Tuesday, December 2, 2003

Internet 'mouse' freed in China

Liu Di 23-year-old Beijing university student "Stainless Steel Mouse"

A Chinese Internet dissident has been released from a Beijing jail, a year after she was arrested and with no charges ever brought against her.


Going under the Internet name the "Stainless Steel Mouse" 23-year-old Beijing university student Liu Di posted articles on the Internet satirising the Government and the Communist Party's commitment to free speech.

She was detained for just over a year but has now been conditionally released.

Ms Liu's case drew widespread attention in China and overseas as an insight into China's attempts to curb political dissent on the Internet.

But her release does not signal a broader policy change.

On Friday another Internet activist was jailed for four years after being convicted of subverting state power by planning to set up a pro-democracy party.

By Cheese Please in Beijing posted 2 December 03