China jails journalist Dong Yuyu hospitalised with lung tumour, RSF demands release
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 5 May 2025 expressed grave concern over the rapidly deteriorating health of imprisoned Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu, citing his family's account that he was hospitalised on 28 April at a prison-affiliated hospital in Tianjin, China, where a computed tomography scan reportedly revealed a sizeable tumour in the lower lobe of his left lung. The Paris-based press freedom group is calling on the international community to intensify pressure on Beijing to release him on medical parole and allow him to seek treatment abroad.
Medical Condition and Diagnosis
According to RSF, the CT scan conducted at the Tianjin prison hospital found a tumour requiring further contrast-enhanced imaging to determine its nature. Medical examinations also revealed arrhythmia, including premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contractions. Dong Yuyu has been placed on a 24-hour Holter monitor for further cardiac evaluation, but the results have not yet been communicated to his family, the group stated.
His family was quoted by RSF as saying:
