Beijing jails sociologist for 10 years on spy charges
A US-based Chinese sociologist has been convicted in Beijing of spying and sentenced to 10 years.
Gao Zhan's conviction came four days before an official visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Gao immediately applied for medical parole, said her lawyer, Bai Xuebiao. He has previously said she suffers from heart ailments.
Gao is one of five Chinese-born academics or writers with US ties detained in the past year in an anti-spying crackdown.
The detentions have strained relations with Washington and unsettled China scholars abroad.
A US embassy spokesman said Chinese officials had refused a request to let a US diplomat attend the trial, saying that because Gao was a Chinese citizen, the American Government had no right to send an observer.
Gao, 39, is a researcher at the American University in Washington who holds permanent US resident status.
She was accused of helping an American business professor, Li Shaomin, who was convicted July 14 of spying for Taiwan.
Gao's husband, Xue Donghua, expressed surprise at the verdict. He said that because of US diplomatic pressure and the impending Powell visit, he had expected his wife to be cleared and released.
"I think they decided to do this to show their hard part to the US Government. I think they want to tell the US Government that they are not listening to what they're saying," Xue said by telephone from the family's home in Virginia
