So, there was this editor named Dong Yuyu, who wrote for a Chinese Communist Party newspaper. He was known for being a bit of a freethinker, always straying from the Party’s line. But, one day, while enjoying a nice lunch with a Japanese diplomat, he was arrested and now faces a trial for espionage. Well, I guess he won’t be getting a five-star Yelp review for that restaurant anytime soon.

Dong Yuyu had quite the career, writing liberal-leaning commentaries for Guangming Daily, one of the main newspapers for the Communist Party. He loved meeting with foreigners, especially diplomats and journalists, to inform his writing. But, the authorities now see those interactions as proof that he was a foreign agent, working for either Japan or the United States. Yep, you read that right. He was accused of being a spy while simply munching on his noodles with a Japanese guy.

In the past ten years, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has really been bringing out the big guns against foreign countries, especially Western ones. He’s convinced that they all secretly want to take down China. So, it’s no surprise that Mr. Dong is now being persecuted for being suspected of working for another country. Jinping is taking no risks, people. He’s like the paranoid guy in a horror movie who’s convinced that everyone is out to get him.

Sadly, it’s not just Mr. Dong who’s feeling the burn. All the liberal Chinese media outlets where he used to publish his work have been gutted. Even the journalists themselves have been banned from writing for overseas publications. Remember when Dong used to write for The New York Times’s Chinese website? Well, not anymore. Xi Jinping is like that strict parent who doesn’t let their kid have any fun, even if it means crushing their dreams of writing about current events.

Serious News: nytimes