China has jailed for seven years an activist who posted articles on the Internet saying the country was near economic collapse, official media has reported.
Tao Haidong was tried in Urumqi, capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, for subverting state power and using the Internet to slander high-ranking officials and spread reactionary statements, China Court Net said on its Web site today.
Court officials declined to comment on the case.
The New York-based Human Rights in China group said last month that Tao, 45, was arrested last July for posting articles deemed objectionable on the Internet.
The activist was released from a labour camp in 2001 after serving 14 months for editing a book considered controversial, the group said.
