A Chinese COVID-19 protest filmmaker has been sentenced to prison, a former lawyer told Reuters
Written by Laurie Chen
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese director who is making a film about the 2022 “white paper” protests against China’s COVID restrictions was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a Shanghai court this week, his former lawyer said.
In these protests, people hold blank, white papers as a sign of opposition to the government’s efforts to silence criticism of the zero-COVID policy.
The nationwide protests were the largest since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and not seen since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012.
A judge sentenced Chen Pinlin, 33, to prison for “inciting disputes and causing trouble” in a closed trial on Monday, Daniel Fang, who handled Chen’s case before leaving China last year, told Reuters. He cited people familiar with the case.
Chen, who had pleaded guilty, plans to appeal the sentence, Fang cited the people.
The Shanghai Baoshan District People’s Court did not respond to a request for comment.
“Creating conflicts and stirring up trouble” is a charge often used by the Chinese government against dissidents and human rights activists. It carries a sentence of five years in prison.
“Filmmaker Chen Pinlin was only serving the public by writing an epic piece of protest against censorship,” said Aleksandra Bielakowska, executive director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“We call on the international community to increase pressure on the government to release Chen Pinlin, along with the other 123 journalists and freedom fighters currently imprisoned in the country.”
THE FILM
Chen’s 77-minute film, titled “Urumqi Road”, was uploaded to YouTube in late 2023 under his pseudonym “Plato”.
It consists of photos taken by Chen in Shanghai and video clips posted by netizens that have been quickly removed from Chinese social media.
He was arrested by Shanghai police in late November 2023 and formally arrested in January last year, according to Amnesty International.
While the protests were quickly suppressed by the police, they helped hasten the end of three years of some of the world’s strongest anti-epidemic measures.
Throughout the pandemic, China had said its strict COVID measures were necessary to save lives and ensure public health, before suddenly ending them in late 2022.
The protests have largely focused on restrictions on COVID, but some protesters in Beijing are also demanding freedom of speech and democracy.
Those who participated in the white paper protests said that following China’s reopening from COVID, the Chinese government has continued to suppress public efforts to mourn the victims of the epidemic and remember the protests.
During that time, police investigated and summarily detained dozens of participants, and several women were detained in Beijing for four months, according to rights groups, protesters and friends of those affected.
Chen’s film continues to be screened outside of China by human rights activists and Chinese communities.
