New | Guangzhou rights activist Liu Yuandong charged over press freedom protest

A Guangzhou-based rights activist has been formally charged over a street protest for media freedom in China, according to his lawyer.

Liu Yuandong has been indicted on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order” by prosecutors in Guangzhou in addition to previous charges, his lawyer Liu Zhengqing said. He said he was informed of the charges on Monday. 

Liu Yuandong will face court over participating in street protests in January in the capital of Guangdong province, according to the indictment.

Hundreds of people had rallied outside the offices of the leading newspaper Southern Weekly demanding respect for media freedom after censors replaced the newspaper’s New Year editorial. About 100 editors and reporters with the newspaper declared a strike in protest. Dozens of other activists were detained at the time.

Liu, 35, had “attracted a large crowd of onlookers by holding banners and making speeches”, the indictment read. It said Liu did so on three consecutive days in January.

Teng Biao, a mainland legal scholar, said Liu was an important democracy activist in southern China. “His ideas and actions constituted a threat for the authorities,” said Teng, “but neither what he did nor what he said was illegal.”