Boxun translates charges against 1989 student activist Yu Shiwen

(Boxun April 23) In 2014, Yu Shiwen, a resident of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, organized a memorial commemorating victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, including the purged Communist Party Secretary of that time, liberal reformer Zhao Ziyang. As part of a national crackdown on such activities, Yu was  detained on May 27, 2014 by the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau on “suspicion of disturbing public order.” On July 2, 2014 he was formally arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

Boxun has translated some contents in the documents charging Yu of crimes.

“On April 1, 2013 Yu Shiwen and others wanted to hold a public memorial ceremony in a funeral parlor in Zhengding County, Hebei Province in memory of the tragic events of June 4, 1989, but they were stopped by the local police.

Photo: Yu Shiwen and his wife, Chen Wei
“After this Yu Shiwen planned to hold another June 4 memorial ceremony. On April 2, 2014 Yu Shiwen and a dozen others in Duyang City, Qiyang County, Yellow River Dyke village, number 15 flood control dam held a June 4 memorial ceremony. Chen Wei read aloud: ‘We memorialize the heroic martyrs of June 4, 1989, and cherish the memory of Party leaders Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang.’

“After the ceremony Yu Shiwen and some others went to the entrance to the “Zhao Ziyang Birthplace” to take souvenir group photographs. After the event was over, defendant Yu Shiwen was interviewed by phone by the Voice of America. He provided to the foreign reporter the 42-page memorial ceremony statement with signatures and other material related to the memorial ceremony. After this was reported on, because many netizens clicked on it, took interest in it, commented on it and participated in it, this created a serious disturbance of public order. After investigation, it was found that many whose signatures appeared on the statement didn’t give their permission at all or didn’t authorize their signatures to be publicly distributed.

“According to a Fujian Province-based eyewitness’s testimony: this activity was reported by “Deutsche Welle” “Boxun” “VOA” “Radio Free Asia” “New Tang Dynasty TV” “Epoch Times” “Democratic China” “Singtao Daily” “Youtube” altogether 28 media outlets.

“The court concluded that because defendant Yu Shiwen fabricated fake information and transmitted it on the Internet to create a disturbance, he gravely disturbed public order, and is guilty of violating “PRC Criminal Code Clause 293 Paragraph 1 Section 4: Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble.”