February 12th, 2010
Chinese dissident
Liu Xiaobo’s’s appeal against a
11-year prison sentence (http://www NULL.guardian NULL.co NULL.uk/world/2010/feb/11/us-eu-china-political-dissident) rejected by a court in Beijing. Liu was convicted six weeks ago on charges of subversion, to widespread international condemnation.
Roseann Rife (http://www NULL.amnesty NULL.org NULL.uk/news_details NULL.asp?NewsID=18621), the deputy director for Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International said, “His harsh sentence is a stark reminder to the Chinese people and the world that there is still no freedom of expression or independent judiciary in China.”
Read Liu’s (http://chinadigitaltimes NULL.net/2010/02/liu-xiaobo-i-have-no-enemies-my-final-statement/) final statement to the court.
The denial of Liu’s appeal is another signal that China’s leaders are unwilling to tolerate greater pluralism.
Yesterday, a 20-year-old factory worker who joined a banned political party because he was unhappy with one-party rule was sentenced to jail for 18 months. A court in Shenzhen found
Xue Mingkai (http://www NULL.guardian NULL.co NULL.uk/world/2010/feb/10/chinese-worker-jailed-political-party) guilty of subversion of state power because he joined the US-based China Democracy party last April.
December 25th, 2009
Prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment on 25 December. He was charged with subversion after his part in the drafting of Charter 08, a document calling for free speech and the rule of law. Western journalists and diplomats were prohibited from attending the trial, which was condemned by free expression and human rights campaigners.
Read more (http://www NULL.nytimes NULL.com/2009/12/26/world/asia/26china NULL.html?_r=1&ref=global-home)
December 9th, 2009
Police in China have recommended that prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo be formally charged with subversion. He has been held in jail for over a year without charges and previously served 20 months for his part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The author has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government for many years and was eventually arrested in December 2008 after creating the Charter 08 petition, a manifesto urging political reform. Read more
here (http://www NULL.guardian NULL.co NULL.uk/world/2009/dec/09/chinese-dissident-liu-xiaobo-prosecutors)
June 24th, 2009
One of China’s most prominent political activists has been formally arrested for inciting subversion. Liu Xiaobo is accused of spreading rumours and defaming the government, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. Mr Liu’s arrest comes six months after he was taken into custody. Read more
here (http://news NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8116044 NULL.stm)
