Chinese authorities have indicted veteran dissident Zhu Yufu on subversion charges for writing a poem urging people to gather to defend their freedoms, his lawyer said today.
Mr Zhu (60), from the eastern city of Hangzhou, was arrested last April for "inciting subversion of state power", a charge often used against critics of the ruling Communist Party. No trial date has been set, the lawyer, Li Dunyong, said by telephone.
"The main reason for the indictment was a poem he had written calling for people to gather. He had written the poem around the same time there was chaos (in the Middle East)," Mr Li said. "He believes in the freedom of expression."
Mr Li collected the indictment on Monday from a Hangzhou court and met Mr Zhu, describing him as being "in a good condition".
The authorities disclosed the decision to prosecute Mr Zhu nearly a year after he wrote the poem, entitled It's time. A verse reads: "It's time, Chinese people!/ The square belongs to everyone/the feet are yours/it's time to use your feet and take to the square to make a choice".
Mr Zhu's lawyer said the poem had been published on the Internet. But Mr Li said that Mr Zhu had nothing to do with online calls for "Jasmine Revolution" rallies inspired by Middle East uprisings.
Elsewhere, activist artist Ai Weiwei, whose 81-day detention last year sparked an international outcry, said he was interrogated for five hours on Sunday for throwing stones at and making a rude gesture to surveillance cameras outside his home.
Police told Mr Ai that he had to be questioned because he was suspected of "damaging public property", the artist said by telephone. Mr Ai said the stones did not hit the 10 cameras outside his house and he did not think he would face charges.
"They said to me: 'This is a warning because you have to behave'," Mr Ai said. "I said: 'I'll behave. I take your warning seriously. But I'm human, I have to show my attitude. It's just a gesture. You're so powerful, how can I destroy you?'"
A third dissident, Hu Jia, said he was taken in for questioning today, as has happened several times since police raided his home and took two computers.
Hu said police investigators asked about his motives for urging citizens to seek the freedom of detained rights advocates Chen Guangcheng and Gao Zhisheng.
"I think they were exploring my views to see what I'm planning to do this year," he said. "They told my wife I could be regularly questioned. I think it's a kind of pressure to ensure my silence."
China's foreign ministry defended China's human rights record, rejecting an assessment by US ambassador Gary Locke that the human rights situation was deteriorating.
"Such statements are not true," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a briefing. "The Chinese side attaches great importance to promoting and protecting the fundamental rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups, including the freedom of expression and of religion."
"As for some people who have dealt with the law, it's not because their freedom of expression and freedom of religion have been suppressed," Liu said. "It's because they have violated Chinese laws and regulations and so should be punished by the law. It has nothing to do with so-called human rights."
Reuters