‘Ultra Vulgar Butcher’ sentenced to eight years for subversion

A prominent activist who calls himself the Ultra Vulgar Butcher for mocking and pressuring Chinese officials has been given an eight-year prison sentence for subversion.

The Tianjin Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court on Tuesday handed down the sentence after finding activist Wu Gan guilty of subverting state power.

Wu will appeal the sentence, his lawyer Ge Yongxi said. He had become known among rights advocates and lawyers for his attention-grabbing campaigns.

In one, he posed for online portraits brandishing knives that he said he would use to “slaughter the pigs” among local officials who had done wrong.

In court, Wu struck an irreverent note in his remarks following the sentence, saying he was “grateful to the party for granting me this lofty honour”, according to Ge, who was in court.

“I will remain true to our original aspiration, roll up my sleeves and make an extra effort,” Wu said, playing on well-known phrases which Chinese President Xi Jinping often uses to exhort Communist Party officials to improve their work.

Wu was among the first activists and lawyers caught up in an intense crackdown by authorities that began in 2015. His secretive one-day trial was held in August after a detention of more than two years.

Activists like Wu focused on individual cases instead of challenging Communist Party policy at the national level, making them a greater headache for local officials than for Beijing.

“With extraordinary courage and disdainful words, Wu Gan set the tone for this socalled ‘trial’ against him,” said his friend and fellow activist Wuyuren.“itwillinspiremore and more people to stomp on this government that seems powerful yet doesn’t have the authority of the people.”

The court said in an online statement that Wu Gan had made many remarks online that “attacked state power”.

It accused him of hyping cases that “discredited state organs” by organising illegal public gatherings, causing trouble, and making abusive comments online about others. It said such actions were part of a series of criminal activities seeking to “overthrow state power and the socialist system”.

Wu had also worked as an administrative assistant at the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm.

In total, hundreds of lawyers, activists and others were detained in a coordinated nationwide sweep that sent a chill through China’s activist community. 0 Protesters hold pictures of activist Wu Gan who was sentenced in The Tianjin Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court yesterday