A court in China has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for trying to form an opposition party and for online messages criticising the ruling Chinese Communist party, a week before a congress which will usher in a new generation of leaders.
The court in the south-western city of Kunming sentenced Cao Haibo, 27, for "subversion of state power", his lawyer, Ma Xiaopeng, said. Cao had called for democracy and had tried to form a party called the China Republican party, Ma said.
The charge is more serious than one of incitement of subversion, which is more typically used against party critics. The sentence signals the party's resolve to crack down hard on dissent, especially as it prepares for a power handover at the congress which opens in Beijing on 8 November.