Beijing tries dissident on spurious spying charge

TRUMPED-UP: The fact that the hearing was closed to observers has been taken as a sign that the Chinese authorities' evidence was laughably thin

AFP , BEIJING

An espionage trial of a US-based democracy activist, which is seen as an important test case for the new Chinese government's views on dissent, ended behind closed doors without a verdict yesterday.

Yang Jianli, who appeared at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court after 15 months in detention, declared himself innocent of both spying and an additional charge of entering China illegally, his lawyer said.

"He used his right to defend himself in court and declared himself innocent of both charges," Mo Shaoping told reporters shortly after the three-hour trial ended.

The court will not announce a verdict immediately, but under normal circumstances it should be expected within six weeks, he said.

The punishment meted out to Yang may help show whether China's political climate has changed after a new generation of leaders took over earlier this year, observers said.

"The case might provide some perspective on new President Hu Jintao and the approach his administration will take towards dissidents," said Jared Genser, Yang's US-based legal adviser and leader of the human rights group Freedom Now.

Forty-year-old Yang, a US resident on a Chinese blacklist of people barred from entry, was detained in April last year after he traveled to China on a friend's passport in an attempt to observe ongoing labor unrest.

"He declared himself innocent of illegal entry, since as a Chinese citizen he has a right to return to his home country," said Mo, the lawyer.

According to a copy of an opinion recommending prosecution issued by the Beijing Bureau of National Security, the spying charge is based on activities that took place a decade ago.

Yang's supporters have said these activities are entirely innocuous, including the donation of US$100 for a Chinese agricultural scientist's research into papaya trees.

The spuriousness of the spying charge is the likely reason why China decided to close the trial, barring relatives or US embassy staff from attending, according to Genser.

"If the outside world did attend, and saw the evidence, it would probably have a very large question about why he is being charged with espionage at all," he said.

An espionage conviction can carry the death penalty in China, although it is unlikely to be used in Yang's case due to the high level of foreign interest in it.

Both Lorne Craner, the US State Department's top human rights official, and James Kelly, its leading East Asia hand, have met with Chinese embassy officials to urge more transparency in the case, sources said.

Last week the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution warning that cases like Yang's could harm relations between Beijing and Washington.

Taiwan rights activists show concern over trial

By Roger Liu

STAFF REPORTER

The Taiwanese Association for Human Rights (TAHR) yesterday urged China to fairly judge democracy activist Yang Jianli.

"We have formed an observation group made up of several lawyers to keep an eye on this case," said Wu Chia-chen, the association's office director.

"We urge the PRC government to give Yang a fair trial and release him," Wu said.

Yang, a US resident since 1989, was detained by Chinese police in April last year after he entered the country on a friend's passport in a bid to observe labor unrest. He was charged with spying for the KMT.

"The revised version of China's Code of Criminal Process stipulates a transparent process," said Chou Tsang-hsien, an attorney and member of TAHR.

"However, the Chinese court carried out a secret trial. This is unacceptable in any democratic country," he said.

"We can't go to China to observe the trial," Chou said, "but we will keep an eye on this [case] through other channels."

"They [Chinese authorities] say one thing in the law, but do another in reality," the rights group said.

The Chinese government always says that it will never stop trying to persuade the Taiwanese people to accept the idea of unification, said Chien Hsi-chieh, executive director of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan.

"How can people here be persuaded of that given the way they deal with Yang?" Chien said.

Democracy will emerge victorious over tanks

By Chen Lung-chu

The street protests by half a million Hong Kong residents against Article 23 of the Basic Law have led to a new interpretation of the "one country, two systems" concept, where the "one country" stands for China and the "two systems" stand for "dictatorship" and "oppression," or, in other words, the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party of China in opposition to democracy and the oppression of the people, depriving them of their freedom and human rights.

China's "one country, two systems" is already in ruins after only six years in Hong Kong. The people of Taiwan have always opposed the concept, now more than ever.

Taiwan faces China's military threats, diplomatic isolation, economic seduction, and political and cultural infiltration. To achieve an enduring system, peace and sustainable development, we must work from within Taiwan to form a modern society based on democracy and freedom.

In 2000, Taiwan adopted peaceful and democratic means to complete the first transfer of power in its history.

Not only was this an unprecedented achievement, but it was also the first step towards the normalization of democratic politics. In order to deepen and further consolidate the nation's democracy, it is necessary to carry out referendums to make up for the shortcomings of the representative politics of Taiwan's indirect democracy, by -- whenever appropriate -- using the direct democracy of referendums to show the common will of the people regarding important livelihood and other public policies, constitutional amendments, or the creation of a new constitution.

What is so precious about a democratic and free country is that it allows its people to express differing points of view, using rational communication and mutual compromise on a public and open stage to gradually build a consensus and achieve national acceptance, thus building the idea of a shared community. Democratic countries are better at resolving conflict and promoting an international environment of peaceful coexistence, while dictatorships and authoritarian regimes look down on democracy, freedom and human rights and become a source of regional unrest.

Taiwan's efforts at protecting basic human rights, democracy and freedom conform with the mainstream values of the international community, and they also promote a peaceful and stable international environment. Freedom, democracy and human rights are effective tools for dealing with China's verbal attacks and military threats.

History shows that nations that have these things are destined to succeed, while dictatorial and authoritarian oppression are destined to fail.

We must not underestimate our nation simply because China has a larger territy, more manpower and more natural resources.

The sustainable development of a nation does not depend on the volume of military equipment or the size of natural resources -- the most important factor is the establishment of a system of democracy, freedom and human rights.

We must value the achievements of the nation's democracy and freedom by implementing and spreading the ideas of democracy, freedom and human rights.

We must highlight the oppression of China's authoritarian dictatorship and use international support for democracy, freedom and human rights to dissolve Chinese pressure on Taiwan and thwart its ambitions to annex Taiwan, and we must help the Chinese people move toward this goal.

Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.