RSF Reports Chinese Court has Sentenced Internet Writers Kong Youping and Ning Xianhua

October 4, 2004

Reporters Without Borders reports that a court in Shenyang in Liaoning province has sentenced Kong Youping and Ning Xianhua,to 15 and 12 years in prison respectively for subversion. Their crime was posting articles on the Internet in support of the Chinese Democratic Party. Under Chinese law, besides the Communist Party there are only eight authorized political parties. According to China's Constitution, each of these parties is "supervised and led" by the Communist Party.