International / REPRESSION
The authoritarian regime in Beijing accuses her of leaking state secrets and shows her on television confessing her «crime»
Repression begins in China on the eve of 25 anniversary of the massacre Tiananmen, which is commemorated next 4 June. The journalist and dissident Gao Yu, who was arrested in 1989 for supporting those pro-democratic protests, has been arrested on charges of leaking «state secrets».
Adapting the style of the «Cultural Revolution» to the 21st century, Gao Yu was shown this Thursday on state television CCTV confessing his «crime». «My actions have affected legal issues and damaged national interests. What I have done is wrong. Humbly, I accepted the lesson and declared myself guilty», This journalist recognized 70 years, whose face has been blurred even though the name appeared in full on the screen.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, Gao Yu was detained last 24 April, two days before attending an event honoring the Tiananmen student movement. Since then, human rights groups had warned about his disappearance, now confirmed by official Chinese media.
The tenor of Xinhua, The veteran journalist has been detained because «in August 2013, a certain web page” foreign company published an important secret document in its entirety and, as a consequence, many internet portals spread it. After the investigation, The suspect Gao Yu has confessed to the facts of this crime for having illegally obtained said document and having provided it to that portal». Although the Chinese authorities have not detailed the content of the document, the newspaper of Hong Kong«South China Morning Post» points out that on that date a confidential circular from the Communist Party who urged tougher repression against dissidents. Under the name of «Document Number 9», Said internal communication dates back to April 2013 and warned of «political dangers» as a Western-style constitutional democracy, respect for human rights and the independence of the media.
Following such order, dissidents have been arrested like Xu Zhiyong, the founder of Motion «New Citizens» who asks for more transparency from the authoritarian regime in Beijing and is serving a four-year prison sentence.
Wave of arrests
In addition to the arrest of journalist Gao Yu, that of the lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, specialized in human rights, and four other activists who participated 26 April at the Tiananmen remembrance event. Like every year, Chinese police arrest or confine activists and relatives of victims of the massacre under house arrest as their anniversary approaches, especially significant on this occasion as it marks a quarter of a century.
in 1989, when I was second editor-in-chief of the «Economic Weekly», a publication considered progressive, Gao Yu supported the student demonstrations in Tiananmen. Inside the crushing of the revolt, The regime closed the magazine and detained her along with other prominent intellectuals.. in 1993, Gao Yu was arrested again and, shortly after, sentenced to six years in prison for leaking state secrets, the same accusation he now faces. Since his release in 1999, has been banned from the Chinese media and has only been able to work as «freelance» and political commentator on pages «web» foreigners, including one in Mandarin from the German news service German wave. Its columns, highly criticized by senior officials of the regime, They have finally taken her to a new arrest.
