Chinese lawyer jailed for seven years in subversion trial

A Chinese lawyer has been jailed for seven years in the third in a series of subversion trials demonstrating the ruling Communist Party's determination to silence independent human rights activists and government critics. The sentence given to Zhou Shifeng results from his role as director of Beijing's Fengrui Law Firm, which took on sensitive cases and represented people who dared to challenge the party. Zhou, 52, accepted the ruling and will not appeal, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. His half-day trial in the northern city of Tianjin followed those of two related legal activists earlier this week, both on charges of subversion. As with the others, Zhou was detained in July last year during a sweeping round-up of activists and lawyers. About 300 people were initially seized and questioned before most were released. Zhou was accused of coming under the influence of "anti-China forces" and opposing China's government and political system. He was also accused of opposing the "one country, two systems" policy applied in former foreign colonies Hong Kong and Macau. Zhou "played a major role in a group of activists who attempted to manipulate public opinion and damage...

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