Chinese journalist goes on trial in subversion case

BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese journalist who posted essays on overseas Web sites about political issues was tried this week on subversion charges but insisted he is innocent, his lawyer said Saturday.
Li Yuanlong, a 45-year-old writer for the newspaper Bijie Daily in the poor southern province of Guizhou, was indicted on Feb. 9, five months after he was detained.
Li pleaded innocent at his trial Thursday in the southern city of Bijie, which lasted 2 1/2 hours, lawyer Li Jianqiang said. A verdict was expected within about 15 days.
An earlier statement on his case from the New York-based group Human Rights in China said Li's essays, written under the pen name Ye Lang or "Night Wolf," included "On Becoming an American in Spirit" and "The Banal Nature of Life and the Lamentable Nature of Death."
Banned in China
They were published on Web sites that are banned in China, including Boxun News, the Falun Gong-affiliated Epoch Times, ChinaEWeekly, and New Century Net, the group said.
Press freedom and human rights groups say China has jailed dozens of people for writings posted online.
The press freedom group Committee to Protect Journalists appealed Friday for Li's release.
"Like many committed reporters in China, Li Yuanlong began posting his articles online after facing censorship at his newspaper," Ann Cooper, executive director of the New York-based group, said in a statement. "He is guilty of nothing more than expressing his criticism of official actions and should never have been brought to trial."
Li could face between one and three years in jail, his lawyer said.
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