by Jing (Jenny) Li
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What: Hua Di, a Chinese missile expert and Stanford scholar, was arrested in China where he awaited trial on assorted charges related to allegations of leaking state secrets.Summary
When: January 6, 1998
Where: Beijing
Who: Hua Di, a senior research associate at CISAC (Center for International Security and Cooperation) at Stanford University.
On January 6, 1998, Hua Di, a Chinese missile expert and senior research associate at CISAC (Center for International Security and Cooperation) at Stanford University, was arrested when he went back to China to participate a family memorial service. Hua Di was charged with divulging state secrets and sentenced to 15 years prison in late November. However, his arrest was kept secret to the public until October, 1998. During this period, American officials and Stanford scholars tried to urge China to release Hua, but their efforts failed. In April, 2000, Hua had his conviction overturned on an appeal to the Supreme People's Court of China.
Topic Explication
The topic includes all the articles on Hua Di's arrest, trial, the American government and Stanford's efforts of rescuing Hua. It also covers the commentaries on the impact of Hua's case on the Sino-America relationship.
Note* There were some articles talking about the issues of human rights, democracy and the reliable legal protections in China after Hua Di's arrest happened. These articles are on topic unless they clearly mention Hua Di's case (e.g. NYT19981101.0234).Timeline
Also, during this period, another Chinese scholar and librarian at Dickinson College--Song Yongyi--was arrested in China and released later. The articles on Song's case are NOT on topic without mentioning Hua Di's arrest and trial.
| 01/06/1998 | Hua Di was arrested in Beijing, just one week after arriving on his first trip back to China to participate in a family memorial service since 1989. Due to his published work about China's ballistic missile program, he was charged with leaking state secrets. |
| 10/20-30/1998 | The first report on Hua's arrest was published in a Chinese language newspaper in the United States. |
| 12/1998 | Hua Di was sentenced for 15 years prison by the Beijing Intermediate People's Court for revealing the deployment and development of China's guided missiles. |
| 12/29/1998 | Hua Di was reported to be suffering from a rare form of cancer in prison. |
| 04/2000 | Hua Di had his conviction overturned on an appeal to the Supreme People's Court. The Court ordered a retrial by claiming that some of the facts in the case were unclear. |
Useful Web sites
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9810/29/china.arrest/index.html
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/report/news/december8/
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/report/news/march17/
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/report/news/april5/