China court sentences trio for disturbing social order

A trio who organized strikes were found guilty of disrupting the peace Monday and handed suspended sentences ranging from 18 months to three years by a court in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Zeng Feiyang was handed a four-year suspended sentence, of which he will have to serve three years should he fall afoul of the law in the four year period. Tang Huanxing and Zhu Xiaomei were each given 18-month sentences suspended for two years. They had all previously worked at a support center for migrant workers, which was founded by Zeng and has since been closed by the industry and commerce authority.

"The defendants ignored national laws and organized mass gatherings that disturbed social order. Their acts, of a severe nature, resulted in an enterprise's production suspension and led to grave losses," said a statement by the people's court of Panyu District.

According to the court, Zeng led the center and its work and managed those below him. Tang was responsible for online publicity for the center, and Zhu was in charge of managing migrant workers.

All three pled guilty and chose not to appeal.

In his statement during the trial, Zeng admitted that he received funding and training from "some overseas organizations hostile to China, and organized workers to resort to extreme means to safeguard their interests and blow things out of proportion to hype up the consequences."

According to the court, the three confessed to their crimes after they had been arrested, and all were first offenders and repented, facts that influenced the lighter penalties. Endi