NYT: Uncertainty Deepens on Fate of NY Times Researcher Jailed in China

Uncertainty Deepens on Fate of Times Researcher Jailed in China
By JIM YARDLEY
Published: March 23, 2006

BEIJING, March 23 – The United States government today continued to press China about the status of a jailed researcher for The New York Times, but the uncertainty about his fate deepened as a Chinese government spokesman appeared to cast doubt on whether the researcher would soon be released.

The case against Zhao Yan, 44, a Chinese researcher in the Beijing bureau of the Times, was withdrawn last Friday by a court order. His lawyer said the withdrawal of the charges against him — one count of fraud, another of disclosing state secrets to the Times — meant that Mr. Zhao would soon be released, possibly on an equivalent to bail.

But Chinese authorities have since remained silent about his status and Mr. Zhao is still behind bars. Asked this afternoon about Mr. Zhao's case, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang criticized the foreign media for making "irresponsible statements" and then offered a cryptic response.

"You ask if Zhao Yan will soon be released," Mr. Qin said during a regular news briefing for foreign reporters. "From what I have learned, the actual situation is not like what you are talking about."...

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The suggestive but vague comments underscored the confusion surrounding a case that has brought international criticism on China. Mr. Zhao has spent 18 months in prison without a hearing. His arrest is directly linked to a Sept. 7, 2004, article in the Times that disclosed an unexpected offer by former President Jiang Zemin to resign his final leadership position as chief of the military....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/international/asia/23cnd-zhao.html