By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-25 09:31:49 | Updated at 2026-09-03 16:17:50
1 week ago
BEIJING - China sentenced a prominent artist whose works criticised former leader Mao Zedong to three years in prison on Aug 25 for “insulting heroes”, a rights group said.
Gao Zhen, 70, and his brother Gao Qiang gained fame in the early 2000s for art touching on sensitive political topics like the Cultural Revolution, the Tiananmen Square protests and the legacy of Mao, who led China from 1949 until his death in 1976.
Their works include a sculpture of the communist leader kneeling, titled “Mao’s Guilt”, and another called “Execution of Christ”, in which several bronze statues of Mao aim rifles at one of Jesus.
Gao Zhen, who moved to the United States in 2022, was detained at his studio on the outskirts of Beijing during a visit to China in August 2024.
The artist – whose name can also be written as Gao Shen – was indicted in June 2025 on charges of “insulting... heroes and martyrs”, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group.
On Aug 25, CHRD told AFP news agency that Gao was sentenced to three years in prison – the maximum sentence for that crime – at Sanhe City Court in China’s northern Hebei province.
The Chinese authorities appeared to be retroactively applying a 2021 law to works that Gao created between 2005 and 2009.
“(The) decision to convict Gao Zhen and sentence him to the maximum three-year prison term under this offence illustrate the authorities’ determination to deter others from engaging in independent artistic expression,” said Sarah Brooks, China director for rights group Amnesty International.
“No artist should face criminal punishment for creating work that challenges official narratives or encourages critical reflection on history,” Brooks added in a statement.
According to Amnesty, Gao is due to complete his sentence in August 2027, but has decided to appeal against both the prison term and his conviction.
AFP’s multiple calls to the court on Aug 25 went unanswered. AFP
