Dissident freed in China before US goodwill visit

Chinese authorities freed the ailing dissident Chen Ziming weeks before the expected arrival of the US Secretary of State on a visit to improve relations.

Mr Chen, 44, was jailed for 13 years for allegedly masterminding the pro-democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which the army violently crushed. He has cancer and was released on medical parole. His brother, Chen Ziping, said that he looked tired when he arrived home yesterday afternoon. Peking - AP