HONG KONG — An 81-year-old survivor of Mao’s purges was tried and convicted in southwestern China along with his assistant on Wednesday, with both receiving suspended sentences for publishing the memoirs of people who were persecuted nearly 60 years ago for criticizing the Communist Party.
Tie Liu, the publisher, and Huang Jing, a domestic worker in Mr. Tie’s home in Beijing, were tried in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, said Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer who represented Mr. Tie until recently. Mr. Liu, who spoke by telephone, said he had not been asked to attend the trial, because Mr. Tie had taken on another lawyer in Chengdu.
Both defendants were convicted of operating an illegal business, Mr. Liu said. Mr. Tie received a suspended sentence of two and a half years with four years’ probation, meaning he would not spend time in prison unless he committed an offense during the probationary period, Mr. Liu said, citing reports from Mr. Tie’s lawyer and supporters in the courthouse.
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“Even the official authorities could see that it wouldn’t look right to have an old, sick man go to prison,” Huang Qi, a human rights advocate in Chengdu, said by telephone. “Imagine if his condition worsened and the worst happened.”
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