Liu Jian, now in his early forties, and Liu Zhihua 刘智华, age unknown, were both workers at the Xiangtan Electrical Machinery Plant, Hunan Province, prior to June 1989 and participated in a demonstration by over 1,000 workers from the factory just after June 4 that year to protest the government’s violent suppression of the pro-democracy movement. After one of their fellow workers had his arm broken by the factory’s security guards, the demonstrators then allegedly ransacked the home of the security section chief. Arrested shortly afterwards, the two workers were tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in either August or October 1989 on charges of “hooliganism” and “intentional injury.” The government has not publicly produced any evidence linking either Liu Jian or Liu Zhihua to specific acts of violence or other genuine crime. Two other workers from the same factory, (Chen Gang 陈刚 and Peng Shi 彭实, also received life sentences for their involvement in the same protest action, but the sentences were later reduced and both men were reportedly released in 2004.) Liu Jian is apparently the only one of the four detained Xiangtan Electrical Machinery Plant workers who has still not had his life prison term reduced to a fixed-term sentence. He is currently being held at the Hunan Provincial No.6 Prison (Longxi Prison.)
June 2005
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