Tianjin: It was in the spirit of defiant gallows humour that sections of the legal community, amid a sweeping crackdown in July last year, would observe that it wasn't the old story of activists disappearing in China. Now it was their lawyers. And then the lawyers of those lawyers.
This week, China has sentenced four legal rights advocates in as many days in a carefully choreographed political show trial in the northern city of Tianjin. On Friday, activist Gou Hongguo received a three-year suspended sentence, joining Zhou Shifeng, Hu Shigen and Zhai Yanmin before him, all convicted of subverting the Chinese state.
They are the first group to be trialled since some 300 lawyers, legal activists and law firm staff were detained, interrogated or harassed; at least 16 remain under arrest, awaiting trial after being held incommunicado for more than a year.
For the Chinese government, it has been more than just imparting a chilling effect on lawyers who – perhaps emboldened by President Xi Jinping's repeated vows to strengthen the rule of law in China – dared to push the boundaries, or take on politically sensitive cases, in a judicial system controlled by the state.
The Communist Party's punchline, supported by its powerful propaganda apparatus, has been to vilify those on trial as conspiring with agents of foreign governments, warning the general masses that these lawyers were not about standing up for legal and civil rights but seeking to foment a "colour revolution" that would ultimately overthrow the Chinese government.
Each trial, from the presentation of evidence to the hearing of prosecution and defence arguments and the verdict and sentencing, took less than half a day – seemingly doing away with the pretence that in Chinese courts, judicial outcomes are anything but predetermined.
It was well in time for the prime-time news broadcasts, which showed each man admitting guilt in their closing statements to the court. Their supporters believe the statements were coerced and coached.
Each, according to official transcripts and televised footage, would hit their key talking points: their strong belief that the judicial process was "fair and just", that they admitted and repented their crimes and importantly, that they variously "definitely", "determinedly" or "never" would lodge an appeal.
And each defendant remembered to include a hearty thanks to the party. "Xi Jinping's rule of law has made China ever stronger," said Zhou Shifeng, a law firm director who was handed a seven-year sentence. And Hu Shigen, who received 7½ years: "I want to thank those involved in the case, the police, the prosecution, the judge and medical staff for their help and education."
Official party organs have also enthusiastically promoted the line that rights lawyers and activists were no more than agents for the West seeking to undermine the Chinese government. The Supreme People's Procuratorate posted on its official Weibo feed a video – viewed 10 million times within a day of being posted – accusing those on trial as being on the payroll of foreign governments seeking to inspire a "colour revolution" in China.
And on Thursday, the Communist Youth League posted another video, pointing to the fact that Western diplomats, journalists and families of those on trial had fronted the Tianjin No.2 People's Intermediate Court on Monday for information as proof that they were part of a US-led conspiracy to undermine the Chinese government. In all, various videos and missives posted under the hashtag of "Beware the Colour Revolution" have been viewed more than 500 million times on Weibo.
In Tianjin, a large security perimeter has been set outside the court for the trials since Tuesday, with dozens of police, plainclothes state security and party cadres with earpieces and radios keeping an eye out for foreign reporters and other unwelcome gatecrashers.
"Australia opposes the imposition of criminal penalties for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and lawfully defending others in all jurisdictions, including China," The Department of Foreign and Trade said in a statement to Fairfax Media.
"Australia calls on China to unconditionally release all those detained for peacefully exercising their rights, which are guaranteed under China's constitution. We have raised our concerns at senior levels in Canberra and Beijing."