JAKARTA - China's prominent billionaire Sun Dawu has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by a court on charges of causing fights and provoking protests against the government.
This was known after the court issued an official statement which was then uploaded to the court's official account. Dawu is known to be one of the vocal critics of the Chinese government. He is also known to be vocal in criticizing the ruling Communist Party.
Mr. Sun was arrested in March this year. His company, Hebei Dawu Agriculture and Livestock Group, runs an agricultural business in China and employs about 9,000 people in poultry processing, pet food production and other industries.
Sun was found guilty of "gathering mobs to storm state institutions, obstructing public services, inciting riots and provoking trouble, disrupting production and operations, carrying out forced trade, illegal mining, illegal occupation of agricultural land, illegal absorption of public deposits," the People's Court wrote. Gaobeidian, in a statement posted on his official WeChat account.
In addition to the 18-year prison sentence, the court also fined Sun Dawu of 3.11 million yuan, equivalent to US$480,000.
Sun is one of the few people in China to publicly accuse the government of trying to cover up the extent of the 2019 African swine flu outbreak, which ultimately killed the country's more than 100 million pigs.
In an interview with CNN in May 2019, Sun said local officials only retested his pigs for the disease when he started posting pictures of dead animals online.
There were also reports in local media that Sun was involved in a land dispute with a local government-owned farm, according to Reuters. The news agency reported Dawu claimed dozens of company employees were injured in clashes with police in 2020, after an attempt to stop state agricultural staff from tearing down one of its buildings.
In a statement on July 14, the advocacy group China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said Sun's trial was a blatant attempt to punish Sun for his support for human rights.
"Sun Dawu has made a tremendous contribution to improving the lives of Chinese citizens living in rural China. His support of rights defenders is an extension of his concern for the well-being of people on the outskirts of China's economy," said Ramona Li, senior researcher and advocate for CHRD, in a statement. statement at the time. CHRD added that Sun was arrested along with his wife and adult children.
Sun's sentence comes amid a growing crackdown on private companies in China, as Beijing seeks to attract free entrepreneurs in the country.
In a series of guidelines issued in September 2020, the Communist Party said the private sector needed politically sensitive people, who would firmly listen to the party.
Sun is not the only businessman to be thrown in jail. Chinese billionaire Ren Zhiqiang was jailed for 18 years in September 2020 for corruption-related offences. Nicknamed 'The Cannon' for his outspoken views, Ren has been a vocal critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping's coronavirus prevention strategy.
In an essay published in March 2020, widely attributed to Ren, the author referred to Xi indirectly as a power-hungry "clown".
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