The trial of Beijing public service volunteers Chen Mei and Cai Wei, who were charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” ended May 11 in Beijing, with the two pleading guilty and the judge not handing down a verdict in court. The Associated Press reported that the case underscores a further escalation in the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on Internet activity.
Chen Mei’s mother and Cai Wei’s father were allowed to sit in on the courtroom. The two parents traveled to Beijing from Shaanxi and Guangdong, respectively.
Chen Mei’s brother, Chen Koon, retweeted what their mother saw in the courtroom.
Chen Mei and Cai Wei appeared in court fully clothed in protective clothing, and their faces and expressions could not be seen. The two men were handcuffed and shackled the entire time. Chen Mei’s mother said the “crime” the prosecutor was charging them with was 2049 BBS, which Chen Koon explained was a discussion community affiliated with the Endpoint Star website.
Based on his mother’s recollection, Chen Koon tweeted, “Regarding the content of the BBS, the prosecutor mentioned words like Meng Wanzhou and Zhong Nanshan. Transcribing his mother’s recollection, Chen Koon tweeted that the public prosecutor alleged that the BBS contained many inaccurate information, incited people to insult the country’s leaders, and negatively affected the image of the country’s leaders and the country. “Perhaps there is more, which my mother did not remember,” Chen Koon’s tweet said.
Public information shows that the full name of Endpoint Star is called Terminus Endpoint Star Program (English: Terminus2049). The project was launched on April 22, 2018, and its website is hosted on the GitHub Pages web hosting service of the open source platform GitHub. The Endpoint Star Project calls for collaborative public participation in resisting online censorship and ensuring the lasting validity of articles disseminated for reading.
The main articles included in the site’s initial set-up were related to sexual harassment in Chinese universities and the Yue Xin incident at Peking University, and later expanded to include topics such as Tao Chongyuan’s death, Beijing’s eviction of low-end populations, anti-Send-China protests in Hong Kong, the crackdown on labor rights activists, and the 2019 coronavirus disease epidemic. According to Human Rights Watch, before Chen Mei and Cai Wei were arrested, the Endpoint Star Project had backed up more than 600 deleted articles of all kinds, including at least 100 about the new coronavirus outbreak.
The trial, which lasted for a reported 100 minutes, was dominated by the prosecutor’s accusations, with the judge and the official lawyers speaking little. Chen Mei’s defense lawyer, who was only 1 person, spoke only a few sentences, saying that Chen Mei had been influenced by Western ideas at Liren University since she was 18 and had gone astray, among other things. Chen Koon’s tweet questioned whether this is what a defense lawyer should say.
The official lawyer for Chen Mei pointed out that “the website was built by Cai Wei, Chen Mei did not conceal the facts and published relatively little information, so I hope the punishment is lighter.” Chen Koon’s tweet said the lawyer’s statement did not cite a single statute.
Cai Wei’s government-appointed attorney allegedly cited the statute in hopes of mitigating Cai Wei’s punishment.
Chen Mei and Cai Wei pleaded guilty in court, and the prosecutor’s office recommended a sentence of one year and three months, but the judge did not hand down a sentence in court. The Associated Press reported that the judge said he would deliver the sentence at a later date.
Officials’ lawyers told Chen Mei’s mother: From the court session, it is unlikely that the recommended sentence will be exceeded, and probation is unlikely, with the possibility of a solid sentence.
Chen Koon’s tweet said that his brother “Chen Mei conveyed to his family through his official lawyers that if the verdict is in line with the sentencing recommendation, he will not appeal. If the recommended sentence is seriously exceeded, he will appeal.
The Associated Press reported that the parents of Chen Mei and Cai Wei were unable to speak with their children. Cai Wei’s father said the government-appointed lawyer told them to remain silent in court.
Media reporters and some supporters who traveled to Beijing gathered Tuesday, May 11, outside the Wenyuhe courtroom of Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court, where the case against Chen Mei and Cai Wei is being heard. The Associated Press reported that one supporter presented two bouquets of chamomile flowers to the two parents. The 25-year-old woman said she believes Chen Mei and Cai Wei contributed to society by proving more than one official lie during the outbreak. She declined to be named out of concern for the consequences.
Recent Comments