China to Try Wang Dan, Former Student Leader, for Subversion

China will put former student leader Wang Dan on trial for “conspiring to subvert the government,” a charge punishable by at least 10 years in prison, his mother said Saturday.

Wang, 27, has been in detention for nearly 17 months without being charged, granted a hearing or given access to lawyers or family. If convicted, he will face not only 10 or more years in prison but possibly the death sentence. Conviction is almost certain; in China, trials are usually mere formalities before sentencing.

The Beijing Municipal Court notified Wang’s parents Thursday to get a lawyer in 24 hours and come to the court. They saw the indictment Friday but not their son. They were not told when his trial will begin or when he was charged. “We’re just waiting,” Wang Lingyun said.

A New York-based group, Human Rights in China, said it received more details from the family: The indictment accuses Wang of publishing essays overseas critical of the Chinese government; setting up a program with other dissidents to help activists out of prison and out of work; receiving loans and aid from abroad; and accepting an offer to study at UC Berkeley.

Wang first drew the government’s ire during the massive student demonstrations that swept Beijing in 1989. After tanks and troops quelled the June 3-4 Tiananmen Square protests, the government made Wang No. 1 on its most-wanted list. He was arrested later that year and served four years of a six-year prison sentence.