Chinese democracy leader Zhou Yongjun has been sentenced to nine years in jail, the latest in a series of tough prison terms to be handed down by the Chinese authorities, the Times reported on Jan 21.
A court in the south-western city of Shehong has convicted Zhou Yongjun (42) of attempted fraud for a transaction attempted in Hong Kong shortly after he entered the former British colony from the US on a false Malaysian passport. The trial started a day after President Obama ended a state visit to China in November last..
Zhou denied the charge and said he was the victim of mistaken identity. He said he obtained the fake passport through an immigration agency like many fellow Chinese exiles who often find themselves stateless after Beijing refuses to renew their passports.
He is a hero of the historic Tiananmen Square students’ demonstrations for political reforms. He and two other students had knelt on the steps of the Great Hall of the People next to Tiananmen Square to plead with Communist leaders to acknowledge their calls for an end to corruption.
He lived in the United States since seeking asylum there in 1992 and holds permanent residency.
