A 78-year-old US citizen, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was sentenced to China serve a life sentence for “espionage”court announced today.

The imposition of such a harsh sentence on a foreigner in a case of this kind in an Asian country is quite rare. This development is expected to further worsen Sino-US relations, which were already nearing a low point.

John Hsing-wang Loong, also known as Liang Chenyun, “was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment and life imprisonment,” according to a press release from the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court (East China).

Relations with the US are on the brink

His personal assets of up to 500,000 yuan (66,000 euros) were also ordered to be imposed on the trial court, which took place today, apparently behind closed doors, as is standard practice in such cases.

The statement did not provide details of the allegations against John Sin-wang Loung. Neither the profession nor the type of activity of the American citizen is specified.

His verdict comes amid US President Joe Biden’s trip to Japan this week for the G7 summit in Hiroshima (May 19-21).

In recent years, US-China relations have deteriorated over a range of issues: trade imbalances, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority, their rivalry in the race for regional technological superiority…

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}