huridocs-tech Cyber-Dissident Sentenced to 2-Year Imprisonment

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	Hong Kong Voice of Democracy
	http://www.democracy.org.hk
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Cyber-Dissident Sentenced to 2-Year Imprisonment for Subversion

In a landmark case of Internet persecution, Lin Hai, the first
"Cyber-dissident" in China, is convicted for "inciting to subvert the
state power" and sentenced to two-year imprisonment on January 20, 1999.
Lin's wife, Xu Hong, said he will not appeal the sentence because there is
no use in appealing. She was disappointed by the result of the trial. 

Human rights observers are concerned that the case will set a precedent
for other cases of Internet persecution. Lin was a Shanghai software
company owner who provided 30,000 mainland e-mail addresses to VIP
reference, a U.S. based dissident electronic publication. Lin is also
fined 10,000 RMB yuan and his political rights expropriated for one year.
He insisted that there is no political motive behind the exchange of
e-mail addresses with VIP reference. 

There are indications that the Chinese government is adopting a very
high-handed approach in dealing with the dissidents. Zhang Shan-guang, a
labour rights activist, has recently been given a 10-year sentence for
"endangering national security"; one of his "crimes" was to give an
interview with the U.S. funded Free Radio Asia on the peasant unrest. 

Jiang Ze-min, president of PRC, claimed that the unstable elements should
be nipped in the bud. It is believed that the Chinese government is
worried by the growing unrest among the workers and the peasants. 1999 is
also a sensitive year because it is the 10th anniversary of the June 4th
Tienanmen Massacre and the 80th anniversary of May 4th Movement. 

Lin Hai stood trial on December 4 in a closed courtroom on December 4,
1998. In the January 20 trial, Lin's family was allowed to hear the trial,
which ended in 30 minutes. 

Lu Si-qing, director of Hong Kong-based Information Centre of Human Rights
and Democratic Movement in China, strongly protests against the trial of
Lin. He noted that just by keying in the word "email" in a searching
machine on the Internet, he will be able to obtain more than 100,000
mainland e-mail addresses. Moreover, it is legal to obtain e-mail address
through the Internet. He believes the Chinese government wants to deter
the mainland citizens from disseminating political information through
this trial. 

On the other hand, Wu Yi-long, a Master student with the Literature
department of Zhejiang University, was dismissed on January 19, three days
before his graduation. The reason for his dismissal is that he joined the
Chinese Democratic Party. He is the first university student to be
dismissed for political reason since 1989. The incident symbolizes the
Chinese government's attempt to tighten its control over the universities. 





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Please add your name to the signature drive calling for the rehabilitation
of the June 4th Democracy Movement at

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	Francis T.L. Lau          
	Email:  tllau@hknet.com   
	Mobile: (852) 9424 1068   
	Fax:    (852) 2493 3953  
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	Hong Kong Voice Of Democracy
	http://www.democracy.org.hk/
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