One of China’s most prominent dissidents, Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), was jailed yesterday for 11 years for campaigning for political freedoms, with the stiff sentence on a subversion charge swiftly condemned by rights groups and Washington.
Liu, who turns 54 on Monday, helped organize the “Charter 08” petition, which called for sweeping political reforms, and before that was prominent in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Tiananmen Square that were crushed by armed troops.
He stood quietly in a Beijing courtroom as a judge found him guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” for his role in the petition and for online essays critical of the Chinese Communist Party, defense lawyer Shang Baojun (尚寶軍) said.
Liu was not allowed to respond in court to the sentence.
“Xiaobo and I were very calm when the verdict was read. We were mentally prepared for it that he would get a long sentence,” said Liu’s wife, Liu Xia (劉霞), who was allowed in to hear the verdict.
She was barred from the trial on Wednesday.
“Later we were allowed 10 minutes together, and he told me he would appeal, even if the chances of success are low,” she said.
Liu has been among the most combative critics of China’s one-party rule.
His case sparked an outcry from Western governments and rights activists at home and abroad.
The unusually harsh sentence drew a fresh outcry that is likely to grow.
China “sees Liu Xiaobo as a representative figure, and thinks [it] can scare the others into silence with such a harsh sentence,” dissident writer and Christian activist Yu Jie (余杰) said. “[Chinese President] Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) believes that with the West weakened and human rights taking a back seat, he can ignore pressure over attacks on freedom of expression.”
FOREIGN RESPONSE
The Swedish EU presidency yesterday condemned the decision, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial in China.
“The Presidency of the European Union is deeply concerned by the disproportionate sentence against the prominent human rights defender Liu Xiaobo,” it said in a statement. ”The verdict against Mr Liu gives rise to concern with respect to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial in China.”
“We continue to call on the government of China to release him immediately,” US embassy official Gregory May told reporters outside the courthouse following sentencing. “Persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognized norms of human rights.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement that the verdict cast “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to protect human rights.
“The conviction and extremely harsh sentencing of Liu Xiaobo mark a further severe restriction on the scope of freedom of expression in China,” she said.
TAIWAN RESPONSE
In Taiwan, when asked to comment on Liu’s sentence, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said “human rights are universal values.”
“We care about human rights not only in Taiwan but in every corner of the world. The MAC has been consistent in human rights-related issues,” she said, stopping short of saying more.
DPP RESPONSE
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday called on China to embrace democracy and human rights.
Hsiao condemned the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government for remaining silent on Liu’s case while many countries around the world have voiced their support for Liu.
“President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] used to pride himself on supporting demonstrators for democracy at Tiananmen Square in 1989, but he has been silent about democracy in China since he took office as president last year,” Hsiao said.
“We are very disappointed in him, and we are worried the government may further diverge from mainstream public opinion during cross-strait exchanges in the future,” she said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN AND SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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