BEIJING: A prominent Chinese anticorruption activist who founded a movement calling for greater transparency among high-ranking officials was freed Saturday after a four-year prison sentence, authorities announced. “Xu Zhiyong was freed following the end of his sentence on July 15, 2017,” the Beijing municipal administration of prisons said on its website, adding that “members of his family came to meet him” at the jail. The group organized meetings and discussions on subjects including equality in education and corruption among the Chinese elite. Xu tried to gather public support for a movement against corruption, demanding more transparency over the assets of senior officials, a sensitive topic in China. He and a dozen members of the New Citizens Movement were arrested and hauled before the authorities for demonstrations held in 2013.

Source: Manila Times July 15, 2017 11:15 UTC