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U.S. questions dissident's conviction
Staff and wires
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has voiced "deep concern" over the sentencing of a prominent Chinese dissident to life in prison, raising questions about the evidence used against him in trial. Wang Bingzhang, a 55-year-old permanent resident of the United States, was convicted of spying on behalf of Taiwan and plotting terrorism. He was sentenced to life in prison. Wang was also accused of ordering an unspecified assassination and plotting to blow up China's embassy in Thailand. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said U.S. officials in China have expressed the Bush administration's concern about Wang's trial, which prohibited outside observers to be present during the proceedings. "Our embassy in Beijing and our consulate general in Guangzhou have again registered our deep concerns over lack of due process," Boucher said. "We also note with deep concern that Mr. Wang's trial was conducted in secret, raising questions about the nature of the evidence against him," he added. "We are particularly concerned by the charge of terrorism in this case given the apparent lack of evidence and of due process." Boucher said U.S. diplomats in China also warned the Chinese government against using the war on terrorism as a pretext to crack down on political dissidents. "We've made it clear to China on numerous occasions and at very senior levels that the war on terrorism must not be misused to repress legitimate political grievances or dissent," Boucher said. According to China's official Xinhua news agency, Wang's trial was closed because it involved state secrets. 'Stunned'Human rights activists have rejected the charges as false and politically motivated. "China's imposition of such an abusive sentence shames not only China but those nations that do business as usual with China," said the Free China Movement, a coalition of more than 30 Chinese pro-democracy groups and supporters. A dozen protesters marched towards Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong on Monday, calling for Wang to be freed. There were some scuffles as police prevented the activists getting near the building, according to Reuters. Wang's family said they were stunned, telling Reuters news agency they were shocked by the sentence. "There's no justice in this world," the dissident's sister, Julie Wang, told Reuters by telephone from San Diego. "I've been crying since I learned about it. But I don't dare tell my parents. They're in their 80s and won't be able to live if they hear this news." Slipped into ChinaWang has been under the spotlight for many years. He was jailed twice when he started speaking out against the communist government as a student in China. He went into exile in Canada in 1979 and while living in New York during the 1980s published the pro-democracy magazine China Spring and organized the Chinese Alliance for Democracy. Using a false passport, Wang slipped into China in January 1998 to help establish the China Democracy and Justice Party. He was detained after a national manhunt, but Beijing expelled him to avoid a flare-up with Washington. Wang and his associates had been missing for months when Xinhua reported in December Chinese police had "rescued" them from kidnappers in July. Chinese authorities say they found them tied up in a temple in southern China's Guangxi region, which borders Vietnam. But activists have accused China of kidnapping Wang in Vietnam and bringing him to the boomtown of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, to stand trial on "false" charges. He was formally charged on December 5. The Chinese government says the two other dissidents -- Yue Wu and Zhang Qi -- were cleared of involvement in Wang's activities. But the Free China movement has contradicted this report, saying that while Yue Wu was allowed to return to France, Zhang Qi is still under house arrest in China.
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