New York, Nov. 4 -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Chinese authorities to immediately release veteran journalist Dong Yuyu on humanitarian grounds after prison officials reportedly ordered him to resume compulsory labour just weeks after undergoing major surgery to remove a cancerous tumour.

The 64-year-old journalist, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence on espionage charges, was directed to return to work on October 12. According to his family, Dong has been assigned approximately 40 hours of work every week at a prison facility, where he is required to manufacture clothes. The order came shortly after he underwent surgery in August at a prison hospital in Beijing. His family has expressed concern over his ...