A Chinese court on Wednesday, 28 July, sentenced Chinese agricultural tycoon Sun Dawu, to 18 years in jail for a series of crimes including “provoking trouble” after the outspoken billionaire and grassroots rights supporter was tried in secret.
The court in Gaobeidian, near Beijing, said Sun was guilty of crimes including “gathering a crowd to attack state organs, obstructing government administration, picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a catch-all term often used against human rights figures and dissidents.
According to The Guardian, Sun, an outspoken supporter and friend of Chinese political dissidents, was arrested on 11 November alongside more than 20 others including his wife, two sons, and daughters-in-law.
Groups including Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) say the prosecution is apparent retaliation for Sun’s long support and friendships with Chinese dissidents, even after nationwide campaigns targeting them made such associations increasingly dangerous.
Sun, who turned 67 this month according to his lawyers, is a former pig farmer who founded the Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group.
The billion-dollar business has about 9,000 employees and a purpose-built company town that Sun reportedly ran to reflect his vision of an equitable rural society, with residents given free or discounted access to healthcare, schooling, and entertainment amenities.
Sun’s achievements were lauded by officials initially and he became a local representative of China’s governing body. But he also used his success to provide support for human rights lawyers and dissidents and was detained in 2003 over published criticisms of the state.
According to China Change, an information outlet, at pre-trial Sun described himself as an “outstanding Communist Party member”, and denied many of the accusations against him, including those related to misusing funds.
Sun admitted to making mistakes, including posting messages online and unspecified mistakes over land issues.
The case comes amid a wide-scale crackdown in recent months on private businesses and entrepreneurs in China. Major tech firms have been investigated and their executives questioned and ordered to downsize or been fined, including Jack Ma’s Ant Group and Alibaba.
In September, Ren Zhiqiang, a former real estate mogul who criticized Xi’s handling of the pandemic in an online essay, was jailed for 18 years on corruption charges.