Six people sentenced for subversion in Sichuan Province
A copy of the judgment posted online by an overseas group provided details of how the Chinese government uses the offense of subversion to crack down on dissidents who organized an opposition political party. A group of six people were sentenced to between three and 12 years by the Luzhou Intermediate People’s Court in April 2024. In December 2024, their sentences were upheld by the Sichuan High People’s Court.
Allegedly dissatisfied with China’s socialist system, party leader Tang Gaofeng (唐高峰) formed the idea of establishing an opposition political party, which he called “China Democracy Victory Party 中国民主胜利党 (CDVP)” while abroad in 2008. Tang also drafted the party platform and constitution. In 2009, he came into contact with Wang Yifei (王一飞), Wang Wei (王威), Liu Zhengang (刘振刚), as well as Zhou Dan (周丹) online. Another defendant, Dai Lu (代露), joined the party in 2014.
According to the judgment, Tang initially funded much of the party’s initial operations. The party convened its first meeting in Chengdu in 2011. In the judgment, members are accused of using overseas social media to recruit members online from 2011 to-2015 to vigorously spread anti-CCP ideology and CDVP programs with the goal to incite the overthrow of state power and the socialist system.
While focusing primarily on the party’s online activities, the judgment only cited one incident of the party’s offline activity as evidence of subversion. In 2013, Wang Yifei posted reactionary slogans in Qianjiang, Hubei and took photos for the party’s overseas website.
According to the judgment, Tang later ceased contacts with other party members and stopped funding the party in 2016. Zhou Dan took the leading role to recruit members in China after travelling abroad and enrolling in training programs hosted by “hostile organizations.”
The defendants were initially placed under residential surveillance at a designated location in May 2022 and arrested in September 2022. The first-instance trial wasn’t concluded until April 24, 2024.
Of all the defendants, Tang received the heaviest sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment and four years deprivation of political rights (DPR). The court sentenced Wang Wei to eight years imprisonment and three years of DPR, Wang Yifei to seven and a half years imprisonment and three years of DPR, Zhou to six years imprisonment and three years of DPR, Liu to five and a half years imprisonment and two years of DRP, and Dai to three years imprisonment and one year of DPR.
This is not the first opposition political party formed online. In a 2022 post, Dui Hua covered similar cases in its Human Rights Journal, “People’s Parties & ‘Picking Quarrels’.”
Member of “Mainland China Administrative Deacon Station” received clemency in Anhui Province
Information unearthed by Dui Hua revealed that a key member of the “Mainland China Administrative Deacon Station” (MCADS 中华大陆行政执事站) might have been released early after receiving clemency.
Li Yuhong (李玉红), a farmer now in his sixty’s, was convicted of organizing, using a cult undermining implementation of the law and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by a county court in Anhui in December 2019. Li was one of six people who were tried and convicted.
Li was accused of being a key follower of Wang Yongmin (王永民), the founder of the MCADS. In 1996, Wang was sentenced to twenty years for disturbing social order and fraud and was released in 2012 on parole.
The 2019 judgment accused Wang, together with Li and five other people, of attempting to revive MCADS following Wang’s 2012 release. They purchased printers to produce propaganda materials and attempted to contact overseas religious groups in the hope of gaining official recognition.
Dui Hua found that Li likely received a sentence reduction of nine months in April 2024 and should have been released from the Chaohu Prison in the summer of that year. This was Li’s first and only reduction during his incarceration. The document states Li had demonstrated “sincere remorse and vigorous reform.”
Of the convicted, Wang received a ten-year prison sentence, while the others received three years in prison or suspended sentences, respectively. Following Li’s release, Wang is believed to be the only person who remains in prison until March 2028. No information was found whether he also received clemency.
MCADS, a spin-off of the “Shouters,” is designated as an “evil cult” in China. This is the only known case of MCADS, Dui Hua has covered it and this sect in its publications.
Three members of Church of Almighty God received clemencies in Anhui Province
Dui Hua’s research found that three members of the Church of Almighty God (CAG 全能神) might have received their first sentence reductions between April and August 2024. They were convicted of using a cult to undermine implementation of the law.
Zheng Shaofu (郑绍甫), a man nearly 50 years old, likely received an eight-month sentence reduction in April 2024. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months imprisonment in March 2020. He is scheduled for release from the Chaohu Prison in June 2026 after the reduction.
Gen Surong (耿素荣), a 52-year-old women, likely received an eight-month sentence reduction in June 2024. She was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment in February 2021. She is scheduled for release from the Anhui Women’s Prison in May 2026 after the reduction.
Li Mingguang (李明厂), a man in his late sixty’s, received an eight-month sentence reduction in August 2024. He was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment in February 2021. A second document stated that in November 2024, the Chaohu Prison approved Li to serve outside the prison because he was “critically ill.”
CAG, also a spin-off of the “Shouters”, is designated as an “evil cult.” Its members remain active in many regions of China. A trial of a CAG case typically involves multiple defendants.
Retired Xinhua journalist sentenced for picking quarrel and provoking trouble in Shanghai
Gu Wanming (顾万明), a retired Xinhua journalist, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment for picking quarrel and provoking trouble by a district court in Shanghai in November 2024.
His sentence was disclosed in an internal notice issued by the Xinhua News Agency on December 10, 2024. The notice states that Gu’s retirement benefit has been revoked, in accordance with regulations on State employees.
Though the exact reasons are unknown, some friends and colleagues speculate Gu’s conviction stemmed from his 2023 public letter calling for a thorough investigation into the sudden death of former Premier Li Keqiang.