China: PEN International calls for immediate medical parole for imprisoned writer Dong Yuyu

Image Credit: Dong Yifu

‘Dong Yuyu’s reported medical condition is deeply alarming. The Chinese authorities must act urgently to grant him medical parole and ensure he can access the care he needs without delay,’ said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

14 May 2026: PEN International is gravely concerned by reports of a serious deterioration in the health of imprisoned Chinese writer and journalist Dong Yuyu, and calls for his immediate release on medical parole, as well as permission to travel abroad for urgent treatment and to reunite with his family.

According to information shared with PEN International, Dong was hospitalised on 27 April 2026 at a prison-affiliated hospital in Tianjin after experiencing heart palpitations and discomfort. While earlier examinations in prison reportedly found no abnormalities, subsequent tests at the hospital revealed arrhythmia, including premature atrial and ventricular contractions. He has since been placed under 24-hour cardiac monitoring.

Dong reportedly told family members that his symptoms were linked to prolonged forced labour in Tianjin’s Chaobai Prison and the denial of adequate rest due to his refusal to confess to the charges against him. According to his family, his condition improved while resting in hospital, but discussions of his return to prison triggered renewed symptoms.

A CT scan conducted on 29 April also identified a mass in his left lung. No abnormalities had been detected in a chest X-ray taken upon his transfer to Beijing No. 2 Prison in November 2025, raising serious concerns about the rapid emergence of this condition. During a family visit on 7 May, doctors reportedly stated that follow-up CT scans were inconclusive and did not provide a diagnosis. However, Dong’s family fears the tumour is highly likely to be malignant and has expressed concern that delays in diagnosis may lead to delays in urgently needed treatment.

His family has also raised alarm about the lack of adequate medical care available within the prison system. According to Dong, cancer patients in the prison-affiliated hospital receive only non-specialised chemotherapy, which is not always effective.

Dong Yuyu is serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted of espionage in November 2024 following a closed-door trial. His appeal was rejected by the Beijing High Court in November 2025. In a statement after the verdict, his family described the ruling as ‘a grave injustice not only to Yuyu and his family but also to every freethinking Chinese journalist and every ordinary Chinese committed to friendly engagement with the world.’

A respected writer and journalist, Dong’s career has been defined by his commitment to open intellectual exchange. He served as deputy head of the editorial department at the Guangming Daily, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and a visiting scholar in Japan, and contributed to The New York Times Chinese-language website.

PEN International notes with concern longstanding patterns of delayed or inadequate medical treatment for imprisoned writers, journalists, and human rights defenders in China. The death in custody of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo in 2017, after authorities delayed his medical parole following a late-stage liver cancer diagnosis until treatment was no longer effective, remains a stark example of the potentially fatal consequences of withholding timely and independent medical care from detainees.

For this reason, PEN International is deeply concerned that Dong’s continued detention, in light of his deteriorating health, places him at serious and unnecessary risk. As the world marks World Press Freedom Day, his case underscores the ongoing criminalisation of writers and journalists in China under national security pretexts. PEN International urges the Chinese authorities to meet their international obligations and ensure that no one is imprisoned for their writing.

Note to Editors:

For further information, please contact Michael Rosen-Lupu, Head of the Asia-Pacific region at PEN International, email: [email protected]

For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, Head of Communications and Campaigns at PEN International[email protected]