Hong Kong publisher, arrested while putting together unauthorized biography of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, released from prison after serving 10-year sentence
A Hong Kong-based publisher who was arrested while preparing to release an unauthorized biography of Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been freed after serving a 10-year sentence in a south China prison.
Yao had been sentenced to 10 years and fined for “smuggling common goods” after he brought construction materials into China to help a friend who was refurbishing his apartment, Dui Hua said. He was accused of failing to declare the value of the goods at customs, not normally a crime punished with such a harsh sentence.
Yao could not immediately be reached for contact, and his former lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said he had had no contact with Yao and his family since his trial. The book that apparently sparked his arrest was “Godfather of China: Xi Jinping,” by veteran dissident writer Yu Jie, who fled to the U.S. in 2010 after alleged torture and harassment over his criticisms of the regime. Another book published by Morning Bell, “Hu Jintao: Harmony King,” about Xi’s predecessor as president and Communist Party leader, had also drawn criticism from the authorities.
In the years since Yao’s arrest, Xi has eliminated all political opposition – both within the party and in dissident circles – in both mainland China and Hong Kong, eliminated term limits to make him effectively ruler-for-life and packed the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee with loyal allies from earlier in his career.
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