5 Years for ‘Subversive’ Chinese Worker
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BEIJING — A disgruntled factory worker who organized an online petition against illegal land seizures in China headed “We want human rights not the Olympics” was jailed for five years on yesterday, the maximum sentence was for the charge of subverting the power of the state. Mr. Yang, 54, from the north-east city of Jiamusi, was hit with electric batons as his family scuffled with police after the hearing, his lawyer, Li Fangping, said.
He was one of thousands of people from all over China who have protested against what they say is illegal seizure of farmland for development in recent years.
