The US House of Representatives on Saturday threw its support behind two Chinese activists put on trial after investigating whether shoddy construction led to children’s deaths in last year’s Sichuan earthquake.
In a nearly unanimous vote, the House approved a resolution saying it “expresses its support” for activists Huang Qi (黃琦) and Tan Zuoren (譚作人) and calling on China to guarantee their rights to free speech and fair trials.
Huang and Tan went on separate trials in August on respective charges of possessing state secrets and subversion, although human rights groups believe they were targeted because of their activism after the Sichuan earthquake.
Huang, the founder of a human rights Web site, posted parents’ demands for an investigation and spent nearly 14 months in detention before going on trial. Tan, a writer, led calls for an independent probe into school construction.
The earthquake left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing.
Schools bore the brunt of the tragedy, with thousands collapsing on top of students, fueling angry charges from parents that corruption had led to shoddy construction.
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