Chinese artist sentenced to 3 years in prison over satirical Mao statues

BANGKOK -- Chinese artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for “infringing upon the reputation of heroes” over his satirical works of art, including statues of China's former leader Mao Zedong. U.S.-based Gao, who was part of an artistic duo known internationally as the Gao Brothers, was arrested while visiting family in China in August 2024. He has been in official custody since then.He was sentenced by the Sanhei People's Court court in northern Hebei province, according to his wife, Zhao Yaliang. The charges against Gao relate to artistic works that China's authorities claim insulted revolutionary figures, including a 2009 statue called Mao’s Guilt, which shows the former leader and founder of modern China as kneeling in repentance. Others include as series called Miss Mao, which shows a caricatured version of Mao with breasts and an engorged nose.Shane Yi, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, who has been advocating for the case, described the sentence as “a very clear case of a violation of a person’s freedom of expression.” Yi noted that the artworks in question were created before the law Gao was sentenced with had been passed and said th...