Ms Jiang collected the medal at an August ceremony in Manila on behalf of her father, who said at the time he could not make the trip because he still worked for the military. The Ramon Magsaysay Awards, named after the Philippines third president, honour Asians in six fields, including public service, the category for which Dr Jiang was honoured.

'It should be placed in his home,' said Ms Jiang, who has sent photographs of the medal to her father. 'I want to hand it to him the day he wins his freedom, but I don't know when that will be.'

Dr Jiang is under shuanggui - reporting to Communist Party investigators at specific times and locations - and was scheduled to receive an official 'conclusion' on his actions, Ms Jiang said.

But for his daughter, an engraving on the medal has already summarised his actions - 'For bravely standing for the truth in China, to address the deadly threat of Sars'.

After revealing the extent of the 2003 Sars outbreak on the mainland, Dr Jiang upset the authorities further by writing to the party leadership in February calling for a reappraisal of the June 4 democracy movement.

Ms Jiang said she was told a 'conclusion' would have been delivered before October 1, but 'no matter what sort of punishment he receives, I am most concerned about his personal freedom'.

Dr Jiang and his wife, Hua Zhongwei , were detained on June 1, three days before the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. Ms Hua was released on June 15 and Dr Jiang on July 19.

But the couple have since been kept under close surveillance. Dr Jiang has to submit written requests and get approval for activities outside his compound, the phone is tapped and registered mail is not delivered by postmen but other people, Ms Jiang says.

'I'm getting increasingly disappointed because his situation has not improved,' she said.

Liu Qing , president of the New-York based Human Rights in China, said he expected Dr Jiang would be treated mildly. 'Letting him go unpunished would be an admission by the party that it made a mistake detaining him in the first place,' he said, adding it was only a matter of time before the party made a move.

A source said it was possible Dr Jiang would be punished through the party and the military, instead of through the law, before the end of the year.

'A serious warning would be enough of a compromise for those who want to punish him and those trying to protect him,' the source said. 'He will not face heavy punishment. One main reason is that authorities will have to give face to Condoleezza Rice, now the US secretary of the state, because she has expressed concern on this issue.'

Dr Rice reportedly asked about Dr Jiang's detention when she visited Beijing in July as US national security adviser.