The secret trial of a Chinese artist accused of mocking Mao Zedong

March 31, 2026       Comments Off on The secret trial of a Chinese artist accused of mocking Mao Zedong
The secret trial of a Chinese artist accused of mocking Mao Zedong

Originally published by The Japan Times on March 31, 2026

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/31/asia-pacific/politics/trial-chinese-artist-mocking-mao

Gao Zhen, left, and his brother Gao Qiang, with their artwork “Mao’s Guilt” in Beijing in September 2009 | Shiho Fukada / The New York Times

A Chinese artist known for his provocative and irreverent sculptures of Mao Zedong is facing trial on suspicion of slandering the country’s heroes in a case underlining how little criticism is allowed under China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

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Shane Yi, a researcher at the nonprofit Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said the use of a “contrived, retroactively applied law” in a closed-door trial was evidence of “serious due process violations.”

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