A Closed-book Case

Over six months after he was taken by police on December 8, it was finally announced today that political dissident and Charter 08 supporter Liu Xiaobo, 53, was formally arrested for activities allegedly aimed at overthrowing China's socialist system.

 

"Liu has been engaged in agitation activities, such as the spreading of rumours and defaming of the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years," Xinhua News Agency quoted a Beijing police statement as saying.

 

While his lawyer Mo Shaoping has not been formally notified of the charges, apparently he himself cannot defend Liu because he had also signed the charter, which calls for major government reforms as well as freedom of the press and a multi-party system.

 

With charges such as subversion of the state and no further legal channels available to him, Liu's fate is pretty much sealed -- as the legal system is very much tied to the central government, he would not be prosecuted unless top levels had already decided the conviction which will pretty much be jail time.

"This use of state security charges to punish activists for merely expressing their views must stop," said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International's deputy program director for Asia and the Pacific. "This is another act of desperation by a regime that is terrified of public opinion."

As Liu is quite well known internationally and even US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has previously called for his immediate release, it is time for voices outside China to quickly organize a chorus condemning China's action. He cannot be left to fade into obscurity for fighting for what he believes is the best for the country.