Published by: World Tibet Network News, Wednesday, October 16 1996

BEIJING, Oct 15 (AFP) - China girded itself Tuesday for the trial of one of the country's most prominent dissidents while the government attacked US and Hong Kong authorities for abetting the escape of another key activist.

Imprisoned Chinese dissident Wang Dan is expected to go on trial here within two days and will plead not guilty to subversion charges the state has levelled against him, family members said.

"My son has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and I think his trial will be before Thursday," Wang's father, Wang Xiancheng, told AFP in a telephone interview.

His mother, Wang Lingyun, expressed fears the trial could start before the defence, to be conducted by herself and an unnamed lawyer, was ready.

She said she and the lawyer held separate meetings with Wang Dan in a Beijing detention centre Monday but their defence against the charge of subverting the government would not be ready before Thursday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang condemned as illegal the escape of another veteran dissident, Wang Xizhe, who flew to the US via Hong Kong.

Shen attacked US and Hong Kong authorities over their role, saying: "All states and governments must observe the rules and laws and not encourage illegal emigration."

According to a dissident source, Wang departed Hong Kong Monday night for San Francisco via a third country. He was smuggled into the British territory on Saturday after fellow dissident Liu Xiaobo was arrested and sentenced to three years in a labour camp.

The two co-authored a petition last month calling for an independent Tibet as well as the impeachment of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

"This is an illegal emigration case, and our judicial departments are seeking to bring Wang Xizhe and his co-plotters to justice," Shen said.

Following Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule next year, dissidents in the territory will not be allowed to go abroad "without going through the legally required procedures," he said.

Government officials in Hong Kong could not be immediately reached for comment on the remarks.

But monitoring group Human Rights Watch/Asia said Shen's words were "heavy language."

"It's highly unusual for the Chinese government to make so strong a public response to a dissident escape," said the organisation's Hong Kong director, Robin Munro.

Meanwhile, officials at Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court refused to comment on Wang Dan's impending case, which has come to a head 17 months after the former student activist was detained.

The 27-year-old's fate became clear last Thursday when the court asked his mother to find a lawyer to defend him and outlined the four charges against him.

Further indication that trial was imminent came Monday when Wang Lingyun was permitted to visit her son for the first time since he was detained.

She said she spent an hour with Wang Dan and he "was in good spirits," although "he looked as if he had spent a lot of time in isolation."

The 61-year-old mother of Wang Dan is officially retired, but still works part-time as a museum researcher.

Although she has no legal qualifications, her son specifically asked that she represent him.

Wang Xiancheng said Monday that the proposal had already been approved.

Wang Dan previously spent almost four years in jail for his prominent role in the 1989 pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.

He was detained again in May 1995 after he signed two human rights petitions despite warnings to avoid all dissident activity or contact with foreign media.

The most serious of the four charges against Wang is "conspiracy to subvert the government" by criticising the administration in overseas newspapers and magazines.

The remaining charges are participating in a correspondence course organised by the University of California at Berkeley, joining other dissidents to form a mutual aid group for former prisoners and their families, and accepting economic aid from abroad.