China Jails Dissident Ahead of Wen-Bush Meeting

[salin]

China Jails Dissident Ahead of Wen-Bush Meeting

Dec. 8 — BEIJING (Reuters) - China sentenced a dissident to two years in prison on Monday on charges of inciting subversion, just hours after Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in the United States, a Hong Kong human rights group reported.

A court in the western city of Xi'an convicted Yan Jun of "incitement to subvert state power" over a string of essays published on the Internet critical of the government, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.

His conviction followed the release of three other Internet writers a week before Wen's trip, including a Beijing university student whose case was highly publicized.

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China frequently times the release of dissidents to coincide with important trips abroad or visits by world leaders.

But the rights group said Yan's case demonstrated "the trend is still worsening."

"We appeal to Bush to press Wen Jiabao on opening up the Internet, religious freedom and allowing workers to form independent unions," it said.

more: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20031208_22.html

[grytpype]

1. They like to do shit like this, to humiliate the US.

Bush won't say a damned thing to Wen about this.

[salin]

2. That was my thought (except bush wont be told

so is it humiliation if you aren't aware of it?)

Given that in the past the game was to symbolically release dissidents - and this time they do some release, and then make a high profile arrest? Just before the Bush visit? It is either testing the waters (thinking: do they (US) need us so badly (re: North Korea nuclear crisis) that we will see if they do NOTHING), or outright flanting?

[Kitsune]

3. No, Bush will find a way to apologize *nt*