The mother of a prominent Chinese dissident says she will re-appeal for her son’s release. Guo Quan was found guilty of so called "subversion of state power" for writing articles calling for democratic reform. She says his appeal against his ten year sentence was rejected without a hearing.
Prominent democracy activist Guo Quan was sentenced to ten years in prison on October 16th last year. The political dissident was found guilty of so called “subversion of state power” by the Chinese communist regime.
Guo appealed his sentence with the help of his mother Gu Xiao, after his lawyer was pressured to stay away from the case.
Gu says when she contacted local authorities on Christmas Day, she found out the appeal judge had upheld the ten year sentence without a hearing.
[Gu Xiao, Mother of Jailed Dissident]: (female, Chinese, first soundbite)
“When I heard that the sentence was upheld, I couldn’t hold myself and collapsed at once. My son’s appeal wasn’t even heard in court. It was the same as a secret trial. The judge went to the detention center and read the judgment, it was over like that. It was not made public.”
Gu says she will appeal for her son again.
[Gu Xiao, Mother of Jailed Dissident]: (female, Chinese, third soundbite)
“I know that the Chinese Communist Party will not change. Although I know this is a losing battle I will still continue to fight. A mere citizen cannot overpower (the regime), but I will make my voice heard and show my opposition.”
A former university professor, Guo had published open letters to leaders of the Communist regime in 2007 calling for democratic reform. He posted articles online criticizing the sub-standard construction of some schools which collapsed during the Sichuan earthquake on May 12th, 2008, killing thousands of students.