A Chinese court yesterday jailed three rights activists for up to five years, lawyers said, on charges including inciting subversion, amid what critics see as an intensifying crackdown on dissent under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court sentenced lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荊陵) and activists Yuan Xinting (袁新亭), 44, and Wang Qingying (王清營) to five years, three-and-a-half years and two-and-a-half years imprisonment respectively, according to their lawyers.
Tang, 44, a prominent rights activist in the southern city of Guangzhou, was charged with “inciting subversion of state power,” as well as publishing books on democracy.
The trio were known as the “three gentlemen of Guangzhou,” part of a once vibrant network of activists in the city.
Human rights groups and some Western countries have expressed repeated concern about a widening campaign to quash dissent among academics, journalists and social activists.
China rejects any criticism of its human rights record, saying it is a country ruled by law and that it opposes external interference in its domestic affairs.
Scores of police fenced off the court’s perimeter, preventing two foreign diplomats, from the US and Germany, from attending the trial.
Police bundled several supporters into vehicles and took them away, while journalists were blocked from filming by officers wielding black umbrellas.
“This verdict is unacceptable,” Tang’s wife, Wang Yanfang (汪艷芳), said outside the court. “They violated no laws, and the charges are politically motivated... They were only trying to help society.”
The Guangzhou court could not be reached for a response to accusations the men were not granted a fair trial.
It had not released any information about the trial on its Web site or Sina Weibo microblogging feed by late afternoon.
One of the lawyers defending the men, Ge Yongxi (葛永喜), said Tang would not appeal, because it would be “meaningless in the face of a court that is acting illegally.”
He said Tang told the court he would only appeal to the citizens of China and to God for justice.
“Their peaceful and legitimate work never threatened state security, this is solely about the authorities arbitrarily silencing government critics,” Amnesty International researcher Patrick Poon (潘嘉偉) said in a statement.
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
RSS