China prisoned 4 activists over liquor labels

Four activists in southwestern China have been handed prison sentences over liquor labels commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen massacre -- two months before the crackdown's 30th anniversary, said rights groups and relatives. China forbids public discussion of the military's brutal suppression of the demonstrations, often detaining those who attempt to raise it.

The four men were arrested nearly three years ago for advertising and selling alcohol with labels that said "Always remember June 4th, 1989", using a play on words and numbers to represent the banned date. The label also showed an illustrated rendition of "Tank Man", a renowned photograph of a single individual facing down a column of armoured vehicles in 1989.

Three of the men -- Fu Hailu, Zhang Juanyong, and Luo Fuyu -- were sentenced earlier this week at a Chengdu court to three years in prison, including time already served for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", according to human rights groups and relatives. They were also handed suspended jail sentences of between four and five years.

The fourth, Chen Bing, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison Thursday and is expected to have eight months left to serve, according to Amnesty International, citing his lawyer. The Chengdu court did not respond to requests for comment.

"I have no choice but to accept it, even though I know he is innocent," Gao Yan, Luo's wife, told AFP. "We probably won't appeal, because it's useless," she added.

The first three have already served the bulk of their three-year prison sentences, and Fu has already returned home according to his wife. But Human Rights Watch China researcher Yaqiu Wang told AFP that the addition of a suspended jail sentence means continued surveillance.

"The activists will continue to be heavily monitored and have their movement restricted," Wang said, adding that the verdicts could be a "warning" from Chinese authorities to deter others from recognising the anniversary. Doriane Lau, the China researcher at Amnesty International, said Beijing has been "consistent" in punishing those who memorialise the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Academics, activists, and dissidents were detained in 2014 for attending a private seminar in Beijing that marked the 25th anniversary of the protests. One of the activists at the seminar, Hu Shigen, had previously spent 16 years in prison for trying to organise memorials for the Tiananmen massacre.

(With inputs from agencies.)