China moves journalist Dong Yuyu further from family with prison transfer

New York, April 15, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns China’s decision to transfer veteran journalist Dong Yuyu from a prison in Beijing to another facility in Tianjin, a move that takes the 63-year-old, who is serving a seven-year sentence for espionage, further from home and makes it more difficult for his family to visit.

“Moving Dong Yuyu to a more distant prison makes it significantly harder for his loved ones to visit him and effectively punishes his family,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “Dong’s seven-year sentence on a bogus espionage charge is already an injustice — now authorities are intensifying the punishment. Chinese officials must stop persecuting Dong and let him be reunited with his family immediately.”

Dong’s son, Yifu, told CPJ that the family was informed by authorities that Dong had been transferred on March 17 from Beijing No. 2 Prison to Chaobai Prison in Tianjin, a port city southeast of Beijing.

“We are very concerned about his advanced age and prior illnesses, as well as the physical toll of the remote prison,” Yifu said.

The new prison is about 168 kilometers (104 miles) from the family’s home in Beijing, whereas the previous facility was about 40 kilometers away. As a result, what was once a 40-minute drive to visit Dong now takes the family more than two hours, said Yifu. “It’s a burden and very costly,” he said.

Dong, who was an editor and columnist at the state-owned Guangming Daily, was arrested in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing. He was convicted of espionage in November 2024 and sentenced to seven years in jail. He turns 64 years old next week.

CPJ has been advocating for Dong’s freedom for years and honored him with a 2025 International Press Freedom Award.

Beijing Municipal Prison Administration did not immediately respond to a CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

China is the world’s top jailer of journalists, with at least 52 behind bars, according to CPJ data.