The Changsha Intermediate People's Court in Hunan province sentenced poet and journalist Shi Tao to 10 years' imprisonment on April 27, 2005, for disclosing state secrets to foreigners, a crime under Article 111 of the Criminal Law. The
court found that Shi, then editorial director of Contemporary Trade News in Hunan, was informed at an editorial meeting about a secret Communist Party and government order. Reporters Without Borders
said the order warned journalists about reporting during the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen democracy protests. Shi e-mailed his notes about the order to the U.S.-based online newspaper "Democracy Forum." The Hunan High People's Court
rejected Shi's appeal on June 2, 2005. Shi's conviction was based in part on
evidence provided by Yahoo!'s China office. In November 2007, Yahoo! agreed to pay his family's legal expenses. Shi was detained on November 24, 2004, and arrested on December 14. In August 2010, Dui Hua
reported that Shi was moved from a prison in Hunan province to the Yinchuan Prison in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous region in order facilitate family visits.