Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews Local procuratorates and courts in Mainland China are speeding up the cases or trials of several activists within the following weeks. Accelerating the trials of activists is said to have become a routine practice in Mainland China during the period of Christmas and New Year holidays. But what exactly is the secret the Chinese regime is hiding? An Associated Press report on Dec. 18 said several mainland Chinese human rights lawyers confirmed that local procuratorates and courts are speeding up the case processing, and preparing to prosecute or sentence some activists within a couple of weeks. According to the report, some cases which had been halted for several months are suddenly being quickly processed, and then transferred to the courts. Some human rights lawyers say local authorities hope to expedite sentences on activists while western diplomats, staff of human rights organizations and foreign media reporters in China are all on their holidays. Chinese law scholar Xu Zhiyong's case is one of these expedited cases. Xu was arrested in July of this year. As one a co-founder of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative, Xu Zhiyong is an iconic figure of China's New Citizens Movement. In early December, the American Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his concerns over Xu's case. On Dec. 13, Xu was officially charged with the crime of so called "disrupting public order". This crime is regarded as the most common one designed for activists. Anhui activist Zhang Lin was arrested by the local authorities in August. He was then charged with the crime of being a "suspect in gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". When Zhang's court case opened session on Dec.18, his lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan was harassed in the hotel he stayed at and some visiting netizens who support Zhang were also blocked by the police. Jiang Tianyong, China-based human rights lawyer: "Chinese judicial departments are not interested in processing cases by law and looking into whether the judgment is in favor of law. On the contrary, they are more interested in deliberately selecting particular dates to minimize the influence of the case on the public, foreign countries, and especially the media." Human rights activist Hu Jia is now under house arrest in Beijing. He told Radio Free Asia on Dec.18th that it's become the routine every year in China to have activists quickly sentenced during Christmas and the New Year. For example, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng's case was opened with court sessions on Dec. 22, 2006. Hu Jia himself was arrested on Dec. 27, 2007. Both of these two cases took place in the time around Christmas and the New Year. Hu Jia says this only shows the filthiness of the CCP's diplomacy and it's political stability maintenance laws, and the craftiness of the CCP intentionally evading western society's attention. China-based lawyer Jiang Tianyong says the CCP precisely wants to sentence those activists on the particular chosen date which can make their family members and friends suffer most. Jiang Tiangyong:"I think selecting dates like this to open court on and sentence activists shows that local authorities not only have no consideration for these cases from the angle of law, but they also violate basic human nature and humanity. Because whether it is China or western countries, these holidays are times for family to reunite." Activist Guo Feixiong was detained in early August of 2013 for displaying sensitive political slogans in a public area of Guangzhou City. He was charged with being a suspect in "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". A couple of days ago he was secretly transferred to a local procuratorate for prosecution without his lawyer's knowledge. Shaanxi activist Zhao Changqing was also transferred to a local procuratorate for prosecution this month. On Dec. 16, Guangzhou activist Liu Yuandong received the formal statement of charges from the court. He was arrested in February of this year. On the statement, his additional crime is "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". Hu Jia says public activities by activists in Guangzhou City has a significant impact. The local authorities' suddenly adding a new allegation on Liu Yuandong might well be an attempt to curb such public activities across the country. Zhang Zanning, law professor at China's Southeast University: "Sentencing activists shows that Mainland China's authorities fear different voices, and they still suppress Democracy and carry out the party-ban and publishing-ban. The CCP authorities declare all different voices as 'committing the crime of overthrowing the existing regime' and 'the crime of preparing to overthrow the existing regime'. Therefore this government is very weak and is unwilling to accept the criticism and monitoring from the people, and is an autocratic government."

• published: 21 Dec 2013
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