China Sentences American Geologist Xue Feng
The U.S. government has taken a strong interest in Mr. Xue’s case. But it mounted a quiet diplomatic campaign to win clemency since he was first detained in late 2007.
President Obama last year urged Mr. Xue’s release in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and other U.S. government officials have raised the issue privately as well. The U.S. ambassador, Jon Huntsman, took an unusual interest in the case, visiting Mr. Xue in detention and attending Monday’s 40-minute sentencing.
For foreign companies, Mr. Xue’s case is the latest to highlight stark questions about the legality in China of conducting market research. Unlike more-celebrated allegations involving Chinese secrets, Mr. Xue’s case stems purely from his attempt to purchase commercially available data on the oil industry, according to people involved in his defense. It illustrates China’s sensitivity that certain data in the hands of foreigners may weaken national security, even while Beijing remains vague in its definitions of secret information.
Bastards. Tortured him when they caught him, too. The silence from the “UN” and other supposedly concerned international ‘peace activists’ is deafening. I guess they’re too busy trying to navigate Gazan waters…