US-based dissident artist put on trial in China over satirical Mao sculptures, says rights group
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Originally published by The Guardian on March 30, 2026
New York-based Gao Zhen was detained in 2024 during a family visit to China and then tried for ‘defaming national heroes’
The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.
Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit to China from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese human rights defenders group, said.
The closed-door, one-day trial took place on Monday at Sanhe city people’s court in Hebei province and ended without a verdict, Zhao and Yi told Reuters.
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The New York-based artist was detained in August 2024 on a family visit to China, Yi said, despite having made several trips to the country without any problems since moving to the US in 2022.
Yi added: “This shows the Chinese government’s logic, when they want to target someone, they can use anything in their power to do so. Gao Zhen is an artist. He has a right to artistic freedom, period.”
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Gao was on trial for works made between 2005 and 2009, Yi said, while China’s law on “the protection of heroes and martyrs” was established in 2018 and strengthened in 2021.