Wang, editor of Shengtai Yanjiu (Ecology Research) magazine, was arrested after leaving his house to go grocery shopping, according to the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights in China. Several state security officers also searched his home and confiscated copies of the magazine, his journal, and other personal items.
Soon after his arrest, authorities said Wang was being detained under Article 109 of the Criminal Code, which covers the crime of defection to another country. However, on December 19, 2002, the Hefei Intermediate Court, in Anhui Province, sentenced Wang to one year in prison on subversion charges. Prosecutors cited as evidence articles Wang had written for Shengtai Yanjiu, including one titled “On the 35th Anniversary of the Cultural Revolution.”
Wang, 70, has repeatedly angered authorities by publishing articles and editorials that blame the government for China’s ecological problems. In 1997, state security officers ordered him to stop publishing Shengtai Yanjiu, but he refused. Wang’s sentence accounts for time served since February 7, 2002, when his wife was notified of his arrest. He is due to be released on February 6, 2003.