By HENRY SANDERSON,

AP

Posted: 2008-02-05 04:42:46

BEIJING (AP) – A Chinese court Tuesday sentenced a democracy activist who wrote about corruption to four years in prison on subversion charges, his wife and lawyer said.

Lu Gengsong was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Intermediate People’s Court in Hangzhou, a resort city near the eastern commercial hub of Shanghai.

No questions or statements were allowed and Lu was led away immediately after the sentencing announcement, which lasted less than 20 minutes, said Lu’s wife, Wang Xue’e.

Inciting subversion is a vague charge frequently used to silence whistle-blowers and critics of the ruling Communist Party. Lu’s lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said he planned to appeal.

Lu’s sentencing comes just days after the formal arrest of a well-known Chinese dissident, Hu Jia, also on a charge of inciting subversion. Hu, who chronicled the plight of other dissidents through the Internet, was taken from his home in December. Both the U.S. government and European Parliament have called for his release.

The cases underscore continuing doubts about China’s commitment to meet pledges to respect human rights and media freedoms ahead of the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, now barely six months away.

Wang said only she, their daughter and two friends were allowed to attend the sentencing hearing. She said others present told her they were public security bureau employees sent to fill up seats.

“The judge began to read the sentence immediately. No questions could be asked and there was no chance for any of us to say anything,” Wang said. “I asked the judge if I could meet my husband for a minute but he refused.”

Another activist, Cheng Fan, said former prisoners and pro-democracy activists told him they had been prevented from attending the sentencing by police who refused to let them leave their homes.

A clerk reached by phone at the court refused to provide details of the case or give his name.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said he was not familiar with Lu’s case when questioned about it at a regularly scheduled news conference. However, he said China had made “resolute commitments for the Olympics,” and was determined to hold successful Games.

“We should keep in mind that China has its laws and regulations and we should handle the cases according to our law,” Liu said. “I don’t understand why some people always criticize us in this field.”

Lu’s one-day trial was held two weeks ago. His lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said at the time that Lu’s indictment cited 19 essays that he had posted on the Internet.

Wang said at the time that Lu had written about local corruption cases, including allegations that city officials colluded with business people on real estate development projects. Lu turned to freelance writing after being fired from his job as a lecturer at a police training academy in 1993, Wang said.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists labels China the world’s leading jailer of journalists, saying at least 29 reporters are currently locked up.

One – Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong-based journalist for Singapore’s The Straits Times – was released on parole Tuesday after being detained for nearly two years on spying charges.