China dissident jailed on Yahoo info is freed

A Chinese dissident imprisoned for 10 years on astate subversion conviction supported by evidence from Web portal Yahoo wasreleased early Friday after completing his term, his wife said.

The American Internet company drew strong condemnation fromU.S. lawmakers and rights advocates for cooperating with Chinese authorities inprosecuting dissidents and a well-known journalist. The company laterapologized and settled a lawsuit with the families involved for an undisclosedamount.

Wang Xiaoning's wife, Yu Ling, said in a phone interview thather husband had been released before dawn Friday by the Beijing No. 2 Prison.She had been earlier told she could meet Wang at the prison gate but he wasreleased several hours early and taken to their home.

Yu said the conditions of his release meant he could notspeak to the media. She said Wang appeared to be in good health, but would gofor a medical check soon.

"We're happy that the family is together again,"Yu said. The couple has a son.

Wang was detained in September 2002 and later sentenced for"incitement to subvert state power" — a vaguely defined chargefrequently used to punish political critics. Wang distributed pro-democracywritings by e-mail and through Yahoo Groups.

A former engineer in China's weapons industry, Wang had beendetained previously for his political activities following the June 4, 1989,military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Rights groups said that passages from writings cited at histrial in 2003 included: "Without a multiparty system, free elections andseparation of powers, any political reform is fraudulent."

A lawsuit Wang and others filed in the United States showedthat Yahoo's wholly owned subsidiary based in Hong Kong gave police informationlinking Wang to his anonymous e-mails and other political writings he postedonline.

Yahoo could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case raised questions about whether Internet companiesshould cooperate with governments that deny freedom of speech and frequentlycrack down on journalists. It also has been the subject of congressionalhearings in the United States, where lawmakers accused the company ofcollaborating with an oppressive communist regime.

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