NOTE: This post was published on December 6, 2020, but this post is dated the date the court judgment was issued in order to prevent confusion.
Intermediate People's Court of Chengdu
Criminal Judgment
(2009) Cheng Xing Criminal First No. 273
The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Chengdu, Sichuan.
Defendant Tan Zuoren, male, born [INTENTIONALLY DELETED], 1954 in Chengdu, Sichuan ,Han ethnicity, associates degree, unemployed, residing in [INTENTIONALLY DELETED], Wuhou District, Chengdu. On March 28, 2009, he was taken into criminal detention on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power, and he was arrested on suspicion of committed the crime of inciting subversion of state power on April 30 of the same year. He is currently being held in detention at the Wenjiang District Detention Center, Chengdu.
Defense counsel Xia Lin, Beijing Huayi Law Firm.
Defense counsel Pu Zhiqiang, Beijing Huayi Law Firm.
In the Cheng Procuratorate Criminal First Prosecution (2009) No. 183 indictment the People's Procuratorate of Chengdu, Sichuan charged defendant Tan Zuoren with committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power, and on July 28, 2009 filed a public prosecution with this Court. This Court formed collegial panel in accordance with the law, and convened public hearings to try this case. The People's Procuratorate of Chengdu assigned Acting Procurator Wang Yihong to appear in court in support of the public prosecution, Clerk Li Zhenzhen acted as the transcriber, and defendant Tan Zuoren and his defense counsels Xia Lin and Pu Zuhiqiang appeared in court to participate in the proceedings. The trial has now concluded.
The People's Procuratorate of Chengdu's indictment charged that defendant Tan Zuoren was dissatisfied with the Communist Party of China Central Committee's handling and characterization of the "Tiananmen Incident," and for many years used various methods to undertake so-called "June Fourth" commemoration activities. On May 27, 2007, Tan Zuoren concocted the article "1989: A Witness to the Last Beauty: An Eyewitness' Tiananmen Square Diary" (hereinafter the Tiananmen Square Diary"), and used the Internet to post the article on foreign websites such as "Fire of Liberty." In that article Tan Zuoren made distorted descriptions of, and defamed, the Communist Party of China Central Committee's handling of the "Tiananmen Incident." Not long after the article was posted, hostile foreign element Wang Dan used email to proactively contact Tan Zuoren, and sent him "June Fourth" propaganda materials on several occassions.
On June 4, 2008, Tan Zuoren and others used a blood drive at a blood donation station at Chengdu's Tianfu Square to commemorate "June Fourth," and during this time also accepted a telephone interview with the foreign hostile media outlet "Voice of Hope."
After November 2008, Wang Dan sent materials to Tan Zuoren to commemorate activities on the 20th anniversary of "June Fourth." On February 10, 2009, Tan Zuoren sent Wang Dan and email with some suggestions of activities to commemorate the 20th anniversary of June Fourth, suggesting that in period around "June Fourth" 2009 there be held a so-called "June Fourth Global Chinese Blood Drive" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of " June Fourth." After the "Great Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12" took place in 2008, on several occassions Tan Zuoren accepted interviews from foreign media, and made statements that severely denigrated the image of the Party and the government. On March 27, 2009, Tan Zuoren was apprehended and brought to justice by the public security agency.
In support of the aforementioned charged criminal facts, the People's Procuratorate of Chengdu, Sichuan submitted evidence including criminal case acceptance registration forms, case process descriptions, search records, seize items lists, witness testimony, and the defendant's statements.
The People's Procuratorate of Chengdu, Sichuan believes that Tan Zuoren 的行为已committed an offense under the provisions of Article 105 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and should be held criminally liable for committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power.
Defendant Tan Zuoren and his defense counsel did not raise any objections to the facts in this case, but argued that his actions did not constitute the commission of a crime, and submitted to this court a few items of evidence collected by defense counsel.
It was ascertained at trial that defendant Tan Zuoren was dissatisfied with how the government of the People's Republic of China dealt with the "Tiananmen Incident" in accordance with the law. On May 27, 2007, Tan Zuoren concocted a so-called "reportage" article with the name Tiananmen Square Diary, and this article disregarded objective facts, wildly distorted, smear, and denigrated how the government of the People's Republic of China dealt with the "Tiananmen Incident" in accordance with the law, and incited people at home and abroad to oppose and confront the government of the People's Republic of China. On June 4, 2008, Tan Zuoren conspired with others to hold a "blood drive" in Chengdu's Tianfu Square to commemorate the so-called "Tiananmen Incident," an at that scene accepted an interview with the foreign media outlet "Voice of Hope" in which he publicly declared that he was "inheriting the spirit of June Fourth" by "voluntarily donating blood." On that day the "Voice of Hope" website published a report based on the contents of Tan Zuoren's interview. On March 27, 2009, Tan Zuoren was apprehended and brought to justice by the public security agency.
The aforementioned facts were substantiated by the following evidence examined and certified in court:
1. The Criminal Case Acceptance Registration Form, Decision to Open the Case, and Description of the Apprehension Process confirmed the circumstances under which the public security agency apprehended Tan Zuoren.
