Chinese Internet Activist Wang Lihong Given 9 Months in Jail - NTDTV

Chinese rights activist Wang Lihong was sentenced to nine months in jail on Friday. It’s a case that has drawn condemnation from critics who see her as a victim of the Communist Party's crackdown on Internet-spread dissent.

Fifty-five-year-old Wang, a fervent blogger, was found guilty of "stirring up trouble." The charge was based on a protest in 2010, when she demonstrated outside a court in eastern China where three people stood trial for criticizing an official.

Heavy security outside the northwest Beijing court on Friday kept the number of supporters down, though the initial hearing drew many more.

Wang's son, Qi Jianxiang, was allowed to enter the courtroom, but representatives from the European Union delegation and other embassies were turned away.

Addressing foreign and Hong Kong media after the verdict, Qi said his mother had not accepted the verdict, and the family would appeal.

[Qi Jianxiang, Wang Lihong’s Son]:
"She said, 'I think you all know that I'm innocent', and the judge said 'Well, we have a different understanding,' and my mother said she wants to send her regards to the Internet."

Much of Wang's activism has taken place online.

Wang's lawyer said the sentence was "relatively light" compared to the maximum of five years' jail that the court could have given.

But Wang’s son said she should never have been sentenced at all.

[Qi Jianxiang, Wang Lihong’s Son]:
"This is a blow. My mother never defended the rights of others for her own benefit, she always did it just to help others. But she is still given nine months in jail. I think everybody understands what it's like in China."

Wang was detained last March when the Chinese regime was rounding up dissidents who authorities feared could stir revolution that toppled governments across the Arab world.

In 2010 Wang took up the cause of a woman who believed her daughter had been killed after being raped at a brothel that she said ran under police protection.

The woman and two supporters who helped publicize the accusations on the Internet were jailed for libel.

When the three were tried last year, Wang and other demonstrators gathered outside a court in Fujian Province to demand their release. It was this demonstration of activism that lead to Wang's sentence.

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