A LEADING mainland dissident has defied a ban on talking to foreign journalists and publishing articles, according to his friend Lau Shan-ching.
Wang Xizhe, who was freed early this year after 12 years in jail for his role in the 1979 Democracy Wall movement, said he would rather go back to prison if he was not given personal freedom.
Mr Lau, a Hongkong dissident, was released last December after serving a 10 years in prison for convictions on ''counter-revolutionary'' charges in Guangdong.
He said in Hongkong yesterday that Mr Wang had recently been asked by the Chinese authorities not to give interviews to foreign journalists, publish articles or do business on the mainland.
Mr Wang rejected the restrictions imposed by Public Security Bureau in Guangzhou saying they were unreasonable.
He had threatened to petition against the Beijing Government.