2. Search warrant、search record and explanation of circumstances, seized itmes list, and an optical disc with a video of the search process confirmed that the public security agency searched Tan Zuoren's residence in accordance with the law and seized a computer and related materials suspected of belonging to Tan Zuoren.
3. The Cheng Public (Network Surveillance) Investigation (2009) No. 007 electronic investigation work record and printouts of computer screenshots confirmed that in accordance with the law the public security agency seized Tan Zuoren's computer's D drive and collected from it an electronic file "1989: A Witness to the Last Beauty: An Eyewitness’ Tiananmen Square Diary," and the content was consistent with the "Tiananmen Square Diary" downloaded from the foreign "Fire of Liberty" website on May 27, 2007. Tan Zuoren signed this document confirming it was produced and first distributed by him on the "Fire of Liberty" website. This text distored, smeared, and denigrated the government's disposition of the "Tiananmen Incident" in accordance with the law, and incited incited people to oppose and confront the government. The public security agency collected a screenshot of a sound recording of Tan Zuoren's interview with the media on June 4, 2008 posted on the foreign "Voice of Liberty" website on that day, which was signed by Tan Zuoren confirming that the content of the interview by the foreign media "Voice of Hope" is consistent with what he said, and the content was Tan Zuoren and others saying to use blood drives to commemorate the "Tiananmen Incident."
4. Household registration information confirmed Tan Zuoren's basic identification situation.
5. Witness testimony of witnesses Chen Yunfei and Huang Xiaomin confirmed that on June 4, 2008 Tan Zuoren and others to commemorate the "Tiananmen Incident" by donating blood in Tianfu Square.
6. Defendant Tan Zuoren's statement confirmed he authored "1989: A Witness to the Last Beauty: An Eyewitness’ Tiananmen Square Diary" in May 2007, and on May 27, 2007 used the Internet to first post it on the foreign "Fire of Liberty" website. On June 6, 2008 he conspired with others to commemorate the "Tiananmen Incident" with blood donations in Tianfu Square, and accepted an interview with the foreign "Voice of Hope" website to explain the goals and meaning of donating blood. That day the "Voice of Hope" website posted the content of the interview.
The aforementioned evidence was examined and verified in court, and the evidence's origina was legal and it is objectively true and related to this case. The evidence can mutually corroborate each other to create a chain, and it is given credence in accordance with the law.
With respect to the People's Procuratorate of Chengdu, Sichuan's charge that defendant Tan Zuoren concocted the "Tiananmen Square Diary" and published it in foreign media, and advocated the so-called "June Fourth Spirit" by donating blood, the facts are clear, the evidence is reliable and copius, and is affirmed in accordance with the law. The evidence proferred by his defense counsels that the charges against him should not be affirmed bears no relationship to the recognized facts, and is not given credence.
This Court finds defendant Tan Zuoren incited subversion of the State regime of the People's Republic of China and the overthrow the socialist order system through rumormongering and defamation, and his actions constitute the commission of the crime of inciting subversion of state power. The opinion proffered by defendant Tan Zuoren and his defense counsels that Tan Zuoren's actions do not constitute the commission of the crime of inciting subversion of state power is not consistent with the law or the facts ascertained during the trial and is not accepted by this Court. In accordance with the provisions of Articles 105(2), 56, 55(1), 47, and 58 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" the judgment is as follows:
Defendant Tan Zuoren committed the crime of inciting subversion of state power, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment five years and three years deprivation of political rights. (The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is, from March 28, 2009 to March 27, 2010.)
If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the High People's Court of Sichuan. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief.
