Punishment of hard labor, censorship, and threats of demotion over more than three decades did not stop Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu from doing his work. It was lunch with a diplomat that finally did. Dong, 63, a long-time editor and columnist whose work is well known within China and abroad, was arrested in February 2022 while sharing a meal with a Japanese diplomat in the capital Beijing. He was convicted on espionage charges in November 2024.