Zhao Lianhai has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years after his conviction earlier this year of causing social unrest by being a food safety activist. Zhao's infant son was sickened in 2008 by the widespread use in China of the chemical additive melamine in baby formula. As the New York Times has reported, China has perhaps coincidentally released information about a new food safety initiative today as well, aiming at providing the public with more information and curtailing what the Chinese government calls false news about what is or isn't safe to eat.
Although I have deep respect for Chinese society and culture, I believe that this harsh sentence will inevitably deter its citizens from speaking out on public health dangers in the future, and is a fundamental violation of Mr. Zhao's human rights. China has every right to put forward initiatives of what it thinks is in the best interest of its citizens, but individuals like Mr. Zhao should be tried on the factuality of their statements, not the amount of their concern or the loudness of their dissension. And the punishment should fit the crime, which in Zhao's case does not seem to match at all in my opinion.
Here's the New York Times article on Zhao's sentencing: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/world/asia/11beijing.html?ref=global-home
Here's the People's Daily article on its new food safety initiative: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/7194527.html
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