Dr. Zheng Yichun, a Professor of English at Liaoning University, was arrested by the security services in Yingkou, Liaoning Province, on December 3, 2004, and charged with “suspicion of inciting subversion of state power.” The Prosecutor’s Office cited 63 of Zheng’s articles as evidence for the charges against him. They were among 300 articles that the police confiscated from his home. Zheng, a prolific Internet writer and poet, has published several books on a number of topics, including political reform, increased capitalism in China, and an end to the practice of imprisoning writers.
Zheng was convicted on July 21, 2005, of “incitement to subversion of state power” for his critical writings. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on September 20, 2005, by the Yingkou Intermediate People’s Court, Liaonin Province. 

Zheng was released on January 19, 2012, after completing his sentence. He is now subject to three years of deprivation of political rights.