From Reuters, via Christian Science Monitor:
A Chinese dissident writer pleaded not guilty on Tuesday at the opening of his trial to charges of “inciting subversion of state power” over essays he wrote criticizing the state, his lawyer and his wife said.
Lü Gengsong was detained last August.
“Lü Gengsong penned 226 essays. In one of them he called for the depoliticization of the People’s Liberation Army and the police. The authorities charged him with inciting to subvert the state,” his lawyer, Ding Xikui, said by telephone.
No date had been set for a verdict and it was not clear if there would be another hearing, Mr. Ding added.
Mr. Lü is being tried by the Intermediate People’s Court in Hangzhou, capital of the wealthy eastern coastal province of Zhejiang.[Full Text]
