Mao Sculptor Sentenced to Three Years Under China's Defamation Law
Gao Zhen, famed for provocative sculptures of Mao Zedong, was sentenced to three years in prison for defaming China’s 'heroes and martyrs' under a defamation law enacted in 2018, based on works made more than a decade earlier; detained since 2024 after returning to China, his studio was raided, his family faced travel bans, and rights groups warn the case suppresses independent art and dissent.