Yang Jianli

A court in Beijing held a three-hour trial on Monday for a US-based Chinese activist charged with spying and adjourned without saying when it would issue a verdict, his wife and defense lawyer said.

Yang Jianli, who runs a foundation in Boston that advocates political change in China, was detained in April 2002 after visiting China to meet other activists and laid-off workers. He was using a friend's passport and also faces a less serious charge of entering the country illegally.

Yang pleaded innocent during the closed trial in the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court, said his lawyer, Mo Shaoping. A court spokesman, Gao Zhihan, said he couldn't confirm whether the trial took place because it was closed to the public.

Yang is accused of acting as an agent of the Nationalist Party, the former ruling party of rival Taiwan, said Jared Genser, a lawyer for Yang's wife, Christina Fu. He said the charges appear to stem from four $100 grants given by a foundation run by Yang to activists in China to promote human rights and democracy.

Mo declined to give details of the trial, but Mr Genser said Chinese prosecutors presented evidence about the grants.

"There was no evidence that he was a spy," Mr Genser said. "There was just evidence that he ran the foundation."

Trials in China usually last no more than a day, but it can take weeks for judges to consider the case before issuing a ruling.

The trial began at 9.30am local time with relatives, onlookers and US embassy officials barred from attending.

According to a copy of an opinion recommending prosecution issued by the Beijing Bureau of National Security, the spying charge is reportedly based on activities that took place a decade ago.

Officials from Taiwan's Kuomintang party tasked Yang with "developing a wide circle of friends, and collecting inside information, especially government documents on Taiwan policy and living conditions of the mainland people," the opinion said.

Yang's trial comes after the US Senate last week condemned his 15-month detention and called for his release.

According to Yang supporters, he was merely encouraged by representatives of the Kuomintang to give US$100 each to four people - including three relatives and a friend - to fund various projects in China.

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Source: "Channel News Asia".