Critical bloggers on defamation charges

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-23 09:43

A Sichuan man who described local officials as "scum of the nation" is among two Chinese citizens before the courts charged with defaming government officials.

Deng Yonggu, 34, from Pengxi, and Wu Baoquan, 39, from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region accused their local governments of illegal acquisition of farmland in separate postings on the Internet.

Wu -- who has already been found guilty and is serving a two-year jail term - was this week given hope that his sentence would be adjusted when the Ordos prefecture intermediate court said it would review his case. He was initially jailed for one year after being found guilty of defaming Ordos government officials in a post on his blog last year.

When the blogger appealed in February, he had his sentence increased to two years.

At the time, the court said Wu had not shown any regret when on bail and had tried to organize an appeal to the higher authority over the land acquisition dispute.

Meanwhile, Deng, a staffer from a village agricultural service centre, began defending similar defamation charges in Pengxi court last Monday.

He was arrested in October after allegedly using a website to accuse four local officials of violating the law and regulation of farmland requisition.

He described the officials as "scum of the nation" and published their names and mobile numbers. The court was told Deng had no evidence for the allegations and that publishing personal information online had engendered the officials' personal security.

No verdict has been reached and the hearing continues.