Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Beijing reneges on prisoner release Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 15:01:10 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \HD Beijing reneges on prisoner release \BY Liu Qingyan \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Chinese dissidents in the United States charged yesterday that Beijing broke a promise to release two pro-democracy activists last week as part of a deal freeing dissident leader Shen Tong. "The Chinese government has acted very indecently in this case," said Xiong Yan, 28, a researcher in Boston. "They violated even their own law by releasing Shen Tong, the supposed 'principal criminal,' and keeping behind bars the accessories," said Mr. Xiong, who was jailed himself for participating in the 1989 protests at Tiananmen Square. Mr. Xiong's wife, Qian Liyun, and student activist Qi Dafeng, both of whom lived in Beijing, were arrested with Mr. Shen on Aug. 29. In July, Mr. Shen became the first high-profile leader of the Tiananmen protests to return to China from exile in the West. After traveling throughout China for a month, he was arrested hours before he was scheduled to announce the opening of a Beijing office for his Boston-based Democracy for China Fund. Mr. Shen was released Friday after seven weeks in jail. He returned to the United States Saturday. Before leaving, Mr. Shen said Chinese authorities had agreed to release those arrested in connection with him, but he said he had no contact with them. "I was put in absolute isolation," Mr. Shen said in a telephone interview yesterday. "During the entire time I did not know anything from the outside world." Mr. Xiong said his wife's relatives had no information on her whereabouts. The Chinese government has a history of treating famous prisoners leniently while imposing harsher punishments on the lesser known, Mr. Xiong said. Nevertheless, Mr. Xiong refused to blame Mr. Shen for his wife's incarceration. "Some people within [the overseas democracy] movement have criticized Shen Tong harshly for having acted inconsiderately and exposing many underground activists. Some say I have the authority and should criticize him, but I'm not going to; our common enemy is the Chinese government," Mr. Xiong said. "I refuse to fall into the trap of the Communist Party, which desperately wants us to engage in internal fights," Mr. Xiong said. "Instead, what they did to my wife only intensifies my dislike for the Communist Party." Mr. Xiong said his wife nursed him back to health when he was released from 18 months' imprisonment. "Now is my turn to pray for her," he said. Marshall Strauss, executive director of Mr. Shen's Democracy for China Fund, said Chinese authorities were not able to obtain much information on the democracy movement from the files they took when they arrested Mr. Shen. "In our knowledge, only a number of people might have been arrested in connection with Shen Tong's trip and we're investigating this and will do our best to focus international pressure on their behalf," Mr. Strauss said. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM