According to HRIC sources inside China, on September 3 Sichuan Province State Security Police formally arrested Li Zhi on the charges of “conspiracy to subvert state power.” Li was initially detained on August 8 along with his wife, who was released the same day and allowed to return home. Li’s home was searched, and his computer and other property were seized.

Li Zhi, 32, is a graduate of the Xinan Institute of Finance, and prior to his arrest was a finance official in the Dazhou municipal government. Sources say the State Security Police told Li Zhi’s family that they suspect Li Zhi communicated with overseas dissidents through Internet chatrooms.

Under the present charge of subversion Li could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

The arrest comes at a time when the United States government has repeatedly criticized China for its lack of progress on human rights, making particular mention of arrests of Internet activists. On September 22 Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to make Beijing act on promises it made at U.S.-China human rights talks at the end of last year. Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner has also recently criticized the Chinese government for human rights abuses.

Four Internet journalists were given long prison sentences in June, convicted of “subversion” after posting online appeals calling for political change. The information freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders estimates that 36 people have been arrested and jailed in recent years for putting controversial content on the internet.

China's Public Information Network Security Bureau employs 30,000 people to watch what its people are doing online. Filters installed by the government ban access to foreign websites run by dissidents, human rights groups and some news organizations. The content of domestic sites is also carefully monitored.