China tries leading dissident on subversion charge

Source: afp/france24

AFP - Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo went on trial on subversion charges Wednesday, in a case criticised by rights groups and the West as politically motivated.

The 53-year-old Liu, a writer who was previously jailed over the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, has been charged with "inciting subversion of state power" after co-authoring a bold call for political reform last year. Profile: Liu Xiaobo

Western diplomats were denied access to the half-day trial in a Beijing court after Washington and Brussels last week called for Liu's release, and some key dissidents said they were prevented from attending. Related article: US calls for release of Liu Xiaobo
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Liu, a university professor before his involvement in the Tiananmen demonstrations, co-authored Charter 08, which calls for human rights protection and the reform of China's one-party communist system.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/node/4954895

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(shhhh...don't tell cuban castros about this news on their cherished china...damned dissidents, they are everywhere...fidel and raul might even blame this on obama and US these days...)
:)

I do not understand your connection.

That said, I think it would be wise for China to exercise maximum restraint in prosecuting people under the anti-subversion of state power law. With China's current economic growth and the general social conditions, the threat posed by small groups of pro-Westerners is very minimal. Certainly, the ideological threat to the Chinese party is from the New Left and old factions of Maoists, not from the right that wants to convert China into a bourgeois democracy.

...since every morning the cuban leaders wake chewing some verbal attack of sort against US and obama these days - while china is spared any criticism. be it for pollution/environment, workers exploitation, lack of free speech or political rights denied.

i can't stand the double ways of these two "socialist"/"communist" governments.
and yes, i hope china becomes soon a bourgeois democracy.

i like when people can choose freely.
ciao :)

I see nothing wrong with multiple parties cooperating. On the other hand, ideally I support a socialist-oriented constitution to which all parties would be bound on some level as a social contract.

There is indeed some hypocrisy on DU concerning China and Cuba. Some posters support Cuba but oppose China. I support both as developing countries pursuing national sovereignty and economic development.

:rofl:

Remember when his wife took human rights abuses "off the table" in our talks with China? Hmmm...

Source: New York Times

In a two-hour hearing that was closed to the public, Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent advocates of democratic reform, was tried Wednesday on charges that his calls for open elections and free speech are a threat to the ruling Communist Party.

Mr. Liu, a poet and social critic who has spent more than a year in detention, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of charges legally defined as “incitement to subvert state power.” His lawyer said a verdict would likely come Friday, Christmas Day.

Some Chinese legal experts and human rights advocates characterized the government’s prosecution of Mr. Liu as a disheartening milestone that has further diminished hopes that China’s economic rise would bring about significant political and legal reforms. During the last year, the government has tightened restrictions on the Internet, cracked down on the country’s small band of public advocacy lawyers and jailed muckrakers who blamed poor school construction for the deaths of thousands of children during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

“Many people see this trial as a tipping point,” said John Kamm, the founder of Dui Hua Foundation, a group that advocates for human rights and works behind the scenes to free Chinese political prisoners. “The government seems to be getting tougher and more unyielding.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/world/asia/24china.html?_r=1&hp

"...to be getting tougher and more unyielding.”

There's a lot of that going around: Tehran, Tegucigalpa, Philadelphia, Copenhagen...

The next thing you know, China will start arresting people and denying them habeas corpus.

Like they do in Iran.

like we do here.

Or preemptive arrest, like they did in Copenhagen during COP15.

"'Liu has been engaged in agitation activities, such as spreading of rumors and defaming of the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years,' the statement said."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/24/content_8318518.htm

If the Chinese authorities believe this is so serious, they should have open proceedings. This displays a total lack of confidence. Even in 1989, there were public sentencing rallies for student leaders, etc.

Liu said in response to a question on what it would take for China to realize a true historical transformation, " 300 years of colonialism. In 100 years of colonialism, Hong Kong has changed to what we see today. With China being so big, of course it would take 300 years of colonialism for it to be able to change to how Hong Kong is today. I have my doubts as to whether 300 years would be enough."<22> Liu later admitted that the response was extemporaneous and used as evidence against him, commenting that, "even today , patriotic 'angry youth' still frequently use these words to paint me with 'treason.'"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo