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August 20, 2025 – China –
The National Press Club (NPC) has announced that it will present its 2025 President’s Award to Dong Yuyu, a veteran Chinese journalist and former editor sentenced to seven years on espionage charges. NPC President Mike Balsamo asserted, “Journalism is not espionage. Dong Yuyu is being punished for his work and his words.” He called on Chinese authorities to release Dong immediately and cease criminalizing standard newsgathering and professional interactions with foreign colleagues.
Dong’s son, Yifu, is slated to accept the award on his behalf and deliver remarks during the NPC Awards Dinner on August 27.
Critics—including the U.S. State Department, Reporters Without Borders, and the NPC itself—have condemned Dong’s conviction as unjust, highlighting its dire implications for press freedom in China. They view the verdict as part of a broader trend of suppressing independent journalism and inhibiting professional exchanges with foreign entities.
Dong Yuyu, a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and former Guangming Daily editor, was detained in February 2022 during a lunch meeting with a Japanese diplomat and later accused of espionage. He has appealed his conviction and remains under confinement as international appeals for his release continue to gather steam.
The decision by the NPC to honor Dong sends a powerful message of solidarity from the global press community. Offering one of its highest accolades to a persecuted journalist underscores their broad condemnation of his imprisonment and the dangerous precedent it sets for journalists worldwide.
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