2024-01-26 06:05:02
China accuses British businessman who has been in China for 40 years of selling intelligence and jailed for 5 years, family denounces closed-door trial
[Yahoo News Report]After China’s “reform and opening up” in the last century, many foreign businessmen were attracted to invest in China. However, many people were suddenly detained and sentenced to prison for different reasons during the development of business.The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)It was reported today (26th) that Ian J. Stones, a British businessman who set up a consulting company in China, disappeared from public view in 2018, and China did not publicly talk regarding the case in the following years. Before the report was made public, WSJ received a reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that Stones was sentenced to 5 years in prison for illegally selling intelligence abroad. His appeal was also rejected in September last year. WSJ believes that this case may be just the “tip of the iceberg” and more foreign businessmen may be imprisoned without the public’s knowledge.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, daughter Laura Stones told WSJ that since her family and the British Embassy have not been allowed to view any legal documents related to this case, she cannot comment on the details of the case. She only said that her father denied the charges and that he would respect China. Law and ruling to complete the remainder of the sentence.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: As long as you abide by the law, there is no need to worry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that the Chinese court heard Stones’ case in accordance with the law and arranged for British personnel to visit and observe Stones’ sentencing; China has always been committed to providing a legal business environment for companies around the world. As long as the relevant companies and China abide by Chinese laws, there is no need to Worry. Laura responded that the Chinese court heard this case behind closed doors. During the trial, British Embassy personnel and family members were not allowed to participate, and there was only one exception where they were allowed to observe.
Laura said that her father was still in good health at the beginning of his detention, but later his health deteriorated due to lack of adequate medical care and malnutrition, which put his life at risk. However, the Chinese authorities have not properly addressed these problems; she also mentioned, The embassy personnel were originally scheduled to visit his father every 4 to 6 weeks, but the hospital did not allow them to visit him for as long as 6 months. During this period, there was no news regarding his father. The reason is unknown. In addition, an official from the British Foreign Office told Stones, who is currently serving a sentence in Beijing No. 2 Prison, that a friend sent him some books in October last year.
Photos of Ian Stones displayed online.
Arrived in Beijing in 1978
Stones, who is regarding 70 years old, is one of the first batch of foreigners to work in China following the reform and opening up. After graduating from university, he studied Chinese diploma in the UK and then went to Beijing to study in 1978. He has been stationed in China for more than 40 years. Stones has worked for large US companies such as General Motors and Pfizer; 15 years ago, he established his own consulting firm Navisino Partners in Beijing. According to data from the mainland search company “Tianyancha”, Navisino Partners has been deregistered in China in 2021. Former employees of the consulting firm declined to comment to WSJ regarding Stones’ prison sentence.
According to people who know Stones, he is very fluent in Chinese and has an in-depth understanding of Chinese culture. His years of experience in China have also allowed him to make many friends and business partners. In the late 2000s, a small group of foreign businessmen jointly published a collection of essays, “My Thirty Years in China,” in which Stones shared his experiences. Stone once even wrote an article in the state-run English newspaper “China Daily”, sharing the opacity of the Chinese authorities in the early days of reform and opening up. For example, he pointed out that tariff calculation was a secretive topic among officials at the time, and described that he would feel jealous when he saw the words “internal documents.” Very angry.
At present, the outside world still does not know the details of Stones’ alleged illegal selling of information overseas. As one of the first overseas lawyers to practice in China, Jerome Cohen, honorary director of the American-Asian Law Institute at New York University, told WSJ that the opacity of China’s legal system has made more and more people worry regarding their safety in China. It is even more clear that those people are worried that once they are arrested and detained, “there will be no hope.” Some corporate security consultants also pointed out that the ambiguous nature of China’s legal system makes it difficult for foreign governments and employers to assess the risks of doing business in China, and the Stones incident once once more cited this point.
“My Thirty Years in China” is a book co-written by a group of businessmen from foreign countries. Ian Stones (the red leader in the middle of the three rows below) all shared his experiences in the book. (Amazon)
Up to 200 U.S. citizens estimated to be detained in China
At present, neither the United States nor the United Kingdom has publicly disclosed how many citizens are detained and imprisoned in China. According to WSJ earlier citing figures from a US organization that supports imprisoned persons, as many as 200 US citizens have been detained in China for various reasons. As for Japan, which has extensive exchanges with China, it said that since 2015, 17 Japanese citizens have been detained by Chinese intelligence agencies, and 5 people have not yet been released.
In early March last year, Hiroshi Nishiyama, a senior executive of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, was detained by the Chinese authorities. In mid-October of the same year, he was formally arrested by China on suspicion of espionage. In the same month, Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who worked for China Global Television News Network (CGTN), was released and expelled from China. Chinese authorities confirmed that Cheng Lei was arrested in August 2020 and was later charged with “illegal provision of state secrets overseas” and sentenced to 2 years and 11 months in prison by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court.
CGTN Cheng Lei completed her sentence in October last year and was deported back to Australia. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
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