U.N. Inaction on China All Actions of the UN Human Rights System Critical of Specific States, 2005 Non-U.N. View of Human Rights in China China, August 28, 2006 BLIND SOCIAL ACTIVIST IMPRISONED AFTER SHOW TRIAL Original Source: The Wall Street Journal Attachment: Click here to view this alert in MS Word/PDF format

	Chen Guangcheng Source: Washington Post

"In most countries, a blind social activist who taught himself law to fight for the rights of the disabled and other victims of abuse would be treated as a hero, and feted with all kinds of rewards. Especially if he courageously exposed forced abortions and sterilizations that even the government agrees are against the law. But, in China, Chen Guangcheng's reward for doing this is prison. He was sentenced to four years and three months Thursday, on trumped up charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt traffic" and damaging $680 worth of government property. That Mr. Chen was under house arrest at the time these "crimes" allegedly occurred didn't seem to trouble the court. Not that there was anyone to raise this point during the two-hour hearing. Three lawyers who sought to defend the blind activist were detained by local police in the northeast Chinese province of Shandong, and accused of stealing a wallet. Instead the judge simply announced that Mr. Chen's silence during the "trial" amounted to an admission of guilt."

Posted:  Wednesday, September 13, 2006