A journalist, Yang Yiming, who has been stationed in Prague for the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper “Guangming Daily”, will go on trial after being detained for 4 months. Yang Yiming was found to be working for the Chinese (CCP) intelligence agency, collecting unfavorable information on Czech pro-Taiwan officials. The prosecutor has brought charges against him for “engaging in unauthorized activities for a foreign power”, marking the first instance in the Czech Republic where someone has been prosecuted for this crime. If convicted, he could face up to 5 years in prison.
According to a report by Czech Radio (iROZHLAS.cz) on June 2nd, Kateřina Eliášová, a spokesperson for the Prague City Court, stated that the court will handle this case.
Eliášová said, “I can confirm that the court has received the indictment against the defendant. The charges allege that the defendant has committed the crime of engaging in unauthorized activities for a foreign power. As the case is still under trial, further information cannot be provided.”
The case is being supervised by the Prague High Public Prosecutor’s Office and was officially charged on May 15. Typically, such cases are handled by district courts, but due to national security implications, the higher-level city court is overseeing it, and a formal trial date has yet to be scheduled.
Yang Yiming, the journalist for the Chinese Communist Party’s “Guangming Daily” stationed in Prague, was found to actually be affiliated with the Chinese (CCP) intelligence agency, monitoring and collecting information on specific political and academic figures in Prague. This included attempting to gather unfavorable information on Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and former Chamber of Deputies Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová, who have ties to Taiwan.
Yang Yiming has been active in the Czech Republic for many years, conducting interviews with various Czech and Slovak political figures. The Czech government had extended his press accreditation and residency permits multiple times.
In January of this year, Czech police arrested Yang Yiming, and he was remanded in custody by the Prague 8th District Court on January 19, out of concern that he might continue to commit crimes or flee.
Jana Humeni, a spokesperson for the Prague 8th District Court, stated in March, “The court ruling has been confirmed that the defendant’s appeal against the detention order has been rejected by the Prague City Court.”
Although the Chinese (CCP) intelligence operative contested against the custody, they did not appeal against the criminal prosecution itself. Martin Bílý, the head of the Serious Economic and Financial Crime Department at the Prague High Public Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed: “The defendant did not contest the prosecution procedure within the specified deadline.”
The crime of “engaging in unauthorized activities for a foreign power” falls under the section of the Czech Criminal Code concerning “endangering the Republic, foreign countries, and international organizations”, alongside espionage and harming classified information, carrying a maximum sentence of 5 years.
The defendant is being prosecuted under Article 318a of the Czech Criminal Code. This provision, which came into effect last February, primarily targets individuals gathering sensitive information for foreign powers, particularly in cases related to Russian or Chinese (CCP) intelligence activities.
(Translated from Central News Agency)