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Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (pictured with his wife Liu Xia in 2002) has gone on trial in Beijing on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”. Liu, a prominent government critic and veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, could be jailed for 15 years if convicted. He has been in jail since 2008, after being arrested for writing a document calling for political reform in China. The US, EU, and human rights groups say the trial is politically motivated and have called on Beijing to release Liu. China has dismissed criticism of the trial as an “unacceptable” attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. Mary Kay Magistad reports.
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman and this is the World. The trial of one of China’s best-known dissidents began this morning, and ended a few hours later. Liu Xiaobo was charged with inciting subversion. The case stems from a petition he helped spearhead last year. Charter 08 called for greater democracy and freedom of speech in China. Liu’s attorney says he was told to expect the verdict on Christmas Day. The World’s Mary Kay Magstad reports from Beijing.
MARY KAY MAGSTAD: Few people got into see Liu Xiaobo’s trial in person. The courtroom was said to hold just 18 people, so a small crowd gathered outside the courthouse instead. There were a few dozen pro-democracy activists, a group of diplomats from 14 countries, and a few dozen journalists. Meanwhile, dozens of police patrolled the streets and the subway exits, and turned away several would-be protestors. Police had warned pro-democracy activists to stay home, especially those who had signed Charter 08, but signatory Su Yu Tong [PH] came any way.
SU YU TONG: Sure, I received such a warning, but it’s meaningless to me. I wanted to come, so I came. If Liu Xiaobo is guilty, we’re all guilty, so we need to be here.
MAGSTAD: Of course, Su thinks she and the other 10,000 people who signed Charter 08 are not guilty. After all, China’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and China signed the U.N. covenant on civil and political rights. Though, it still hasn’t ratified it a decade later. The Chinese government still uses the charge of inciting subversion to stifle critics. But the crowd outside the courthouse wasn’t about to be stifled. This protestor shouted, “Long live human rights. Long live Liu Xiaobo. Long live democracy.” Another reached across the police barrier to shove a petition about his own grievance with his local government at a court official. Others waived their own papers. The court official said, “Put those things away.” But a moment later, another protestor handed him a copy of Charter 08, and asked whether he’d read it. The official admitted he hadn’t read the whole thing. The protestor, Lil Xuay Fay [PH] was a lively middle-aged guy in a baseball cap.
LIL XUAY FAY: China needs peaceful political reform like Charter 08 says. Without that, people with grievances have no choice, but to resort to protest and even violence.
MAGSTAD: Lil Xuay Fay said he came by train from a neighboring province to be here. He didn’t tell anyone because he’s under surveillance as a pro-democracy activist. Lil said he’s not worried about what being here might mean for him, even though police were taking pictures of every protestor.
FAY: I’m not afraid of them because I’m prepared. I’m prepared for the worst thing that could happen to me. I believe I’m on the side of justice, and justice will defeat evil in this world.
MAGSTAD: Perhaps in the long run, but it’s less clear whether justice will win out in Liu Xiaobo’s case. U.S. Diplomat Gregory May said, Liu should be freed.
GREGORY MAY: We call on the government of China to release him immediately, and to respect the rights of all Chinese citizens to peacefully express their political views in favor of university-recognized fundamental freedoms, including the right to petition one’s government.
MAGSTAD: But it’s doubtful anyone in the court was listening. The court’s communist party committee usually makes its decision about the sentencing in high-profile political cases like this one, even before the trial begins. Liu Xiaobo was at least able to speak at his trial, and say he was not guilty. For the World, I’m Mary Kay Magstad in Beijing.
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