Chen Bing was the last of four defendants to face trial over the liquor bottle label protest. Photo: Handout
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https://scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3004745/tiananmen-square-tank-man-liquor-label-protester-sentenced-3-1 Politics
Tiananmen Square ‘Tank Man liquor label’ protester sentenced to 3½ years in prison
- Chen Bing, last of four defendants to face trial, found guilty of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’
- Supporters say he pleaded not guilty in court and judge rejected lawyers’ efforts to use accounts from parents of victims of 1989 crackdown in his defence
The four activists were arrested in 2016 after putting labels on bottles of baijiu that paid tribute to the Tiananmen Square protest. Photo: Handout
A Chinese activist who took part in a 2016 campaign that used labels on liquor bottles to encourage people to remember the 1989 military crackdown in Tiananmen Square has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison.
Chen Bing on Thursday became the last of four defendants to face trial at Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court of Sichuan province in southwest China.
He was found guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Given his time served, Chen will be eligible for release in about eight months’ time.
His fellow defendants – Fu Hailu, Zhang Junyong and Luo Fuyu – were each given three-year suspended sentences on the same charge.
Supporters of the group posted news of their sentences on Twitter on Thursday, saying that the three people released and their relatives were under close observation by state security officials and unable to speak freely.
All four were arrested in 2016 after putting labels on bottles of baijiu – a traditional Chinese spirit – that paid tribute to the student-led movement.
The design included an image of the Tank Man – the lone protester, who has never been identified, who stood in front of a column of tanks during the bloody crackdown.
Supporters said on Twitter that Chen pleaded not guilty in court, and that efforts by his lawyers – Wan Miaoyan and Si Weijiang – to use accounts by the parents of two victims of the crackdown in support of his defence were dismissed.
When contacted after the trial, which lasted several hours, Wan said she was unable to give interviews.
A supporter said both Chen’s sister and sister-in-law were being closely monitored by security officials.
Chen’s twin brother, Chen Wei, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for “subversion of state power”.
The supporters also said that the three activists given suspended sentences had been put on 10 days’ probation to stop them from making contact with visitors or foreign reporters.
Although nearly 30 years have passed since the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the incident remains a taboo topic in mainland China and any form of public commemoration of it is strictly prohibited.