Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wall Street Journal - March 18, 2008
Today, one of China's most outspoken dissidents, Hu Jia, goes on trial for "inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system," a charge that carries a sentence of up to five years in jail. The 34-year-old blogger's "crime" was to call publicly for environmental protection, an end to discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, better worker rights and extended media freedoms, among other things.
Mr. Hu's fiery writing style and fearlessness have made him a voice for the voiceless in China. In an open letter to authorities last year -- co-written with lawyer Teng Biao -- Mr. Hu said this of the Olympics: "When you come to . . . Beijing, you will see skyscrapers, spacious streets, modern stadiums and enthusiastic people. You will see the truth, but not the whole truth, just as you see only the tip of an iceberg. You may not know that the flowers, smiles, harmony and prosperity are built on a base of grievances, tears, imprisonment, torture and blood."
Mr. Hu was detained for more than a month in February 2006 and he and his wife have been held under close surveillance and house arrest for most of the past two years. He was detained again on December 27 and held for a month before being charged with a crime. He has been granted access to his lawyers only a handful of times before his trial today. His wife Zeng Jinyan and their four-month-old baby are still being held under house arrest.
What's striking about Mr. Hu's case is that even if his trial were completely transparent, he could still be found guilty of a crime no greater than speaking his mind. Under China's criminal law code, anyone who says or writes something critical of the Communist Party's four cardinal principles -- adherence to the socialist road, the party leadership, the people's "democratic dictatorship," and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong thought -- can be charged with attempting to subvert state power.
That gives prosecutors and judges wide latitude -- and emboldens the police to intimidate "suspects." Mr. Hu's co-author on the open letter to authorities, Mr. Teng, was briefly detained earlier this month and warned by police not to speak to media.
Beijing is intent on removing this thorn from its side as it tidies up for the Olympics. Mr. Hu isn't the only dissident who's been rounded up. Thanks to China's antisubversion laws, he probably won't be the last.
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