Sichuan Earthquake Activist Charged with Subversion

Chinese authorities have charged activist Tan Zuoren with so-called “inciting subversion of state power.” It comes after he investigated school collapses during China’s Sichuan earthquake last year.

Tan’s trial is scheduled for August 12 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

The writer, environmentalist and human rights defender was investigating the role shoddy construction played in the collapse of school buildings during Sichuan’s 8.0 magnitude quake. He was also compiling a database of the child victims.

During an interview with NTD in April, Tan’s wife Wang Qinghua told our reporter that police raided their home on March 28 and arrested Tan.

Thousands of schoolchildren were killed during the quake, and state authorities initially estimated that in total, almost 88,000 people were killed or missing.

(NTDTV)