許志永 Xu Zhiyong

China releases legal scholar, two activists from prison
By Los Angeles Times | August 24, 2009
BEIJING - Chinese authorities, facing scathing criticism at home and abroad, yesterday released from prison a celebrated legal scholar and two other activists.
Xu Zhiyong, founder of the Beijing-based Open Constitution Initiative, was unexpectedly freed on bail after more than three weeks in prison on charges of tax evasion. A co-worker, Zhuang Lu, also was released.
In a separate case, Ilham Tohti, an economics professor who had written about economic discrimination against the Uighur minority, was released after about six weeks in custody, according to a Uighur website.
“This shows the legal system is still working in China, and I’m very happy about that,’’ said Yang Huiwen, a lawyer at Open Constitution Initiative, known by its Chinese name, Gongmeng. Although Xu might still have to answer the tax charges, Yang said, he will at least be at liberty to mount a proper defense.
Xu, 36, was arrested July 29 in the midst of a dispute over whether his firm owed taxes on charitable donations from supporters, including Yale University Law School. Among other high-profile cases, the firm represented parents whose babies had been sickened last year by tainted infant formula.
What made Xu’s arrest surprising was that he was considered a moderate, working within the mainstream to strengthen the legal system.
“This was not somebody trying to overthrow the current political system, simply somebody trying to inform Chinese people of their rights,’’ US Representative Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week in Beijing. Berman said he was one of a number of US officials who was taking up Xu’s case with the Chinese government.

中國維權律師許志永獲取保候審
被拘押三個多星期的中國著名維權律師許志永星期日（8月23日）以取保候審獲得釋放。
許志永是維權組織"公盟"的創辦人。公盟律師曾參與了許多中國政治敏感案件的辯護，其中包括為廣為人知的三鹿奶粉案受害者提供法律服務。
許志永在7月29日受到拘押，在8月12日以偷稅漏稅的指控遭正式逮捕。
許志永在星期日獲釋後對記者們說，他目前處於取保候審的狀態，"從法律角度講，事情還沒有完"。
公盟稅務案件代理律師黎雄兵曾在許志永遭正式逮捕時對BBC說，稅務部門對公盟的指控根據不實。
目前距離中共紀念建政60週年還有一個多月時間，一些觀察人士擔心，當局會在10月1日紀念活動開始之前嚴密控制異議人士的活動。
BBC中文網報導
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_8210000/newsid_8216700/8216755.stm