Xl, Beijing correspondent for the Hong Kong daily Ming Pao, was arrested on Sept. 27, 1993, and sentenced to 12 years in prison on March 28, 1994, for “espionage” and “stealing state secrets.” The “secrets” in question included unpublished interest rate changes on savings and loans at the People’s Bank of China, as well as information on the bank’s international gold transaction plans, both of which were provided to Xi by a bank official named Tian Ye.