Chinese sculptor Gao Zhen sentenced to three years for defaming national icons

Gao Zhen, a 70-year-old Chinese artist and U.S. permanent resident famed for provocative Mao Zedong sculptures, was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly slandering China’s “heroes and martyrs”. The conviction came under a law enacted in March 2018 that criminalises defamation of historic figures, despite the disputed works being created more than a decade earlier. Gao was detained on 26 August 2024 after returning to China with his wife and son, and authorities later searched his Beijing-area studio.

Human-rights organisations and foreign observers have criticised the case as a crackdown on artistic expression, while his family described severe health problems and denied them permission to leave the country. Friends say his brother sees him as mentally resilient despite confinement, and a letter from Gao to his young son expressed hope for release. The Chinese foreign ministry was not quoted.