Last Tiananmen prisoner freed

Chinese authorities have released the last prisoner convicted of "counter-revolutionary" charges in connection with the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
Jiang Yaqun, 73, who has Alzheimer's disease, was released from a Beijing prison without a home or family to go to, or a source of income, the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation said on Thursday, citing an undated notice posted on the website of Jingshan neighbourhood council.
Tuesday will mark the 24th anniversary of the day that Chinese soldiers quashed the largely student-led pro-democracy movement by opening fire on demonstrators, killing hundreds of people.
Fearing a crisis of legitimacy, China's ruling Communist party has since forbidden open discussion of the events of 4 June 1989 in classrooms, the media and online.
In July 1990, the Beijing high people's court sentenced Jiang, the in his mid-40s, to death with a two-year reprieve, Dui Hua said. While the details of his case remain unknown, his sentence had been reduced five times.
Dui Hua believe Jiang was released some time in October or November last year, based on the Jingshan website notice.
On Friday, the pro-democracy group Tiananmen Mothers published an essay excoriating the Communist party's leadership for their refusal to confront past mistakes. The organisation, comprised of activists whose friends and family members died in the crackdown, has been sending open letters, petitions and dialogue proposals to China's leadership since 1995. It has yet to receive a response.