China hands life sentence to U.S.-based dissident

World in Brief

FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY 02/10/2003 Globe & Mail (Toronto Can.) A8

The Globe and Mail
Copyright (c) 2003 by The Globe and Mail
International News

Beijing CHINA

Monday, February 10, 2003

A Chinese court convicted U.S.-based dissident Wang Bingzhang on spying and terrorism charges this morning and sentenced him to life in prison, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Mr. Wang, 55, was arrested in July after police said they found him tied up in a temple. Pro-democracy activists suggested he was abducted in Vietnam by Chinese agents after he secretly met with Chinese labour leaders.

He was convicted by a court in the southern city of Shenzhen of 'espionage, [and] organizing and leading a terrorist group,' Xinhua said in a two-sentence report.

It did not give any details of the case or evidence. AP

Copr. (C) West 2003 No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works