China Frees Key Prisoner, U.S. Drops Censure at U.N.

From Reuters, via washingtonpost.com:

China freed one of its highest-profile political prisoners on Thursday and Washington opted not to seek a U.N. rebuke of Beijing’s rights record, days before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits China.

The apparent tit-for-tat concessions, made public almost simultaneously, come at a time when Sino-U.S. ties are dogged by tensions over Taiwan and the two capitals are wrangling over how to jumpstart stalled North Korean nuclear talks.

Update on 7:00 pm Pacific Time: here is a link to Radio Free Asia’s interview with Rebiya Kadeer.