Stanford grad jailed in China says court has encouraged him to pursue appeal
MERCURY NEWS
December 22, 2003
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - An American businessman sentenced to 16 years in prison in China on tax-evasion charges says a court has told him to file an appeal, suggesting justices might be willing to reconsider his conviction.
In an e-mail released Monday by his supporters, Jude Shao said the Shanghai High Court told him to send his case to the country's highest court in Beijing. Shao said his Chinese lawyers said the statement indicates his appeal will be heard.
"I think this is a positive development," wrote Shao, 41, who was arrested in April 1998.
The Chinese-born, naturalized U.S. citizen was convicted in March 2000 of tax evasion, sentenced to prison and ordered to pay US$86,000.
Shao, who says he is innocent, is held in Qing Pu prison, west of Shanghai.
Family members said they believed the opportunity to present his case to the Supreme Court was an "important breakthrough."
"The family wishes only for an early retrial and a just verdict based on the facts," the family said in a written statement.
Officials at Shanghai's High Court, contacted by phone, said the case was closed.
About half of the 60 or so Americans serving contested sentences in Chinese prisons are business executives, according to John Kamm, a human rights advocate who heads the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation.
Most are ethnic Chinese running companies operating in China. Many are accused of tax evasion or trading in prohibited items such as hazardous materials or military products.
Shao was born in Shanghai, emigrated to the United States and became a U.S. citizen in 1997.
After graduating from Stanford University, he started a company based in San Francisco that sold medical equipment to Chinese hospitals.
Chinese tax auditors visited the company's Shanghai office in 1997 to conduct what they called a "special tax audit."
Shao has accused the auditors of demanding bribes and contends he was convicted because he refused.
