CHINA's best known dissident, Wei Jingsheng, is ''absolutely free'', his younger brother Wei Xiaotao said yesterday.
Wei Jingsheng, who was released from 14 years in jail on Tuesday morning, has not yet returned home because he wants to ''rest and get a better understanding of the situation'', his brother said.
Wei Xiaotao, a chemical engineer, who was taken to see his brother at a villa to the north of Beijing late on Wednesday evening said the 44-year-old former Democracy Wall activist could return home at any time he wished.
His decision not to return home immediately was entirely voluntary, he added. ''He doesn't understand very well today's social life. He said he wanted to better understand current things . . . [by] looking around, walking around and chatting,'' Mr Wei said.
''He's probably gone fishing or having shooting practice,'' he said.
However, Wei Jingsheng was still accompanied by police officers everywhere he went, ''to make things convenient'', he added.
