America after 40 years in Chinese prisons, news reports said Sunday, July 14.
Tanak Jigme Sangpo, now in his seventies, arrived in Chicago from Beijing Saturday, July 13, in "pretty good health" despite serious high blood pressure and coronary disease, The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted human rights activist John Kamm as saying. He was expected to arrive in Washington for medical treatment.
Jigme Sangpo was arrested in September 1983 and sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of "counter-revolutionary incitement and propaganda" for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet.
But his sentence was extended twice after he shouted pro- independence slogans during visits to his prison by foreign dignitaries, human rights workers said. He also spent much of the 1960s and 70s in prison and labour camps for criticizing Chinese rule.
SUDDEN FREEDOM
Jigme Sangpo’s latest sentence was due to expire on September 3, 2011, when he would be in his mid-80s. Prison authorities exempted him from physical labor several years ago because of his age, Kamm told AP. Kamm attributed his sudden freedom to China’s post-September 11 desire to bolster relations with Washington.
Analysts also point out that the Chinese authorities did not want another Tibetan political prisoner to die in their custody. The London-based Tibet Information Network, a monitoring group, said Jigme Sangpo was the sixth Tibetan prisoner released since January, including four "singing nuns," a group of women punished for recording pro-independence songs in prison,
AP reported.
The most recent, Ngawang Choezom, was freed June 21, although an estimated 110 political prisoners are still serving time in Tibet. "It seems the Chinese authorities are reassessing the necessity of continuing to hold people in prisons for long periods if they’ve been involved in peaceful forms of protest," said Kate Saunders, the network spokeswoman.
LONG NEGOTIATIONS
His release came after years of behind the scenes negotiations between several US administrations and the Chinese authorities, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said. It was not immediately clear if the latest development would lead to the release of many more political or religious prisoners, including Christians, some of whom have been sentenced to death.
Many other Christians serve time in overcrowded prisons or harsh labor camps, according to Open Doors and other Christian human rights groups. However Evangelical organizations, including the Trinity Broadcasting Network, recently suggested that the Chinese authorities are slowly opening up for evangelization, which it hopes will eventually have a positive impact on Christian prisoners.
CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE
In a further sign of possible changing times, a new Christian bookstore opened in Shanghai on April 1, the Christian oriented Compass Direct news agency said Sunday July 14. It is one of a handful of public Christian bookstores now operating in China. However a Compass reporter quickly discovered that the bookstore is different than in Western countries.
"At first glance it looks very similar, with its modern décor and rows of paperbacks and Christian gifts," said reporter Xu Mei. "But closer inspection reveals that not one Bible is for sale." That’s perhaps no surprise. The owner of another Christian bookstore in a northern Chinese city was recently fined $1,200 in local currency for illegally selling Bibles, Mei explained.
