Man who planned Tiananmen anniversary protest goes on trial in China

A man who planned a protest on the anniversary of China’s Tiananmen square crackdown went on trial on Sunday for “inciting state subversion”, his lawyer said.

Gu Yimin denied the charge at the hearing in the eastern city of Changshu, said Liu Weiguo, one of his lawyers.

State prosecutors said Gu’s posting of pictures of the 1989 crackdown, and his application to stage a protest on its anniversary this year, amounted to “inciting state subversion”, according to Liu.

“There is nothing illegal about posting a photograph of a genuine incident,” the lawyer said, adding that the hearing lasted around four hours.

“His application to protest was entirely in accordance with the law,” Liu said, adding that Gu had called off his protest when authorities advised him not to go ahead.

“If his activities caused damage to the (ruling Communist) party, that’s not the same as damaging the state,” Liu added.