China frees Tiananmen-era worker from prison

BEIJING, July 6 (Reuters) A Chinese worker jailed for life for taking part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests has been released after his sentence was commuted, but more than 10 others remain in prison, a human rights watchdog said today.

Some 800 Beijing workers and residents were jailed for 20 years or more for their roles in the student-led demonstrations for democracy, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.

Chang Yongjie, 42, a little-known worker at a Beijing food and beverage factory, was freed from prison on June 26, the Hong Kong-based group said in a faxed statement.

At least 12 others were still languishing in prison, the watchdog said without identifying them.

The People's Liberation Army crushed the seven-week protest on June 4, 1989. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed.

The subject is still taboo today. Families of victims and dissidents are kept under tight police surveillance and have had no success in petitioning the government to reverse the official verdict that the protests were ''counter-revolutionary'', or subversive.

In February 2006, Sun Chuanheng, 37, also jailed for life for his part in the protests, was freed after his sentence was commuted, the group said.

While in prison, Sun earned two vocational school diplomas in law and psychology, the centre said. But the one-time geological instruments factory worker has had difficulty finding a job.

Sun told the group that his age, poor health, detachment from society for more than a decade and Tiananmen background meant prospective employers were reluctant to hire him for fear of incurring political trouble themselves.

REUTERS GT RS1616