Activist Tan Zuoren has been indicted by the Chengdu People’s Procuratorate on charges of subversion. Tan is an environmental activist and writer who was detained last year while investigating the cause of the multiple school collapses in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He was detained on March 28, 2009 and will be brought to trial on August 12. The following translation of the indictment against Tan was provided to CDT by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.

Sichuan Province Chengdu People’s Procuratorate Indictment
Chengdu Procuratorate — Indictment [2009]183

The indicted, Tan Zuoren, male, born May 15, 1954, PRC ID card no. 5101021954051611X, Han nationality, vocational school education, resides at No. 29 Wangjiang Road, Taolin Village, Building 6, No. 6. On March 28, 2009 he was placed under criminal detention according to the law. On April 24, 2009 because he was involved in the crime of inciting subversion of state power, he was, with the permission of the Chengdu Procuratorate, arrested according to law by Chengdu Public Security.

An investigation carried out according to law has determined that:

The indicted Tan Zuoren is dissatisfied with the methods and verdict of the Party Central Committee concerning the “June Fourth Incident” and for many years by various methods has been involved in “June Fourth” activities. On May 27, 2007, Tan Zuoren concocted an article entitled “1989: A Witness to the Last Beauty: An Eyewitness’ Tiananmen Square Diary” and using the Internet put it on the website “Torch of Liberty” and other websites outside of China mainland. The main points of that article distorted the handling of the “June 4th Incident” by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and libeled it.

Shortly after that article was posted, the enemy element outside mainland China Wang Dan contacted him by email and on several occasions
sent him propaganda materials about “June Fourth”.

On June 4, 2008, the indicted Tan Zuoren and others on Chengdu’s Tianfu Square commemorated “June 4th” by making voluntary blood donations and at that time agreed to a telephone interview request by the enemy radio station outside China mainland “Voice of Hope”. Since November 2008, Wang Dan on many occasions sent him materials on commemorating the twentieth anniversary of “June 4th”. On February 10, 2009, the indicted Tan Zuoren sent Wang Dan an email entitled “My Suggestions for Commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of June 4th”, suggesting that during this year’s “June 4th” period that a “June 4th Global Chinese Blood Drive” be held to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of June 4th.

After the “May 12th earthquake” of 2008, the indicted Tan Zuoren was interviewed many times by media from outside mainland China. On these occasions he said many things that severely harmed the image of our Party and government. On March 27th, the indicted Tan Zuoren was brought to justice by Public Security.

Evidence proving the facts above are as follows:
notes on identification of the indicted, notes on the taking into custody of the indicted, appraisals by experts, testimony of witnesses, deposition of the indicted.

The Procuratorate believes that the indicted Tan Zuoren, in order to achieve his goal of subverting state power and overthrowing the
socialist system fabricated things out of whole cloth, distorted news, and spread speech that is injurious to state power and the socialist
system in order to damage the image of state power and the socialist system in the eyes of the people. This constitutes a crime under
article 105 of the Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China. The crime is clear, the evidence is certain and abundant. Tan Zuoren should be prosecuted and convicted of the crime of inciting subversion of state power. As stipulated by Article 141 “Code of Criminal Procedure of the People’s Republic of China”, Tan Zuoren is indicted and it is hereby requested that he be prosecuted according to law.

Hereby submitted to the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court

Prosecutor Chen Shiti
Assistant Prosecutor Wang Yihong
July 17, 2009
Secretary Li Zhenzhen

Notes:
1.The indicted Tan Zuoren is now confined in the Wenjiang District House of Detention
2.The list of evidence, photocopies of principal evidence are in one bound book.

Read more about Tan Zuoren’s case and about the schools that collapsed in the earthquake via CDT.