Teacher garners public sympathy after writing 'seditious' essays
Chen Pingfu was left penniless after suffering a heart attack. His essays on how officials treat the poor led to charges - and public sympathy
If not for his heart attack in 2005, Chen Pingfu would still be a maths teacher, leading an ordinary life in Lanzhou, Gansu province.
That misfortune was followed by several more. Having no medical insurance from the state or his college, the 55-year-old fell into debt paying for his operation. Then he lost his job when his state factory-affiliated college closed in 2008.
Without an income, he turned to playing violin on the street for money - an act regarded as begging on the mainland. Police and officials would rough him up. But the experience opened Chen's eyes to how people at the bottom of society are often abused.
Furious over the humiliation, Chen turned to writing essays criticising the government for mistreating the poor and exacerbating their plight. He would post them online and soon he had written hundreds.
On Tuesday last week, he went on trial at the Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court for "inciting subversion of state sovereignty", he said in an interview. The charge carries a maximum jail term of 15 years.
"I wrote those essays because I wanted people to be informed so they can see what's good and evil," he said. "I asked the prosecutor: Dr Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing imperial court and Mao Zedong subverted Chiang Kai-shek's regime - can you say they were guilty of subversion? He was silent."
An employee at the Lanzhou court said on Friday he had no knowledge of Chen's case.