A family visit to China back in August 2024 ended with a three-year prison sentence for a US-based Chinese artist. Gao Zhen, a member of the artistic duo the Gao brothers, was given the prison sentence over a satirical artwork involving statues of Mao Zedong.Gao was sentenced on Tuesday by the Sanhei People’s Court in northern Hebei province for “infringing upon the reputation of heroes”, according to his wife, Zhao Yaliang. The offence relates to artworks that Chinese authorities consider insulting to revolutionary figures.The sentence brought an abrupt end to hopes that Gao, who has remained in official custody since his arrest, would soon be released and return to his family in the US. Zhao said she had prepared clothes for her husband, expecting that he might be freed.“I felt two years was my limit, and I was really disappointed and sad. I haven’t been able to catch my breath,” she said.Gao was arrested while visiting family in China in August 2024, after travelling back from the US, where he and his family had immigrated. He has remained in custody for about two years since then.The case centres on several of Gao’s satirical works, including Mao’s Guilt, a 2009 statue depicting Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, kneeling in repentance. Another is the Miss Mao series, which caricatures Mao with breasts and an exaggerated nose.Gao’s supporters say the works predate the law under which he was prosecuted. Shane Yi, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders who has advocated for the artist, said Gao plans to appeal.Yi described the case as “a very clear case of a violation of a person’s freedom of expression.”The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Amnesty International also criticised the conviction, saying the sentence was intended to discourage artists from challenging official narratives. Gao was handed the maximum three-year prison term available under the offence.“The lengthy pre-trial detention and, ultimately, decision to convict Gao Zhen and sentence him to the maximum three-year prison term under this offence illustrate the authorities’ determination to deter others from engaging in independent artistic expression,” said Amnesty’s China Director Sarah Brooks.“No artist should face criminal punishment for creating work that challenges official narratives or encourages critical reflection on history,” she said.The Gao Brothers became internationally known for works examining authoritarianism and censorship. Their art was exhibited in China and abroad during a period of relative openness in the country.That space for political expression has narrowed in recent years, particularly when artists and others have addressed prominent political figures. China passed a law in 2018 banning criticism of the nation’s “heroes”, which authorities have since used in cases involving depictions of revolutionary figures.For Zhao, however, the case remains deeply personal. She said she hopes to be reunited with her husband and return with him to the US. Chinese courts often count time spent in pre-trial detention as time served towards a prison sentence.
