The wife of detained Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong spent last night in solitude, the first time she has been apart from her husband for the festive season since they married in 1982.
Mary Lau Man-yee said she was coming to terms with the fact that it could be a long time before the couple are together again.
'I fear that I won't be able to reunite with my husband in the foreseeable future,' she said. Lau was also bracing herself for more bad news after the holiday about Ching, who has been detained on the mainland since last April, accused of spying for Taiwan.
'I'm worried that my husband will be sentenced to a prison term of at least five years,' Lau said. 'We are still striving to secure his acquittal or release on medical parole after being convicted.'
She said she expected his case to be transferred to a Beijing court after the Lunar New Year.
The case was referred to the Beijing No2 People's Procuratorate on December 30 'to decide if prosecutions should be lodged'.
Criminal law procedure requires prosecutors to make a decision in a month, but they can request a half-month extension if the case is important or complicated.