A Chinese dissident charged with subversion for e-mailing articles criticizing official attitudes towards the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests went on trial today.
Wang Jinbo (29) appeared in court in the eastern province of Shandong. He was arrested in May and three months later was charged with "inciting the subversion of state power", the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong said.
The charge stemmed from articles by Wang calling for the overturning of the government's official verdict that the 1989 protests were "counter-revolutionary".
The articles, e-mailed to overseas Chinese organizations, also called on the communist government to free political dissidents, the center said.
Since his arrest, Wang has gone on five hunger strikes lasting a total of a month, it added.
Wang Jinbo's arrest is the latest in a series of detentions and trials over recent years that reflect the government's determination to prevent free expression and free access to information on the Internet.
AFP