by Tienchi Martin-Liao / September 25, 2013
Classic charges, plus new offenses, facilitate a wave of arrests designed to smother free speech in China.
Charles Xue Confession
Chinese American businessman and blogger Charles Xue confesses to soliciting prostitutes on State TV. Photo: TheGuardian via YouTube.
“Inciting subversion of state power” is the most frequently used charge against dissidents in China. Liu Xiaobo, Li Bifeng, Chen Wei, Yang Tongyan, and many others, have all been sentenced to 10 or more years in prison for this crime, and the verdict is always the same. The revised criminal law of 1997 changed the notorious “counter-revolutionary crime” into this new term and embedded it in Article 105, Paragraph 2. Under this paragraph it reads:
“A person who incites to subvert the state’s political power or to overthrow the socialist system by starting a rumor, slander or any other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights; ringleaders or the persons whose crimes are severe shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years.”
Since its implementation, the authority has used this accusation to suppress freedom of speech. Anyone who has written critical articles, satirical political texts, or even subtle poems can be persecuted under this law. Journalists, writers, and artists are especially endangered.
Other accusations, like “endangering national security” (Hailaite Niyazi, 15 years) or “inciting separatism” are often used against Uyghurs (Nurmuhemmet Yasin,10 years) and “splitting the country, leaking state secrets” is only applied to minorities (Memetjan Abdulla, life). For his part, the blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng received a peculiar accusation: “Intentional destruction of property and mob to disturb traffic order.” Everyone knows that Chen displeased local officials when he criticized their implementation of forced abortions and sterilization of women in a nearby village. However, in the eyes of the villagers and the western world Chen is a hero and a courageous human rights defender.
“Economic crime ” or tax fraud, is also used to accuse dissident intellectuals, such as the artist Ai Weiwei, or religious people, who print and disseminate bibles.