China says reporter admits to spying

China said that a reporter for the Singapore daily Straits Times has admitted to spying for a foreign intelligence agency, a charge that could carry the death penalty, according to media reports. The wife of the man, Ching Cheong, said her husband was detained in Guangzhou after someone gave him documents about the purged former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang, who died this year. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd which publishes the Straits Times expressed shock at the announcement and praised the journalist. China's Foreign Ministry denied Ching's detention was related to Zhao, but would not give further details.