Arrested publisher Geng Xiaonan is paying the price for supporting me, says dissident law professor
- Geng’s lawyer confirms prosecutors have approved the arrest of the 46-year-old, who was detained in Beijing last month along with her husband Qin Zhen
- She had previously spoken out in support of Xu Zhangrun, an outspoken critic of the Chinese leadership’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic
Beijing prosecutors have arrested a prominent publisher who spoke out in defence of dissident academic Xu Zhangrun, her lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.
Shang Baojun said prosecutors had formally approved the arrest of Geng Xiaonan last Wednesday. Her husband, Qin Zhen, was also detained by Beijing police last month, but the lawyer had no information about him.
Shang said he was not able to comment further on Geng’s case as he has been warned by the authorities to not give interviews to foreign media.
Earlier reports have said that Geng was being investigated for “illegal business operations” and was accused of illicitly publishing more than 8,000 books.
The reports said that Geng, 46, the founder of privately run publishing company Ruiya Books, had only been able to meet her lawyers twice since her detention more than a month ago, but had been repeatedly interrogated by police during that period.
Legal sources who are familiar with cases like Geng’s said she would probably remain in detention for months before she faces trial.
Geng has spoken out in support of Xu, an outspoken critic of the country’s leaders. On Tuesday he said: “It is apparent that she has been arrested for a crime that she did not commit. The authorities are prosecuting her using illegal business operations as an excuse.”
China detains publisher who voiced support for Communist Party critic Xu Zhangrun
In March, the former law professor at Tsinghua University, wrote a number of articles critical of China’s top leaders over their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xu said Geng was now paying the price for speaking out for him after he was detained in July for “patronising prostitutes” during a trip to the southwestern city of Chengdu last year.
Xu, who denies the charges and has hired lawyers to clear his name, was sacked by the university authorities after his detention. He has since been released.
The law on book publishing in China is a huge grey area. Only state-run publishers are allowed to have International Standard Book Numbers and distribution rights, but they will often work with private publishers to produce popular titles.
“The authorities have never recognised the legitimacy of private publishing, so they can always find problems with private publishers if they are unhappy with the publishing process and content,” one source who requested anonymity said.
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A graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, Geng is an active and outspoken publisher and art curator. Besides running Ruiya Books, she is also a noted film producer.
Zhang Xianmin, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, worked with Geng in producing the drama River Road , which premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2014.
Zhang described Geng as “very dedicated and rigorous in her work”. He said: “In the project that we worked together, she managed it very well and did not make any mistakes. I believe this was her work style.”
