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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Verna Yu

How one man went from China’s Communist party golden child to enemy of the state

Xu Zhiyong Teng Biao China Ding Jiaxi Xi Jinping Human Rights RexShutterstock the Communist Party Zuma Press Wire
Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong, human rights lawyer and champion of social equality, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Photograph: Liau Chung-ren/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Xu Zhiyong’s dream is for China to become a democratic country that is “beautiful, free, fair and happy.” It is a simple wish, yet in the eyes of the authorities, his vision is dangerous and subversive.

The 50-year-old human rights lawyer and champion of social equality was sentenced to 14 years in jail earlier this month, along with fellow activist and lawyer Ding Jiaxi, who was jailed for 12 years. Both were convicted of the crime of “subversion of state power.”

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