This is confirmed by his wife: "he is in good spirits but can not give interviews." Former engineer, he was one of the pioneers of Chinese online dissidents. He was arrested with the help of the American giant, which gave the communist regime personal data connected to his e-mail.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Chinese authorities this morning released Chinese dissident Wang Xiaoning, sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of "inciting the population to subvert state power" through the use of internet. His identification and arrest took place in 2002 with the help of the American giant Yahoo!, which provided the Chinese government the personal data of his email setting off protests around the world.

The confirmation of his release was given by his wife, Yu Ling, alleging that her husband was "in good physical and spirit" but "can not give interviews' part of the conditions for his release." This ban has become a practice by the communist authorities, who threaten dissidents with a return to prison" (even if they have served their sentence whole) in the event of contact with the international press.

Wang, a former engineer, was a pioneer of online dissent. With scattered articles for various blogs and forums in China, he launched a campaign calling on the government to stop the one-party dictatorship run by communists and open a new era for democracy in China.

The collaboration of the American computer giant with the Chinese authorities allowed Beijing to arrest him, resulting in a public outcry against Yahoo!, which later "apologized" for what happened but again in 2005 helped the government to  detain the journalist Shi Tao (still in jail).

In 2007, a U.S. court ruled against Yahoo! over its actions against human rights. The computer company bargained compensation for the families of the two dissidents, recognizing that it had furthered repression in China.

 

• China
• communist
• government
• democracy
• Wang
• Xiaoning
• dissident
• Yahoo!