CNHRA PERSON RECORD · CNHRA-P-328408
Bao Tong
Born
Unknown
Occupation
Unknown
Role
Public Commentator
Record ID
CNHRA-P-328408
Visual Records
Bao Tong at home on February 8, 2008.
Biography
Bao worked on political reform within the Party leadership and served as Zhao Ziyang’s aide.[1]
Bao worked on political reform during the 1980s and contributed to drafting the Thirteenth Party Congress report.[1]
Asia Watch describes Bao’s advocacy of rule of law, separation of Party and government and political reform alongside economic reform. He suffered Cultural Revolution punishment and compulsory labor before returning to Party work after 1978.[3]
Case Summary
HRW’s 1992 briefing dates his detention to May 28, 1989 and describes more than three years before trial, much of it incommunicado. It reports proceedings lasting less than six hours.[1]
Appendix I reproduces an English translation of the July 21, 1992 judgment: four years for disclosure of an important state secret and five for counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement, combined into seven, plus two years’ deprivation of political rights.[3]
Amnesty’s 1997 update records the end of a period of house arrest on April 26, conditional on family relocation, with political-rights restrictions continuing.[2]
Timeline
1989-05
Taken into custody
1992-07
Sentenced to seven years
The Beijing intermediate court imposed seven years on July 21. The report’s translated judgment lists four years for disclosure and five for counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement, combined into seven, plus political-rights deprivation. The report also challenges defense preparation and family access.[1][3]
1997-04-26
Subsequent house-arrest stage ends
Amnesty records the end of a post-prison period of house arrest, conditional on the family relocating from its former home. Political-rights restrictions continued.[2]
Related Events
Sources
- [1]
CNHRA-S-146054Human Rights Watch
Evidence location: Body: 1989 detention, July 1992 trial, seven-year sentence and defense procedure.
- [2]
CNHRA-S-750867Amnesty International
Evidence location: Summary: release from the subsequent house-arrest stage on April 26, 1997.
- [3]
CNHRA-S-372258Asia Watch / Human Rights Watch
Evidence location: PDF pp. 1–4 report; pp. 5–6 Appendix I, translated July 21, 1992 judgment; p. 7 Six-Point Statement.
- [4]
CNHRA-S-704653Wikimedia Commons
Evidence location: Photograph, subject description, author and licensing section.