A man who pleaded guilty to killing his boss at a U.S.-based Chinese-language newspaper’s office in Alhambra, California in 2018 was sentenced to 21 years in state prison on May 1.
Chen, a Chinese national with U.S. citizenship, could be seen in a yellow prison uniform with an interpreter standing next to him. Some of his family could be seen in the courtroom.
One of Chen’s attorneys, Kristen Mason, told The Epoch Times that Chen may be eligible in 13 or 14 years for elderly parole—which may be granted for those who are at least 50 years old and have been in custody for at least 20 years, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Chen has been in custody since November 2018.
“The voluntary manslaughter [charge] was advantageous to us because he was facing [a] first-degree murder charge, which would have been an indefinite sentence,” she said. “At least now we believe he will get out.”
Mason works for The Meehan Law Firm, which has offices throughout Southern and Northern California.
She said she would support an even lighter sentence for Chen if it were possible.
“I would have hoped for even more for him just because he is such a gentle, nice, courageous, responsible individual,” she said, after spending many hours over the course of five years providing legal counsel.
She said although he committed the crime, Chen had no criminal background and was always known as a kind individual. She said something “truly out of character,” must have happened the night he killed his boss.
Chen’s lead attorney, Donald B. Marks, told The Epoch Times he believes Chen’s sentencing was fair.
“We consider the matter was resolved in a fair way and I’m happy we got the result we did,” he said.
Marks declined to comment on a motive for Chen, which hasn’t been revealed to the public.
Chen admitted to using a semi-automatic pistol and shooting the victim three times in the head, four times in the chest, and twice in the back.
On Nov. 16, 2018, Xie, 58, was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds. He was found on the second floor of the newspaper’s Alhambra building, according to police.
Chen was arrested on the same day for suspicion of murder, and a handgun was recovered by officers from the scene. Investigators said at the time that they believed that a workplace dispute led to the shooting.
Chen was released three days later after posting a bond for his $1 million bail—before being arrested again the next day on a Los Angeles County Superior Court warrant with bail set at $6 million. The bail amount was later reduced to $3 million by a judge.
China Press’s Close Ties to the Chinese Communist Party
China Press published an obituary in November 2018 with a brief timeline of Xie’s career.After graduating from university in 1982, Xie became a reporter for the state-run China News Service. In 1987, Xie became the White House correspondent for the news service. In 1992, he left his position to establish China Press in San Francisco. The newspaper also has editions in Los Angeles and New York.
China Press has long been known in the U.S. immigrant community for its pro-Beijing views and tendency to repeat the Chinese Community Party’s propaganda on a wide range of issues.
The publication is under the umbrella of Rhythm Media Group, a California-registered firm founded in 2003 with several Chinese-language media outlets, a film production company, and a cultural center in its profile.
In 2001, the U.S. think tank The Jamestown Foundation listed China Press as an overseas Chinese newspaper “directly controlled by the Chinese government.”
After Xie’s death, the newspaper’s operation reportedly shrunk, with its West Coast edition switched from daily to weekly print distribution in July 2019, the publication announced the previous month.
