May 7, 2003 Wednesday

A Chinese-born university researcher said his wife had been released from a forced labor camp in China after being imprisoned for 18 months for being a member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Xu Cailu, a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh, said he spoke to his wife, Xiaomei Jai, for the first time in 18 months over the weekend.

Jai was arrested in November 2001. Xu left China last summer to attend an academic conference in Boston and has not returned.

Falun Gong has attracted millions of followers [...]

It was banned in China in 1999 [...]. Since then, thousands of followers have been detained, and scores are reported to have died in police custody from beatings or mistreatment.

Communist Party officials said they would monitor Jai's activities to make sure she does not practice Falun Gong, according to Xu.

Xu said U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle helped in securing her release with a letter.

Amnesty International also appealed to the Chinese Embassy seeking Jai's
release.