China urged to drop charges against detained artist Gao Zhen News
Kimberli Mäkäräinen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
China urged to drop charges against detained artist Gao Zhen

Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government Tuesday to immediately drop all charges against US permanent resident Gao Zhen and allow him to return to the United States. Gao was arrested in August 2024 in Sanhe City, Hebei province, where he was visiting family, on the charge of “slandering China’s heroes and martyrs” through his provocative artworks critiquing the Cultural Revolution, often produced in collaboration with his brother Qiang Gao. If convicted, Gao faces up to three years in prison.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, highlighted the gravity of the situation, saying:

The Chinese authorities’ prosecution of Gao Zhen both violates his basic rights and indicates a step back toward China’s painful past. Critique about Mao’s brutal legacy, once tolerated, now seems to be off-limits as President Xi Jinping tightens his ideological control.

Human Rights Watch called for Gao’s release and for authorities to disclose the legal basis for the case, ensure due process, and cease prosecuting peaceful expression. The crime of slandering China’s heroes and martyrs was introduced in 2021, while the artwork by Gao Zhen in question was created before 2009. The Chinese authorities have not yet announced a trial date for Gao, and he is said to be suffering from arteriosclerosis while in detention. Central to this is Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression. China is also a signatory (not ratified) to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including artistic expression, without undue interference.

This comes just days after Human Rights Watch warned about the proposed Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress as threatening minority protections. China was also urged to protect imprisoned activists facing human rights violations by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in August of this year. This also comes just days after the publication of a report by Amnesty International, finding that Chinese courts are utilizing ambiguous laws to crack down on civilians’ freedoms of speech and association.

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