Chinese activist Wang Xiaoning was released today. Wang spent ten years in prison after U.S. internet company Yahoo! gave Chinese authorities information from his email account.
Wang’s wife, Yu Ling, said he was released early in the morning from Beijing’s Municipal Number Two Prison.
[Yu Ling, Wife of Activist Wang Xiaoning]:
"Of course, he was very happy to come home. After we arrived home at around four o'clock, we didn't sleep, we just talked about his time in prison."
Even now, police are stationed outside their apartment. According to his wife, Wang has been warned not to speak to media, and is still deprived of his political rights.
Wang was first detained in September 2002 for disseminating articles that "[opposed] the leadership of Communist Party.” He wrote and edited political commentaries, distributing them using Yahoo! email and Yahoo! Groups.
In 2007, Yahoo! settled a lawsuit lead by Yu and others alleging it aided authorities in the prosecution of dissidents, and the company made a public apology.
[Yu Ling, Wife of Activist Wang Xiaoning]:
"Of course I am dissatisfied. Because we were innocent in the first place. We just told the truth, right? We spoke for the good of the country. Ultimately, I feel it was totally unreasonable, to accuse him of subversion of state power. It was a bunch of rubbish. I will never accept it."
Yahoo! was criticized by the U.S. Congress for cooperating with Chinese authorities in charging activists, including Wang and others. The company claimed it did not know the information would be used to arrest dissidents.
Professor Joseph Cheng says Wang's case is a good example of how China’s authorities view the Internet.
[Professor Joseph Cheng, Hong Kong City University]:
"His case is representative in that it reflects the Chinese authorities' attempt to control the Internet while fully exploiting its benefits for modernization. So on one hand, the Chinese authorities understand that they need the Internet, they need foreign I.T. companies, but at the same time they would like to minimize the impact and influence on local politics, especially not to allow the internet to facilitate the activities of the dissidents.”
Although Wang's verdict came ten years ago, Cheng believes foreign firms like Yahoo! operating in China are still subject to similar pressures.
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