A poem titled “It’s Time," which Zhu shared with friends online while dissidents were circulating online calls for the Chinese people to emulate the "Arab Spring" protests for democracy across the Middle East. It appears to evoke protests in Tiana

The Chinese poem that helped spur seven-year prison term
February 10, 2012 | 1:32 pm
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/02/the-chinese-poem-that-helped-spur-a-seven-year-prison-term.html

A Chinese dissident writer was sentenced to seven years in prison
Friday for "inciting subversion of state power,” according to a human
rights group that monitors such cases.

Part of the evidence against Zhu Yufu: A poem titled “It’s Time,"
which Zhu shared with friends online while dissidents were circulating
online calls for the Chinese people to emulate the "Arab Spring"
protests for democracy across the Middle East. It appears to evoke
protests in Tiananmen Square.

Here is a translation by A.E. Clark, reprinted with permission:

It’s time, people of China! It’s time.

The Square belongs to everyone.

With your own two feet

It’s time to head to the Square and make your choice.



It’s time, people of China! It’s time.

A song belongs to everyone.

From your own throat

It’s time to voice the song in your heart.



It’s time, people of China! It’s time.

China belongs to everyone.

Of your own will

It’s time to choose what China shall be.

Renee Xia, executive director of the nonprofit group Chinese Human
Rights Defenders, said Zhu also was convicted of collecting funding
for people who endanger state security, inciting people to hate the
socialist system, and expressing views that identified him as part of
the illegal China Democracy Party.

Besides the poem, Zhu was also known for writing articles that
criticized corruption and drew attention to political prisoners. Xia
said the verdict didn’t name specific articles.

"We're seeing a whole batch of heavy sentences for crimes that would
in the past 10 years get three, four, five years," Xia said. Over the
last few months, three other dissidents have received sentences of
nine and 10 years for subversion or inciting subversion.

In its recently released world report, Human Rights Watch condemned
"sharp curbs on freedom of expression, association and religion" in
China. Yet it said Chinese citizens were becoming increasingly
conscious of their rights. Official statistics estimate there are
between 250 and 500 protests in China a day.
.

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