US resident Zhang Qi, returning to New York eight months after being taken into Chinese police custody, said she was worried about the fate of her fiance Wang Bingzhang, a democracy activist recently sentenced to life in jail.

Zhang, 41, was allowed to leave the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday, put on a plane to Hong Kong, and landed in New York one day later.

Wang, also a US resident and 14 years her senior, was left behind in China, facing a life sentence over charges of terrorism and espionage on behalf of Taiwan.

"Of course, I hope Wang will be released," she told AFP by telephone upon arrival in the United States. "But I don't know if there's any hope."

The couple's ordeal, shared by French resident Yue Wu, began last June 27 in the northern Vietnamese border town on Meng Cai, near the border with China, she said.

The three, who had been traveling in Vietnam since mid-June, were approached at a Meng Cai hotel by a group of people who claimed to be from the police.

"But instead of taking us to the police station, they drove us directly across the border to China," said Zhang, who fled China in 1999 after realizing she was on a wanted list of members of the spiritual Zhong Gong group.

Seemingly the victims of a kidnapping attempt, they were kept at a Buddhist temple in the Chinese city of Fangchenggang for seven days before apparently being rescued, and then detained, by police.

Zhang told AFP the connection between the kidnappers and the police was unclear.

While the outside world, including even the detainees' closest kin, were kept in the dark, the three began a long journey through China's huge, arcane apparatus for investigations of enemies of the state.

In mid-July, the three were put on different trains and dispatched to various corners of China. Yue Wu was sent to Beijing, Zhang to Chengdu and Wang to the southern province of Guangdong.

"The physical conditions were reasonable, but the mental pressure was huge," Zhang said.

Zhang spent the long period between August and December in Guangdong, where Wang was being held.

It now appeared that the police investigations were focusing on Wang, as Zhang was asked several questions about her fiance. She was, however, never permitted to see him face-to-face.

"I saw him last the day after we were taken from Vietnam," she said. "I demanded to meet with him, but they wouldn't allow that."

The Chinese case against Wang ended last week, when the democracy advocate lost an appeal in a south Chinese court against a life sentence imposed for espionage and terrorism.

He was found guilty of providing intelligence to Taiwan between 1982 and 1990 and obtaining "secret military material illegally" in exchange for money.

Once the case against Wang was concluded, Chinese authorities felt it was safe to let his fiancee go, according to the Washington-based Free China Movement.

"The Chinese government decided Zhang Qi had no involvement with Wang's so-called activities," said Lian Shengde, executive director of the group.

Yue, the third member of the group that went missing in June, was earlier cleared of all charges and released.

Zhang was not permitted to leave at the same time as Yue because of her knowledge of the circumstances under which the three disappeared on the China-Vietnam border in June, said Lian.

"She knew details about the kidnappings, and they didn't want her to speak to the world before Wang's sentencing," he said.

Police officers in Chengdu, contacted Sunday by AFP, declined comment.

Transferred from Yahoo Singapore News