China frees 1989 protester who daubed paint on Mao portrait

A MAN who was jailed for throwing paint on Mao Zedong’s portrait in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy protests in 1989 has been released after nearly 17 years in prison, his family said.

Meanwhile, another man involved in the same incident who spent 11 years in jail was recently arrested again - this time for hunger striking, a human rights activist said yesterday.

Yu Dongyue’s release on Wednesday came ahead of a US visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao in April. It did not appear a gesture to Washington: Yu served his full sentence.