The families of two prominent Chinese dissidents, Mr Wei Jingsheng and Mr Wang Dan, were given renewed hope of their early release yesterday when the US ambassador to China, Mr James Sasser, said publicly he was optimistic Beijing would free a number of political dissidents soon.
This is the second time in three weeks that the US embassy in Beijing has expressed optimism about the imminent release of dissidents. Many observers believe that it would not raise the families' hopes without a deal being in the works.
Mr Sasser also hinted strongly to reporters that such a development could persuade Washington to drop its annual censure of China at the UN over its human rights record.
"I am not only hopeful, but maybe even optimistic, that we will see some releases here in the next few weeks," Mr Sasser said at a briefing on the outcome of the summit meeting in Washington last month between President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin of China.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr Shen Guofang, said later that any releases would be a matter for China's courts. But he did not rule out releases, saying: "The Ministry of Justice will handle this according to each person's situation, including their state of health."
Both Mr Wei and Mr Wang are said to be in ill health. Any dissidents released are likely to be sent into exile. The prominent Shanghai dissident, Mr Bao Ge, who was released from a labour camp in June after finishing a three-year sentence, was allowed to fly to New York last week.
Mr Bao, who had complained recently of incessant police harassment, said the warming in Sino-US ties had enabled him to leave.
Mr Sasser admitted he was disappointed no dissidents were freed during Mr Jiang's visit to the US. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast," he said. "We are in the era of good feelings between China and the United States. We've seen dissidents released before on the basis of medical needs, medical parole. I'm not saying that's going to happen this time, but we continue to hope."
Mr Wei (47) is serving a 14-year sentence for plotting to overthrow the government. He previously served a 15-year sentence for subversion. Mr Wang, a student leader of the crushed 1989 demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 1996 for subversion.
The US ambassador said that without any change in Beijing's attitude, Washington would continue to sponsor a motion in the UN next year condemning China's human rights record. But it would depend "on any developments between now and the time the United States has to make a decision on sponsoring a resolution."