U.S. Congress steps up pressure for China to release prisoners ahead of Hu tripAP April 17, 2006 U.S. lawmakers are stepping up demands for China to release a jailed dissident and a California businessman ahead of President Hu Jintao's trip this week to Washington. Members of Congress have written to President George W. Bush on behalf of Yang Jianli, a pro-democracy activist who was convicted of identity fraud, and Jude Shao, an entrepreneur who is in prison on tax charges. China has released prominent prisoners in the past ahead of high-profile trips by its leaders. This will be Hu's first official visit to the White House since he became president in 2003. Last month, state secret charges against Zhao Yan, a detained Chinese researcher for The New York Times, were dropped by a court without explanation, though he is still being held. California Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from Palo Alto, has written a letter pressing Bush to ask Hu to release Shao "as soon as possible," according to an e-mail sent Monday from Chuck Hoover, who has spent years lobbying for the release of his friend. Shao contends officials filed the tax evasion charges after he refused a demand for a bribe. He has served half of his 16-year sentence. "This is a great time for Hu Jintao to rectify an injustice, and make a conciliatory gesture in the face of mounting pressure," Hoover said. Last week, 119 American lawmakers sent a letter to Bush about Yang, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen who runs a Boston-based foundation that advocates political change in China. He was imprisoned in 2002 on charges that he illegally used a friend's identity card to travel around China meeting activists and laid-off workers. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said last week that Yang's case would be handled according to law but didn't say what might happen _ a common response to questions on politically sensitive cases. Hu's visit to the United States Tuesday through Friday also includes stops in Seattle, Washington, and at Yale University in Connecticut. Hu planned an official visit to Washington last September but postponed it after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast. -------------------------- |