Conference co-organised by Centre for Chinese Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong and French Centre for Research on Contemporary China

Council Chamber, 8th Floor Meng Wah Complex, The University of Hong Kong

On Christmas Day, 2009, Liu Xiaobo, an independent intellectual, was sentenced to eleven years in jail for « incitement to subversion of the socialist State » for having contributed to the drafting of Charter 08, a manifesto which demands the end to One Party rule and the establishment of the rule of Law in China, and six other articles. This sentence, the harshest for such a crime since 1989, shows that the Chinese communist party is not ready to accept peaceful expression of dissent. Last March, the Centre for Chinese Law of the University of Hong Kong organized a conference on Liu Xiaobo's trial. This conference, co-organized by the CCL and the CEFC, will try to address what this sentence Who is Liu Xiaobo ? Why was he isolated by the authorities? What does his sentence say about the political situation and the legal future of the PRC?