Zhao Lianhai and Wang Lihong, Found Guilty of “Causing a Disturbance in a Public Place”

• Author: China Law Compiled news

Zhao Lianhai is a 39 year-old who has worked for several media outlets, such as the “China Quality Daily”. Since his son consumed tainted milk and suffered from stones, he initiated a coalition for other victims called the “Kidney Stone Baby Home”. On November 10, 2010, he was secretly sentenced to a two-year imprisonment after trial at Beijing Daxing Court’s first instance for causing a disturbance in a public place. According to Peng Jian, one of Zhao’s lawyers, his case involved personal privacy so the trial could not be a public hearing and the verdict could not be made public.

According to the verdict, which has been spread around online, Zhao used critical social issues between 2008 and 2009 to incite and illegally gather people in Daxing and Fengtai districts of Beijing, Shijiazhuang of Hebei Province, shouting slogans and stirring trouble, which seriously disrupted social order.

Because of heavy media pressure from Hong Kong, even the Chinese People Political Consultation Conference (CPPCC) member Liu Mengxiong, traditionally pro-Beijing, published a full-page criticism of the verdict, saying that “[the case involved] law without Justice, the crime was convicted without the power of law ”.The Hong Kong Legislative Council filed a petition and held emergency debates. Zhao was secretly released on medical parole one month after his imprisonment.

Wang Hongli, 56 year-old; who used to work in the NPC Standing Committee of Beijing City, has also been honored as “China’s Grassroots Right Defender.” She was secretly arrested in March of this year. On...