LEAD: China tries veteran dissident over "subversive" poem

By Bill Smith Jan 31, 2012, 9:24 GMT

Beijing - China on Tuesday tried a veteran dissident on subversion charges linked to a poem and other articles he published online, his lawyer said.

A court in the eastern city of Hangzhou heard charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' against Zhu Yufu, lawyer Li Dunyong told dpa.

Tuesday's two-hour hearing ended without a verdict. The presiding judge said more time was needed to 'verify some of the evidence,' Li said.

Prosecutors said Zhu had published his poem It's Time in response to calls early last year for protests to promote democratic reform.

Much of the prosecution's evidence focussed on Zhu's poem during the trial, Li said.

'If it wasn't for this poem, perhaps they wouldn't have arrested him,' he said.

Other charges included Zhu's membership of the illegal China Democratic Party, interviews he gave on political subjects, and his calls for donations to support political prisoners.

Li and a second lawyer, Li Baiguang, were able to defend Zhu, while his wife also attended the trial.

Li Dunyong said Zhu 'spoke a lot' against the charges during the trial.

'He said he was innocent,' Li said, adding that Zhu appeared in reasonable health.

But police held at least four dissidents under house arrest to prevent them from attending the trial, the Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Defenders said.

Zhu, 58, was arrested in March. He took part in China's 1979 Democracy Wall movement and has served a total of nine years in two previous prison sentences, US-based Christian rights group China Aid said.

Zhu's short poem encouraged people to 'use our feet to go to the square and make a choice.'

'It's time, Chinese people! It's time,' the first two lines read.

The poem ended with the lines: 'China belongs to everyone. Choice is our own. It's time to choose our future China.'

Zhu's trial follows heavy prison sentences against at least three other well-known dissidents in the past six weeks.

A court in the central city of Wuhan sentenced dissident Li Tie to 10 years in prison this month after convicting him of subversion through his online writing and other 'anti-government' activities.

That sentence followed subversion sentences of nine years for Chen Wei and 10 years for Chen Xi at the end of December.

Li Tie's family and lawyers had planned to lodge and appeal against his sentence but local authorities obstructed them from doing so within the 10-day time limit, which ended on Sunday, China Human Rights Defenders said.

It said staff at the Wuhan detention centre holding Li Tie refused to allow lawyers to meet him to discuss the appeal, while police held his brother under house arrest.

'Although extremely unlikely that Li Tie's conviction could be successfully overturned on appeal, deliberately obstructing the pursuit of an appeal represents a clear violation of Li's procedural rights,' the group said.