A Chinese court Friday upheld US geologist Xue Feng’s sentence of eight years in jail for espionage, in spite of top-level pressure from the United States.
Xue, 46, was detained in November 2007 after he obtained a database on Chinese oil wells and gave it to his employer, US petroleum research firm IHS Inc.
He was convicted of selling state secrets and sentenced in July 2010 by the Beijing Number 1 Intermediate People’s Court.
The oil database was not classified as a state secret until after Xue’s arrest, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a US-based rights group.
US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, speaking outside the court, said he was “extremely disappointed in the outcome.”
“We ask the Chinese government to consider an immediate humanitarian parole of Xue Feng, thereby allowing him to get back to his family and his way of life. He is a US citizen and we take this case very seriously,” Huntsman said.
At his trial, Xue said he believed the database was a commercially available product and would be regarded as normal commercial intelligence in most countries.
John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua foundation, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the court’s decision, according to a statement from the foundation.
“This case has been raised repeatedly by the president of the United States, leading administration officials and senior members of Congress, but this appears to have counted for nothing,” Kamm said.
“This outcome will be greeted with dismay and concern in Washington and throughout the international business community.”
US President Barack Obama raised Xue’s case with Chinese President Hu Jintao during his state visit to China in November 2009.
Xue suffers from a heart condition that has required hospitalization, according to Dui Hua.
