This past May, I had blogged about “The Imprisoned Stanford MBA – Stanford grads work to free pal held in China.” In today’s Los Angeles Times, the newspaper reports: “China releases U.S. citizen Jude Shao on parole“:
“After more than a decade in a Shanghai prison, a Chinese-American entrepreneur whose case illustrated the perils of doing business in China and the nation’s tenuous rule of law was released today on parole…today — a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concluded a visit to Beijing during which human rights were discussed — Shao walked out of Qingpu Prison, on the outskirts of Shanghai… Under China’s parole rules, Shao would likely face travel limits and other restrictions, including contact with foreigners and the press. But it is possible that the parole could lead to full freedom sooner than the five years of the remaining term.”
No doubt, China is trying to soften its image prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. From the lack of merits of the original case, I’m disappointed that Shao is not fully exonerated for the charges against him. As I had blogged before, even as a Taiwanese-American (born-and-raised in Massachusetts), stories like this always make me wonder if I am more susceptible to wrongful arrest and jail while traveling in China, more so than a non-ethnic Chinese American.
