China has sentenced a man to three years in prison for posting anti-Communist Party articles onInternet chatrooms, state media reported today.
Mr Liu Weifang was recently sentenced in Xinjiang in northwestern China, said the Xinjiang Daily's Friday edition, which was seen in Beijing today.
Liu, a small business owner, posted several articles on Internet bulletin boards in 1999 and last year which "attacked" the Chinese Communist Party and China's top leaders and "slandered" the government'sreform and "opening up" policies, the report said.
He was convicted of inciting subversion against state power, the report said.
"The court believed: defendant Liu Weifang's actions . . .brought great harm to national security," the report said.
Liu used his Internet name "Lgwf" but officials were able to trace the essays to him.
The Chinese government is trying to rein in the Internet forfear a free flow of information would threaten one-party rule.
In December the legislature passed a law which has given the government widespread power to crack down on political content posted on China-based websites.
AFP