SW CHINA: CHENGDU ENVIRONMENTALIST INDICTED FOR BLOOD DRIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000141

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SENV
SUBJECT: SW CHINA: CHENGDU ENVIRONMENTALIST INDICTED FOR BLOOD DRIVE
COMMEMORATING JUNE 4/TIANANMEN; TRIAL OF SECOND DISSIDENT BEGINS IN
CHENGDU

REF: A. A) 08 CHENGDU 98

B. B) FBS20080527382725

CHENGDU 00000141 001.2 OF 003



1. (SBU) Chengdu environmentalist Tan Zuoren, who organized
protests against a USD 5.5 billion petrochemical plant near
Chengdu (ref A) and published online politically sensitive
lists of the numbers of children killed when their schools
collapsed in the May 12, 2008 earthquake (ref B),was indicted
July 17 in Chengdu. Tan, who had been arrested in Chengdu on
March 28, was reportedly indicted not for his most high profile
activities, but for incitement to subvert the state and the
socialist system by slandering the government's handling of
Tiananmen, and for running voluntary blood donation drives in
memory of June 4th. Tan's wife obtained a copy of the
indictment. Chengdu activist Ran Yunfei distributed the
indictment and other information on the Tan's case on his blogs
and on his Twitter channel at twitter.com/ranyunfei . Ran Yunfei
wrote in his blogs that "In this country full of disasters and
troubles, in this country that terrorizes people, any one of use
could be Tan Zuoren", adding that freedom is something that must
be won; people cannot expect that they can simply wait and
receive it later as a gift.




2. (SBU) The indictment is translated in the appendix below.
Ran believes that that Tan was indicted for June 4th activities
by the local authorities rather than for his recent high profile
activities in order to tie the hands of higher authorities who
might not be willing to prosecute him for activities the local
authorities find troublesome. Another Chinese blogger agreed,
saying, "If they want to convict someone, any crime will do!"
[yujia zhi zui, hehuan wuci] According to an August 1 Voice of
America news report, Tan Zuoren's case will be tried on August
12 at the Chengdu Intermediate Court. Tan's lawyer, Hu
Zhiqiang, told VOA that 55-year-old Tan Zuoren is in good
spirits at the Chengdu Dujiangyan Detention Center. Tan is now
working with his lawyer to prepare his defense.



Chengdu Crackdowns: Huang Qi, Parents of Schoolchildren Killed
in Sichuan Earthquake

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3. (SBU) Tan's indictment occurred just as the trial of
another Chengdu dissident, Huang Qi, is about to begin. Huang
Qi was arrested on June 10, 2008 on "suspicion of possessing
state secrets. " Huang Qi and his website -- 64tianwang.com --
originally won public attention by investigating missing persons
and helping free several women who had been trafficked. He got
into trouble last year apparently for remembrances of June 4th
and for criticizing poor school construction standards that led
to the death of many children in the May earthquake. On many
occasions after the Sichuan earthquake, parents of
schoolchildren who gathered to protest inadequate school
construction standards in Dujiangyan and elsewhere were
arrested, and otherwise strongly cautioned against making public
protests or meeting journalists. Many parents protested the
"bean curd construction" of schools that made the earthquake
even more deadly in the weeks following the quake. Local
officials throughout the quake zone reportedly intensified their
crack down on protesting parents again around the one-year
anniversary of the quake.



Comment: Rare Sample of A Chinese Political Indictment

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4. (SBU) Indictment in sensitive Chinese political cases are
often not available, so this is useful as an example of the
genre, as well as for understanding how Tan Zuoren's case is
being handled.




5. (U) Appendix: Tan Zuoren Indictment: Consulate General
Chengdu Translation



Sichuan Province Chengdu People's Procuratorate Indictment

Chengdu Procuratorate -- Indictment [2009]183




CHENGDU 00000141 002.2 OF 003


The indicted, Tan Zuoren, male, born May 15, 1954, PRC ID card
no. 5101021954051611X, Han nationality, vocational school
education, resides at No. 29 Wangjiang Road, Taolin Village,
Building 6, No. 6. On March 28, 2009 he was placed under
criminal detention according to the law. On April 24, 2009
because he was involved in the crime of inciting subversion of
state power, he was, with the permission of the Chengdu
Procuratorate, arrested according to law by Chengdu Public
Security.



An investigation carried out according to law has determined
that:



The indicted Tan Zuoren is dissatisfied with the methods and
verdict of the Party Central Committee concerning the "June
Fourth Incident" and for many years by various methods has been
involved in "June Fourth" activities. On May 27, 2007, Tan
Zuoren concocted an article entitled "1989: A Witness to the
Last Beauty: An Eyewitness' Tiananmen Square Diary" and using
the Internet put it on the website "Torch of Liberty" and other
websites outside of China mainland. The main points of that
article distorted the handling of the "June 4th Incident" by the
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and libeled it.




Shortly after that article was posted, the enemy element outside
mainland China Wang Dan contacted him by email and on several
occasions sent him propaganda materials about "June Fourth".



On June 4, 2008, the indicted Tan Zuoren and others on Chengdu's
Tianfu Square commemorated "June 4th" by making voluntary blood
donations and at that time agreed to a telephone interview
request by the enemy radio station outside China mainland "Voice
of Hope". Since November 2008, Wang Dan on many occasions sent
him materials on commemorating the twentieth anniversary of
"June 4th". On February 10, 2009, the indicted Tan Zuoren sent
Wang Dan an email entitled "My Suggestions for Commemorating the
Twentieth Anniversary of June 4th", suggesting that during this
year's "June 4th" period that a "June 4th Global Chinese Blood
Drive" be held to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of June
4th.



After the "May 12th earthquake" of 2008, the indicted Tan Zuoren
was interviewed many times by media from outside mainland China.
On these occasions he said many things that severely harmed the
image of our Party and government. On March 27th, the indicted
Tan Zuoren was brought to justice by Public Security.



Evidence proving the facts above are as follows: notes on
identification of the indicted, notes on the taking into custody
of the indicted, appraisals by experts, testimony of witnesses,
deposition of the indicted.



The Procuratorate believes that the indicted Tan Zuoren, in
order to achieve his goal of subverting state power and
overthrowing the socialist system fabricated things out of whole
cloth, distorted news, and spread speech that is injurious to
state power and the socialist system in order to damage the
image of state power and the socialist system in the eyes of the
people. This constitutes a crime under article 105 of the
Criminal Code of the People's Republic of China. The crime is
clear, the evidence is certain and abundant. Tan Zuoren should
be prosecuted and convicted of the crime of inciting subversion
of state power. As stipulated by Article 141 "Code of Criminal
Procedure of the People's Republic of China", Tan Zuoren is
indicted and it is hereby requested that he be prosecuted
according to law.



Hereby submitted to the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court



Prosecutor Chen Shiti


CHENGDU 00000141 003.2 OF 003


Assistant Prosecutor Wang Yihong

July 17, 2009

Secretary Li Zhenzhen



Notes:


1. The indicted Tan Zuoren is now confined in the Wenjiang
District House of Detention


2. The list of evidence, photocopies of principal evidence are
in one bound book.
BROWN