Buddhist Master Shi Shengguan (釋聖觀) was sentenced earlier this month in China to four years in prison after being detained for nearly two years for “inciting subversion of state power.”
An advocate for democracy and human rights, Shi, along with one of his followers, Huang Jingyi (黃靜怡), was arrested following a Dharma teaching session in Wuhan on May 17, 2014.
Both were charged with inciting subversion of state power, as Shi has often criticized Beijing’s human rights record during his lessons.
Photo: Loa Iok-sin, Taipei Times
On April 8, the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court found Shi and Huang guilty and sentenced Shi to four years in prison and Huang to two years.
“My Dharma teacher insisted that he is not guilty and that he would not appeal the verdict when it was handed down — and the other person [Huang] also made the same decision,” nun Shi Guoshi (釋果實), a student of Shi Shengguan who visited Taiwan in 2014 in a bid to seek support from her master, told the Taipei Times in an interview via e-mail.
“Four years in prison is too harsh, as I said in the beginning. His arrest and detention were unjust, and for him, even one day in prison would be a wrongful sentence,” she said. “Making an appeal is meaningless for him. The only meaningful thing is for the court to set him free and apologize.”
Shi Guoshi said that during court sessions, Shi Shengguan always insisted on his beliefs, and even “advised” the judges against handing down unjust sentences.
Shi Shengguan never compromised, despite the consequences that he might face, she said.
Shi Guoshi also criticized the treatment that Shi Shengguan received during his two years of detention, saying that living conditions in the detention center were horrible and that her teacher’s basic needs, such as vegetarian meals, could not be met.
“As a student, I am extremely sad that my teacher will continue to suffer behind bars, whether it is in the detention center or the prison,” Shi Guoshi said. “I will continue to fight for his rights and better treatment in the future.”
Since her trip to Taiwan, Shi Guoshi has been banned from traveling overseas and has lived under close surveillance by Chinese authorities.
She was forced by Chinese security personnel to leave Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where Shi Shengguan has a large number of followers, ahead of his trial.
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