From The Canadian Press:
Thousands of prisoners in China benefited from last week’s celebrations to mark 60 years of communist rule, with sentences reduced and parole granted by provincial authorities, a human rights group said Thursday.
China’s leaders did not issue any special pardon for the holiday, which saw a carefully choreographed military parade attended by Communist Party chiefs, the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation said. Instead, the actions were taken by authorities in three provinces, it said, citing state media reports.
It was not clear if any of the inmates were political prisoners, such as those arrested for taking part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement or prosecuted under China’s broad state security laws.
Prison authorities normally announce sentence reductions and paroles ahead of traditional festivals such as Chinese New Year but not for political celebrations like last Thursday’s National Day celebrations, the human rights group said.
