MR Xi Yang, a reporter with the newspaper Ming Pao, was given a 12-year prison sentence, because of a breach of the secrecy laws of mainland China. Some members of the local media became emotionally agitated and on Tuesday, staged a protest outside the offices of Xinhua (the New China News Agency). While my sympathy goes to Mr Xi, we have to keep our cool and think logically. I am a journalist and I would like to see this poor fellow treated more leniently. However, I feel it was deplorable to see some journalists acting in an immature way. They have gone too far. On what basis have they the right to demand the immediate release of Mr Xi if he has admitted that he committed a crime? The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) described the penalty as ''entirely out of proportion and unacceptable''. Since the trial was not open, we know nothing about the severity of the crime, so how can we make such a judgment? Tian Ye, the bank official who passed information to Xi, was sentenced to 15 years. Strictly speaking, he is even more deserving of sympathy. He yielded to temptation by acceding to Mr Xi's request for information and this was a big mistake. According to a Xinhua official, Xi infringed Chinese law by ''stealing state secrets''. If this is so, why did Xi take the risk of doing such a silly thing? We should condemn such malpractices, even though it is often the case that reporters are sacrificed as scapegoats. When in China, we should respect China's laws. Thus, we are not in a position to criticise the severity of a sentence, as in this case. We should not comment on China's laws, using as a yardstick, the laws of another country and another legal system. What we should be hoping for now is that our local representatives of the National People's Congress will come forward and give a helping hand. H. PONG New Territories