BEIJING/HONG KONG - Some two weeks before President Bush is set to arrive in China, Beijing released a man sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling bibles to a banned Christian group.
A Chinese court released Li Guangqiang, a Hong Kong businessman, Saturday on medical grounds.
The court in the coastal province of Fujian decided Li could serve his sentence outside prison under surveillance because he was suffering from hepatitis B, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Speaking to reporters on his arrival in Hong Kong Sunday, Li thanked the Chinese government for releasing him before the Chinese New Year holiday. He thanked President Bush and his administration for their role, as well as the Hong Kong government and citizens.
"I feel very relaxed now, but my body needs medical attention," Li said.
Li, 38, and mainlanders Yu Zhudi and Lin Xifu were indicted in early January for "using an evil cult to damage a law-based society" after they were caught transporting 16,000 Bibles to the "Shouters," an underground Christian group that Beijing banned in 1983.
Reading from a prepared statement, Li said that the Shouter's sect was not an evil cult, as branded by Beijing. They were fellow Christians and held the same beliefs, he said.
China bans religious activity outside state-backed associations, but millions of faithful still worship regularly in underground churches and prayer groups.
Li said when transporting the bibles to China he failed to complete customs formalities and so was sentenced to two years and fined. "This was according to Chinese law," he said.
NO REGRETS
But he did not regret his actions, Li said. He would consider returning to China, but this time would go according to the country's laws, he said.
Li said he was concerned about his two colleagues still in China and hoped the Chinese government would let his new wife come to Hong Kong so they could have a proper wedding ceremony.
His release comes less than two weeks before Bush, who has taken a personal interest in the case, is due for talks with his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin on February 21 and 22.
A U.S. embassy spokesman said the United States was pleased with reports that Li was in Hong Kong.
"We have been seeking Li's release and welcome the news that he is in Hong Kong where he can get necessary medical attention," the spokesman said. "The Chinese government is well aware of the president's personal interest in this case."
Li, fined 150,000 yuan ($18,120), originally faced a possible death sentence in the case, which sparked grave concern about religious freedom in China.
Chinese prosecutors reduced the charge in a move seen as a bid to smooth over potential irritants ahead of Bush's visit.
Lau Siu-kai, associate director of the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said he had expected Li's release.
"Beijing did not want to jeopardise the Sino-American relationship and sour the atmosphere of the summit," he added.
Ties between the world's most populous country and the most powerful hit a low point last April when a mid-air collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter off the coast of southern China led to a standoff over who was to blame.