China's Xinhua News Agency reports that Du Daobin, originally incarcerated because of "instigating and subverting the state power" by posting essays online in China, had an appeal for four years' probation rejected yesterday.

During Du's appeal process, he said that the messages he posted on the Internet were taken out of context and were not meant to subvert China's state power.

Du comes from China's Hubei province, and after his initial arrest 100 intellectuals from China posted a petition calling for his release.