Secrecy as a Tool of Government in China

By David Lague | The New York Times - International Herald Tribune
June 15, 2006

BEIJING, June 14 — The trial of a researcher for The New York Times, which is to begin here on Friday, is evidence of China's increasing reliance on state secrecy laws to tighten control over information, experts in human rights and the legal system say.

The researcher, Zhao Yan, 44, who worked in the Beijing bureau of The Times, is charged with fraud and disclosing state secrets. Mr. Zhao denies the charges. The Times also denies that he disclosed state secrets.

Critics of the case against Mr. Zhao accuse the authorities of applying all-embracing secrecy laws to contain public debate, burgeoning Internet discussion and sometimes rebellious news media.

Even as China's headlong economic boom continues to deliver wider economic and personal freedom, the scope of these laws has been broadened over the last two decades to include almost all information related to the ruling Communist Party and the government.

"The system is actually expanding," said Nicolas Becquelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch. "Basically, anything can be classified as a state secret."

Mr. Zhao has been in custody since his arrest in September 2004. If he is found guilty here in the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, he could face 10 years or more in prison.

The charges are linked to an article in The Times on Sept. 7, 2004, reporting that the former president, Jiang Zemin, had offered to resign as head of the military. The report proved to be accurate; Mr. Jiang retired less than two weeks later.

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