Boston-based political activist sentenced in China

LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON- Members of Congress condemned the Chinese government Thursday for sentencing Boston-based political activist Yang Jianli to five years in prison on charges of spying for rival Taiwan.

Lawmakers said Chinese officials have held Yang for two years and it is time to let him go free.

"I don't think the Chinese government understands the harm they are doing by this relentless and unjustified prosecution," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. "You've proved your point, you've convicted him. No purpose is served by continuing his imprisonment."

The sentence comes more than eight months after Yang was tried in Beijing, on charges of espionage and illegal entry. He has been jailed in China for two years.

Speaking on Capitol Hill, Yang's wife, Christina Fu, said his supporters will be appealing the verdict as soon as it is issued in writing next week.

"My sadness is beyond words," Fu said during a press conference in Washington, D.C. "This means my husband will not be home tomorrow. I know he is not a spy."

Frank and Reps. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., and Christopher Cox, R-Calif., said the two years Yang has served are more than enough for what they called "a minor infraction of immigration rules."

Yang, a Chinese citizen with permanent U.S. residency, was in China in April 2002, to meet with dissidents and protesting laid-off workers, when he was stopped while boarding an airline flight using a false identity card.

His lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said Yang will decide within five days whether to appeal, once a written verdict is issued.

"As his lawyer, I entered a not guilty plea for him," he said. "I do not agree with this verdict."

The government hasn't released any of its evidence against Yang. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment on his conviction.

Yang heads the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, an advocacy group calling for political change in China. His family said he was using a friend's identity card to travel because the Chinese government refused to renew his passport.

Yang's detention has been condemned repeatedly by Congress. High-ranking State Department and Bush administration officials, including National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, have discussed his situation with Chinese authorities on numerous occasions.

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Source: "AP".