| China frees key political prisoner ahead of US visit |
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| Written by Richard Powell | |
| Tuesday, 22 October 2002 | |
 A 25-year old Tibetan nun was released this week just days before Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, is due to visit the US. Ngawang Sangdrol was serving a 21-year sentence in the feared 'Drapchi' prison on the outskirts of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, for taking part in 'pro-independence activities.' She was expected to serve her sentence until 3 November 2011, but was released "on good behaviour parole," according to Chinese authorities. Sangdrol was originally sentenced to three years in prison after being arrested in 1992 for 'counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement.' Her sentence was extended by six years for singing Tibetan nationalist songs in prison and again, by a further eight years, for shouting "Free Tibet" during a prison patriotic re-education programme. The London-based Tibet Information Network (TIN) reported Sangdrol was 'beaten severely' by Drapchi prison officers in 1998, for her part in a prison uprising.  Monks outside Jokhang Temple - Tibet's spiritual centre Denis MacShane, the British Foreign Office Minister, has frequently pledged support for the nun's release in the House of Commons. MacShane's diplomatic efforts secured Miss Sangdrol an 18-month reduction in her sentence during an official visit to Beijing in May. Speaking this week, he said: "We welcome the decision of the Chinese authorities to release Ngawang Sangdrol and hope that the Chinese will now consider the release of other political prisoners. "The UK government is particularly concerned about the human rights situation in Tibet. We have raised the issue with the Chinese authorities at every suitable opportunity and at the highest level." Alison Reynolds, Director of the UK-based Free Tibet Campaign, was critical of the move saying China's gesture demonstrated its 'tick-box' foreign policy. "The release of Ngawang Sangdrol is of enormous consequence to campaigners all around the world," she said. "However, Tibet remains under occupation and the real test of whether Ngawang's release represents a genuine sea-change will come after the US visit and political manoeuvrings in Beijing are out of the way." Zemin's visit to the US is probably his last as President of China as he is expected to relinquish the position of Communist Party Secretary to the President-elect, Hu Jintao on 8 November at China's 16th Party Congress in Beijing. Zemin has ruled the country, which treats Tibet as a province, since February 1996. The London Central Tibetan Administration office, a division of the county's government in exile, estimates more than one million people have died from torture and execution in China's Tibet since 1949. Related Items:
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