Gao Zhen has been sentenced to three years in prison for his works critical of Mao Zedong.
The New York-based artist was found guilty of slandering one of the country’s heroes by the Sanhe City People’s Court in Hebei Province, China.
Gao was detained and charged under the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law in 2024 while visiting family in China. The three-year sentence, the maximum he could have faced, means he will be detained for one more year after time served.
The 2018 Heroes and Martys Protection Law prohibits any slander or insult of historical figures who have been designated national heroes. According to Gao Zhen’s wife, Zhao Yaliang, via The New York Times, this case cited three sculptures of Mao Zedong that the artist and his brother created over 15 years ago as evidence. The sculptures depict Mao kneeling, Mao with breasts and a Pinocchio nose, and a group of Maos aiming guns at Jesus.
