CHINA. FORMER DIPLOMAT SENTENCED TO DEATH, SANKEI REPORTS

a former Chinese diplomat who served in Japan until 2001 was sentenced to death in China on charges he provided military information to a Japanese national, the Sankei newspaper reported from Beijing.
Wang Qingqian, 51, was given the death sentence by a closed military court this year with a two-year suspension, Sankei said, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. Under Chinese law, the suspended death penalty means the sentence may be reduced to life imprisonment under some circumstances. Wang is a senior official of the China Association for International Friendly Contact, Sankei said. The content of the information and the identity of the Japanese national were not disclosed, Sankei said.
The association was established in 1984 as an affiliate of the Chinese military, Sankei said.