U.S. welcomes release of Chinese journalist

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 Kyodo

The United States on Wednesday welcomed Tuesday's early release of jailed Chinese journalist Jiang Weiping, but expressed concerns about the freedom of the press in China.

''We urge the Chinese government to release all those held for exercising their fundamental rights to free speech,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Jiang's release came a year before it was scheduled, and before an expected visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States sometime this year.

The United States has long criticized China for its human rights abuses, including the jailing of journalists.

''The president has been very consistent in raising with the Chinese government issues of human rights and religious freedom as well as the importance of opening up to greater freedoms, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press,'' McCormack said.

Jiang, a former reporter for Wen Hui Bao newspaper and the official Xinhua News Agency, was arrested in 2000 over articles in a Hong Kong magazine detailing government corruption.

After Jiang's release, 31 journalists still remain imprisoned in China, according to a survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization that monitors press freedom around the world.

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