A Chinese state-media correspondent accused of gathering intelligence for Beijing went on trial in Prague on Oct. 14, becoming the first person to be prosecuted under a Czech law targeting unauthorized activities on behalf of a foreign power.
Yang Yiming, a Prague correspondent for Guangming Daily, a newspaper operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, denied the charges through his attorney at Prague Municipal Court.
Prosecutors allege that Yang used his position as an accredited journalist to collect political and economic intelligence, cultivate influential contacts, and transfer information to China.
According to Czech courtroom reporting, prosecutor Martin Bily said Yang arrived in the Czech Republic in 2022 as a member of a Chinese intelligence service and obtained foreign-journalist accreditation from the Czech Foreign Ministry.
The indictment alleges that Yang produced at least 38 documents containing information he had collected, supplemented by his own assessments, risk evaluations, and recommendations. He allegedly stored the documents electronically and delivered the material to another person at predetermined times and locations.
Prosecutors said Yang cultivated relationships with people who could provide useful information, sometimes inviting them to dinners, offering small gifts, or inviting them to conferences in China.
The prosecution alleges that his collection and transfer of information threatened the Czech Republic’s sovereignty and constitutional order.
Correspondent for CCP-Run Newspaper
Yang’s employment at Guangming Daily is documented in the newspaper’s publications. A Jan. 15 article, published shortly before his arrest, identified Yang as its Prague correspondent and carried his analysis of political developments in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The report examined the four countries’ relationships with the United States and European Union, their positions on Russia and Ukraine, and economic cooperation with Beijing, including Chinese investments and infrastructure projects in Central Europe.
The article documents Yang’s reporting on political and economic affairs but does not establish whether that published work was connected to the activities alleged by Czech prosecutors.
Guangming Daily describes itself as a newspaper operated by the CCP Central Committee. Its official institutional history says that since 1994, the newspaper has been an institution directly under the CCP Central Committee and administered by its Central Propaganda Department.
First Case Under New Foreign-Power Law
Yang was detained in January and subsequently charged with unauthorized activity on behalf of a foreign power.
The offense was introduced under Section 318a of the Czech Criminal Code in February 2025. It covers specified activities performed on behalf of a foreign power with the intent to threaten or damage the country’s constitutional order, sovereignty, territorial integrity, defense, or security.
A conviction under the provision can carry up to five years in prison.
The Czech Constitutional Court upheld the law in February 2026, rejecting a challenge brought by 24 senators.
The current Czech government has pledged to repeal the provision, although Justice Minister Jeronym Tejc said in August that he had agreed with judges and prosecutors to refine its wording instead.
Defense Disputes Allegations
Yang’s attorney, Michal Sykora, rejected the factual allegations, the legal classification of his client’s activities, and the proposed punishment.
Sykora argued that prosecutors had failed to identify the specific threat to Czech interests required by law. He said none of the information Yang allegedly obtained was capable of directly threatening the country’s sovereignty.
He maintained that Yang had conducted ordinary journalism and that the case file contained no evidence establishing that he worked for a Chinese intelligence service.
Bily disputed those arguments, saying intelligence collection could be distinguished from legitimate journalism. He said some evidence was classified and could not be publicly disclosed.
The court excluded the public during Yang’s questioning and the reading of certain documents but rejected the defense’s request to close the entire trial.
Bily is seeking an unsuspended prison sentence, a financial penalty, and Yang’s expulsion from the Czech Republic.
The hearings are scheduled to continue through Oct. 16.
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