Cheong, a correspondent for Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper, was sentenced to five years in prison in August on charges of spying for Taiwan.

The Beijing High Court rejected his appeal after a 30-minute hearing, said his younger brother Ching Hong, who was in the courtroom.

Ching was detained during a visit to the southern city of Guangzhou in April 2005 and stood trial in a one-day proceeding.

The official New China News Agency said he was convicted of selling “state secrets and intelligence” to an unnamed Taiwanese foundation that was a front for Taiwanese espionage activities.