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Chinese dissident trial begins

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China’s most prominent dissident goes on trial tomorrow. He spearheaded a petition that called for democracy and more freedom of expression in China. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

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MARCO WERMAN: China’s most prominent dissident goes on trial tomorrow. Liu Xiaobo has been detained a year for spearheading a petition known as Charter 08. It calls for democracy and more freedom of expression in China. The charge against Liu is inciting subversion and it could bring a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The world’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

MARY KAY MAGISTAD: The world has not forgotten Liu Xiaobo during the year he’s been in detention. He’s received several international human rights awards and foreign leaders have weighed in on his behalf, including President Obama on his recent visit to China. But Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch says the interventions didn’t come early enough or vocally enough, and Liu Xiaobo may now pay the price.

NICHOLAS BEQUELIN: The fact that he’s being brought to trial means that the Party of 30s have decided already that he will be sentenced. This is really a test case. He is China’s most prominent, most well respected dissident, and if he goes to jail, that lowers the bar for all other dissidents and critics in the country. It has a single that China sends to the international community, we can even sentence someone like him.

MAGISTAD: Several foreign embassies have asked to send observers to the trial. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman [PH] Jiang Hsu was asked in a regularly scheduled news briefing today whether foreign observers would be allowed to attend.

WOMAN: [CHINESE]

MAGISTAD: She said, “This case is now being handled by the court and the traditional authorities will handle the case according to the usual proceedings.” That’s not exactly an answer. The foreign journalists have been told they can’t attend. Liu Xiaobo’s wife has also been told she can’t attend. And when some of the original 300 signatories of Charter 08 started planning a demonstration outside the courthouse, each got a visit from security officials warning them to stay home. Liu Xiaobo is a 53-year-old literary critic and former academic who has gone to prison before. He was one of the last people in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 crackdown, and as a young professor, he negotiated with the troops to allow safe passage for students out of the square. For that, he served two years in prison. Once released, he remained under police surveillance, but was allowed to write articles, meet foreign journalists, and live a relatively normal life. That ended when he helped spearhead Charter 08. The Manifesto calls for China to build a democratic political system and embrace freedom, equality, and human rights as universal values. In a 2006 video released by the writer’s advocacy group Pen, Liu made a similar call.

MAN: [CHINESE]

MAGISTAD: He said, “The world should continue to pay attention to Chinese writers and help them gain more freedom. Because what happens in China matters to the world and effects the world. Only when there’s freedom of expression”, he said, “will China be able to elevate its standard of civilization, and that will benefit everyone inside China and beyond.” That Liu might now face a long sentence simply for making this call suggests a government uncomfortable with growing levels of expression and dissent, including tens of thousands of demonstrations each year. Again, Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch.

BEQUELIN: This leadership is more conservative, more risk averse than previous leadership. And also they’re very worried about the risk entailed by globalization, by having more exchanged with the world, with Internets which is more difficult to control. And therefore they are trying very hard to prevent any sort of dissidents from organizing.

MAGISTAD: If previous trials of prominent dissidents are anything to go by, Liu’s trial might not even last a day before a verdict is handed down. Liu has said he will not appeal the decision. He stands by what he has said, and will let history judge him and his accusers, no matter what tomorrow’s verdict may be. For The World, I’m Mary Kay Magistad, in Beijing.

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