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US journalist jailed for 2 years for working as a Chinese agent

US journalist jailed for 2 years for working as a Chinese agent
South China Morning Post Wednesday 02 September 2026, 05:07 UTC By Khushboo Razdan 1 min read
Key Points

An American journalist who lived in Beijing, worked for Chinese state media and pleaded guilty to helping Beijing collect US intelligence was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and barred from overseas travel during that period, according to the US Justice Department. He also used the alias Tom McGregor.

An American journalist who lived in Beijing, worked for Chinese state media and pleaded guilty to helping Beijing collect US intelligence was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and barred from overseas travel during that period, according to the US Justice Department. He also used the alias Tom McGregor. His father, Thomas Pauken, chaired the Texas Republican Party in the 1990s and later ran for... [Image text:] A 400 KEN FO KEROI
US (LOCATION) Chinese (ORG) American (ORG) Beijing (LOCATION) Thomas Weir Pauken II (PERSON) the US Justice Department (ORG) Tom McGregor (PERSON) Thomas Pauken (PERSON) the Texas Republican Party (ORG)
Originally published by South China Morning Post Read original →

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