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1st Ld: Gou Hongguo gets suspended sentence for state subversion

Xinhua, August 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Gou Hongguo, an associate of the leader of an illegal church, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to a three year suspended sentence on Friday.

He has also been deprived of his political rights for three years, according to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou, 55, pleaded guilty and said that he would not appeal.

Influenced by Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal church, Gou formulated ideas to subvert state power, the court said in a statement. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of subverting state power Wednesday.

Assigned by Hu, Gou once went abroad to attend training for theories and methods of state subversion, the court added.

Since 2014, Gou colluded with a group of like-minded religious people, petitioners, lawyers and legal administrators to agitate in controversial cases and incite public hatred against the state.

He also arranged meetings and actively engaged in criminal activities subverting the government and the socialist system, harming national security and social stability, the court said.

"Today's trial enabled me to recognize the harm I've brought to the country, society, and my family," Gou said in his final statement.

"I plead guilty, express my sincere remorse and accept the ruling."

He said he had been deluded by the West's so-called ideology of democracy and was used by "foreign forces and those with ulterior motives," causing grave damage to social stability.

"I'm grateful to the government to save me and resolve not to participate in any criminal activities and will make a clean break with all those anti-government forces," Gou said.

He also thanked the judicial organs for helping him contact a hospital while he was ill in detention, saying he was really moved by such actions.

According to a court statement, he was given a light sentence because he confessed, testified against others and repented.

The court also decided that Gou posed no major threat to the community. Endi