US-based dissident artist put on trial in China over satirical Mao sculptures, says rights group

The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit to China from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders group, said.The closed-door, one-day trial took place on Monday at Sanhe city people’s court in Hebei province and ended without a verdict, Zhao and Yi told Reuters.Zhao said she was barred from entering the courtroom. The Sanhe public security bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gao’s case.The New York-based artist was detained in August 2024 on a family visit to China, Yi said, despite having made several trips to the country without any problems since moving to the US in 2022.Yi added: “This shows the Chinese government’s logic, when they want to target someone, they can use anything in their power to do so. Gao Zhen is an artist. He has a right to artistic freedom, period.”With his brother, Gao Qiang, Gao produced several sculptures of Mao that criticised the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, a period of social turmoil and political persecution in China that led to millions of deaths.EU diplomats tried to attend Gao’s trial but were blocked from entering the court, the EU’s mission to China said in a post on X.The brothers’ most famous works include Miss Mao, which features Mao with a Pinocchio nose and breasts, and Mao’s Guilt, a bronze statue of the former leader kneeling remorsefully.Gao’s wife said she and their seven-year-old son, a US citizen, are under exit bans and cannot leave China.Zhao told Reuters: “My son hasn’t seen his father since the year before last, and we have been barred from sending letters to him since last May. It’s had a significant impact on my son’s emotions and health.”Gao is suffering from malnutrition and has lumbar spine disease and chronic knee and eye conditions that need treatment, Yi said.Gao was on trial for works made between 2005 and 2009, Yi said, while China’s law on “the protection of heroes and martyrs” was established in 2018 and strengthened in 2021.