US prisoner freed after 10 years in China prison: US embassy

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

SHANGHAI (AFP) — A US citizen has been released from a jail in China after serving 10 years of a 16-year term for violating tax laws, a US official and rights groups said Thursday.

Jude Shao was released from a Shanghai jail on parole on Wednesday, a US embassy spokeswoman in Beijing, Diane Sovereign, told AFP.

"US ambassador Clark Randt has spoken to Shao by telephone, confirming and welcoming his release from prison," she said.

Shao's case had drawn the attention of the US government at the highest level, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top US diplomats repeatedly calling for his release, she said.

"We welcome this development and urge China to continue to make progress on other prisoner cases and issues of domestic and...