China tries dissident who blasted Olympics

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state prosecutors on Tuesday accused a dissident of blighting the country's image by calling for human rights to take precedence over the Olympic Games, his lawyer said.

Yang Chunlin, an unemployed factory worker from Jiamusi city in China's far northeast, went on trial for "inciting subversion of state power" after he helped nearby villagers issue a petition about disputed land last year that declared, "We don't want the Olympics, we want human rights".

Prosecutors said the petition had stained China's international image, and so amounted to subversion, Yang's lawyer, Li Fangping, told Reuters.

"The prosecution said the statement went abroad and was widely reported by the foreign media, having a highly negative impact on China's international image," Li said.

The charge was also provoked by essays critical of the ruling Communist Party that Yang, 51, posted on the Internet, said Li.

Yang vigorously defended himself at the hearing that lasted about seven hours, arguing that he did not spread the petition abroad and that the statement about the Olympics was no subversive threat to the state, Li said.

"It's very hard to see what the connection is between the petition and the prosecution's claim that this amounted to a threat to the state power," Li said.

The hearing attracted several dozen people, mostly relatives of Yang. Li said he expected a verdict in the next couple of weeks.

"Going on experience, it's still likely the court will find him guilty," Li said. "Our experience with other subversion cases tells us not to be hopeful".

China hopes that Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games that open in August will highlight its economic prosperity and social unity. But the government has imposed tight controls to prevent protests and dissent upsetting that image.

Authorities also recently formally arrested prominent Beijing dissident Hu Jia, who was detained for inciting subversion after vocally supporting campaigns for democratic reform, AIDS patients and environmental protection.

(Editing by Benjamin Kang Lim and Alex Richardson)