From AP:

A U.S.-based Chinese activist has been released after serving a five-year prison term on charges of spying for rival Taiwan and entering China illegally, his lawyer said Saturday.

The U.S. government had appealed to Beijing to free Yang Jianli, who was detained in 2002 while traveling around China meeting with activists and laid-off workers.

Yang was released Friday and planned to visit his father’s grave in eastern China before returning to the United States, said his lawyer, Mo Shaoping. [Full Text]