China has accused foreign diplomats of meddling in its internal affairs, after some were critical of the trial of prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.
The EU, US and rights groups say the trial is politically motivated and have called on Beijing to release Mr Liu. Diplomats from more than a dozen states - including the US, Britain, Canada, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand - denied access to the court to follow the trial, have stood outside since it began on Wednesday. The trial has been heavily criticised by right groups, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) describing it as "a travesty of justice".
The charge of "inciting subversion of state power" is a wide-reaching accusation often levelled against political dissidents in China. Dissidents put on trial in China are almost always found guilty, and it looks likely that Mr Liu will be jailed.
If convicted, Mr Liu's name will certainly become more widely known outside China, but few people in the country know who he is, a situation that is unlikely to change with the verdict, he adds.
China's state media have ignored Mr Liu's trial and the international protests about it.
US-based Chinese-language websites, however, have covered the story and reported both protests and pro-Liu campaigns inside China.
1 comment:
Interfering with the country's judicial or internal system is a no-no where there is gross violation of human rights. We see this happening more in communist countries and places where the electorate has no say and the army or the king rules. It is not that democracies are always a happier place but the people there always have a place to be heard, judged and to complain about.
Calling the world an imperfect place will get us nowhere.
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