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The U.S. State Department has expressed “significant concerns” over China’s sentencing of Chinese artist Gao Zhen to three years in prison, citing questions about freedom of expression and the application of a law enacted after his disputed artworks were created.
Gao, a 70-year-old New York-based artist known for satirical sculptures depicting former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, received the maximum three-year sentence on Tuesday for “defaming national heroes and martyrs.” He was convicted under China’s Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs.
A State Department spokesperson said Washington was concerned that Gao’s case involved alleged conduct dating from years before the legislation used to convict him took effect.
“The United States continues to support the right to freedom of expression, including as exercised through art,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
Gao was detained in August 2024 while visiting China from the United States. Earlier this year, he faced a one-day trial that was held behind closed doors.
His wife, Zhao Yaliang, and a rights organization confirmed the three-year sentence to Reuters. Zhao previously said that she and Gao’s son, who is a U.S. citizen, had been prevented from leaving China since the artist’s detention.
The case has also raised diplomatic concerns after Chinese authorities reportedly prevented foreign diplomats from attending Gao’s sentencing hearing.
According to the State Department, representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and several other diplomatic missions traveled to Sanhe in China’s Hebei Province on August 25 in an effort to observe the verdict and sentencing proceedings.
However, courthouse officials refused to allow the diplomats into the hearing room, the spokesperson said.
Gao’s imprisonment adds to international scrutiny of China’s restrictions on artistic and political expression. His case has drawn particular attention because his controversial works criticizing Mao were allegedly produced before the law underpinning his conviction was enacted.
