Leading mainland dissident Qin Yongmin, one of the three chief founders of the banned China Democracy Party, was released yesterday after spending 12 years in jail on subversion charges, and vowed to continue his fight for democracy.
Shortly before he was released, fellow activist Bai Dongping was detained by police on subversion charges, purportedly for a photograph he uploaded online showing protesting students in the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement.
Qin was jailed in December 1998 for 'subverting state sovereignty', along with colleagues Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai, after they tried to register the party.
Under international pressure, the authorities allowed Xu to be exiled to the United States in 2002, with Wang following in 2004. Xu had been sentenced to 13 years' jail and Wang to 11.
After his release yesterday, Qin said his prison term had not deterred him from wanting to pursue his dream of democracy. 'Pushing for democracy and human rights is the meaning of my life,' he said from his home in Hubei province.
Qin said the authorities warned him against giving media interviews or meeting other dissidents. His former wife said other activists in Hubei had been barred from visiting him.
Qin complained that police had confiscated all his writing, including his autobiography and memoirs on prison life, as well as hundreds of political commentaries that he had written in the past 12 years.