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成都市中级人民法院
刑事判决书
（2009)成刑初字第273号
公诉机关四川省成都市人民检察院。
被告人谭作人，男，1954年 [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]出生于四川省成都市，汉族，中专文化，无业，住成都市武侯区 [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]。2009年3月28日因涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权被刑事拘留，同年4月30日因涉嫌犯煽动颠覆国家政权罪被逮捕，现羁押于成都市温江区看守所。
辩护人夏霖，北京市华一律师事务所律师。
辩护人浦志强，北京市华一律师事务所律师。
四川省成都市人民检察院以成检刑一诉字（2009）第183号起诉书指控被告人谭作人犯煽动颠覆国家政权罪，于2009年7月28日向本院提起公诉。本院依法组合议庭，公开开庭审理本案。成都市人民检察院指派代理检察员王一洪出庭支持公诉，书记员李真真担任记录，被告人谭作人及其辩护人夏霖、浦志强到庭参加诉讼。现已审理终结。
四川成都市人民检察院起诉指控称,被告人谭作人对党中央处理"六四事件"方法和定性不满，多年来以各种方式从事所谓纪念"六四"的活动。2007年5月27日，谭作人炮制文章《1989：见证最后的美丽-一个目击者的广场日记》（简称《广场日记》），并将该文章通过互联网发布在境外"自由圣火"等网站，在该文章中，谭作人对党中央处理"六四事件"进行歪曲描述和诽谤。文章刊登不久，境外敌对分子王丹利用电子邮件与谭作人主动联系，并多次向其投发关于"六四"的宣传资料。
2008 年6月4日，谭作人与他人在成都市天府广场义务献血点以献血的方式纪念"六四"，期间还接受了境外敌对媒体"希望之声"的电话采访。
2008年11月后，王丹多次向谭作人投发纪念"六四"二十周年活动相关资料。2009年2月10日，谭作人向王丹发出一份《六四20周年纪念活动建议》的电子邮件，建议在 2009年"六四"期间实施所谓的"六四全球华人义务献血活动" 以纪念"六四"二十年。2008年"5.12汶川大地震"发生后，谭作人多次接受境外媒体采访，发表了大量严重诋毁党和政府形象的言论。2009年3月 27日，谭作人被公安机关挡获归案。
为支持上述所指控的犯罪事实，四川省成都市人民检察院提交了接受刑事案件登记表、挡获经过、搜查笔录、扣押物品清单、证人证言、被告人供述等证据。四川省成都市人民检察院认为，谭作人的行为已触犯《中华人民共和国刑法》第一百零五条之规定，应以煽动颠覆国家政权罪追究其刑事责任。
被告人谭作人及其辩护人对本案事实没有异议，但辩称其行为不构成犯罪，并向法庭提交了几份辩护人收集的证据。
经审理查明，被告人谭作人对中华人民共和国政府依法处置"六四事件"不满。2007年5月27日，谭作人炮制一篇名为《广场日记》的所谓"纪实性"文章，该文置客观事实于不顾，大肆歪曲、污蔑、诋毁中华人民共和国政府依法对"六四事件"的处置，煽动境内外民众与中华人民共和国政府对立、对抗。2008年6月4日，谭作人伙同他人以"义务献血"为名，在成都市天府广场纪念所谓"六四事件"并在现场接受了境外媒体"希望之声"电话采访公开宣称要" 以义务献血"的方式"传承六四精神"，当日，"希望之声"网站将对谭作人的采访内容予以发表。2009年3月28日，被告人谭作人被公安机关挡获归案。
上述事实，有经庭审质证、认证的下列证据予以证实：
1.接受刑事案件登记表、立案决定书、挡获经过，证实公安机关抓获谭作人的情况。
2.搜查证、搜查笔录及情况说明、扣押物品清单及搜查过程录像光盘，证实公安机关依法搜查谭作人的住处，并扣押了谭作人涉案的电脑及相关物品。
3.成公（网监）检[2009]007号电子证物检查工作记录及电脑截屏图书面打印机，证实1公安机关依法从谭作人被扣押的电脑D盘中提取了《1989：见证最后的美丽-一个目击者的广场日记》的电子文件，内容与2007年5月27日境外"自由圣火"网站刊载的《广场日记》一致，经谭作人签字确认该文件是其制作并首先发表在"自由圣火"网站。该文歪曲、污蔑、诋毁政府依法对"六四事件" 的处置，煽动与政府对立、对抗。公安机关提取的2008年6月4日境外"自由之声"网站刊发的谭作人于当日接受该媒体采访的录音记录截屏图，经谭作人签字确认境外媒体"希望之声"采访的内容与其所说的一致，内容是谭作人等人采用献血的方式纪念"六四事件"。
4.户籍资料，证实谭作人的基本身份情况。
5.证人陈云飞、黄晓敏的证言，证实2008年6月4日谭作人等人在天府广场以献血的方式纪念"六四事件"。
6.被告人谭作人的供述，证实2007年5月其编造《1989：见证最后的美丽-一个目击者的广场日记，于2007年5月27日通过互联网首发在境外"自由圣火"网站上。2008年6月4日，伙同他人在天府广场以献血的方式纪念"六四事件"，在接受境外"希望之声"电话采访时说明了献血的目的、意义。当天，"希望之声"网站刊载了采访内容。
上述证据经庭审质证、核实，证据来源合法且客观真实，与本案有关联性，证据之间能够相互印证形成锁链，依法予以采信。
四川省成都市人民检察院指控被告人谭作人炮制《广场日记》并在境外媒体发表、以献血方式宣扬所谓"六四精神"的事实清楚，证据确实充分，依法予以确认；其余指控不予认定辩护人提交的证据与认定的事实不具有关联性，不予采信。
本院认为，被告人谭作人以造谣诽谤的方式，煽动颠覆中华人民共和国国家政权、推翻社会主义制度，其行为构成煽动颠覆国家政权罪。被告人谭作人及其辩护人提出谭作人行为不构成煽动颠覆国家政权罪的意见与审理查明的事实和法律不符本院不予采纳。根据《中华人民共和国刑法》第一百零五条第二款、第五十六第一款、第五十五条第一款、第四十七条、第五十八条的规定，判决如下：
被告人谭作人犯煽动颠覆国家政权罪，判处有期徒刑五年，剥夺政治权利三年。（刑期从判决执行之日起计算；判决执行以前先行羁押的，羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2009年3月28日起至2014年3月27日止。）
如不服本判决，可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内，通过本院或者直接向四川省高级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的，应当提交上诉状正本一份，副本两份。
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