Friday, August 17, 2007



No freedom of speech in China

Chen Shuqing is a writer and member of China's banned Chinese Democratic Party (CDP). He has published articles highly critical of the Chinese government on numerous websites. Last September he was arrested, and today he was sentenced to four years imprisonment on charges of "inciting to subvert state power". To add insult to injury, his lawyer was disbarred for representing him.

In a free society, it should not be a crime to attack of the government or criticise state institutions. But CHina is not a free society. Instead, it is a totalitarian state where dissent is crushed. And we're chasing a free trade deal with them?