China frees another dissident

Human rights group says the release is related to Beijing's bid to host the Olympics.

HONG KONG, China -- China has released a jailed dissident in a move that might be related to its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, a Hong Kong human rights group said Sunday.

The release brought to four the number of student leaders from a 1989 democracy movement who have been freed early in the past two months, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.

Xu Jianxiong, 31, was released on Friday from a prison in Weinan city, in central China's Shaanxi province, a year before his sentence was due to end, the group said.

The prison gave no explanation for his release, nor was any reason given for the early release of three other dissidents in recent weeks, the group said.

"As the authorities did not explain why they were released early, we guess that it is related to Beijing's application for hosting the Olympic Games," the group said.

Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul are also bidding to host the Games in 2008.

Rights activists have urged the International Olympic Committee, which will decide later this year where the games are held, to use its influence to push for political reform and an improvement in human rights in China.

Xu was a core member of a student movement in Xian city in 1989, when student colleagues were leading pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

After authorities cracked down on the Tiananmen Square demonstrations on June 4, 1989, labelling them a "counter-revolutionary riot," Xu and 12 other student leaders formed an organisation to urge for a reversal of the verdict.

All 13 were arrested on March 20, 1990, and Xu was sentenced to 10 years in jail for being "counter-revolutionary." Shortly afterwards, authorities accused him of attacking prison police and lengthened his sentence to 12 years.

Early freedom was recently granted to three other student leaders of the 1989 movement, the rights group said.

Zhang Jie was freed on January 16, six-and-a-half years before the completion of his sentence, Guo Haifeng Guo was released on February 5, half a year early and Zhou Yongjun was let out of jail on March 5, nine months before his term was due to end.

Beiing released 20 dissidents, including Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, Wang Xizhe and Xu Wenli, in 1993 when it was bidding to be the venue for Olympics 2000, the rights group said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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