Wednesday 26 / August / 2026
A court in China has reportedly sentenced a dissident artist to three years in jail for sculptures which satirized former Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
Sculptor Gao Zhen, 70, became famous in the 2000s for addressing sensitive topics in China such as the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution or the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre through artworks he produced with his younger brother Gao Qiang.
Zhen, who is based in New York, was arrested during a visit to Beijing in August 2024. He was tried this year in a one-day behind-closed-doors trial and found guilty of "infringing upon the reputation of heroes."
"We feel outraged," Gao's wife Zhao Yaliang told the Reuters news agency. "Ever since I learned of the verdict, I haven't been able to recover from it. It's devastating."
Zhao also said she and her son, who is a US citizen, had been barred from leaving China since Zhen's detention two years ago.
