CCP Verdict Aimed at Silencing Gao Before Olympics

Gao Zhisheng, a Beijing-based Chinese human rights lawyer, was convicted of subversion and received a suspended three-year prison sentence on December 22. Gao was also stripped of political rights for one year.

Gao's attorney Mo Shaoping, appointed by Gao's family, was barred from the trial. Upon learning the verdict, Mo said that, having been barred from the courtroom and denied access to the court-cited evidence, he was not in a position to determine whether the evidence and reasoning used by the court could be justified.

Zhang Jiankang, a Xi'an-based Chinese activist lawyer, commented, "Beijing has a history of giving severe sentences to activists, such as Wei Jingsheng, Xu Wenli, and Wang Dan. I have not heard of any leniency on charges related to state security, especially since Gao is a leader of human rights and democratic movements in China. This is completely unheard of. This is a new kind of response from Beijing. It is likely the result of domestic and international pressures."

Zhang added, "First, the trial must be based on legal foundation and be held in a legitimate political environment. Second, the entire process of bringing someone to a trial must not be flawed in any way. If the process is not transparent, the legitimacy of the trial will be questioned, regardless of the verdict."

A Gag Order to Protect the Olympic Games

Professor Sun Wenguang from Shandong University said, "Attorney Gao Zhisheng conducted in-depth investigations to fight for and call for human rights in China. He has made tremendous contributions to China, but the Chinese Communist regime repays him by convicting him of subversion. This illustrates that the Chinese Communist Party has absolutely no regard for the law. It is acting against all sorts of common sense!"

Professor Sun believes that Beijing's verdict aims at suppressing China's human rights and civil rights movements in China before the 2008 Olympic Games.

Prof. Sun said, "The number of protests in China by farmers, workers and students are far higher than in 2005. The Olympic Games are near. The Chinese Communist authorities have to silence these voices and suppress these movements before the games. Those who stand out the most become its primary targets; hence, Chen Guangcheng and Gao Zhisheng were both arrested and tried. They hope that, by gagging them for five or more years, there will be few human rights or civil rights activities in 2007 and 2008 and there will not be any voice of 'discord.'"

Prof. Sun said, "They definitely want to suppress Gao Zhisheng. On the other hand, they know a long prison term would enrage the public, so they decided to suspend the prison term and chose to hold the trial secretly during the year-end holidays. This demonstrates that they knew this trial is despicable and even against its own laws. But its efforts are in vain because those who resolve to fight for China's democracy, freedom and human rights will be impervious to such threats."

The Chinese Communist Party's Decaying Legal System

Mr. Wang Youjin, a researcher at the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, commented that the Chinese regime can always trump up a charge if they want to condemn someone in China. He believes that the suspended prison sentence is practically a gag order.

According to Chinese law, there are many restrictions during probation. For example, having interviews with reporters, going abroad and contacting people outside of the family are frobidden. Hence, Wang concludes that the verdict is a measure to prevent an activist from speaking out or contacting the outside world.

Wang points out that the entire process of the trial and the verdict are extremely odd, based on his lifelong career in the legal arena.

Wang said, "This was more common during the Cultural Revolution. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party is still resorting to this approach shows that its legal system is getting worse and sliding downward at an accelerating rate."