The assistant to China's most famous dissident has been sentenced to 21/2 years of hard labor, a human rights group said Friday.
Tong Yi was sentenced without a trial on Dec. 22, according to the New York-based group Human Rights in China.Her sentencing brings to at least 13 the number of dissidents known to have been given labor camp terms in recent months. The Chinese government has hardened its stance against dissent since President Clinton decided in May to sever the link between trade relations and China's human rights practices.
Tong was the translator for dissident Wei Jingsheng and served as a go-between at meetings between activists and reporters. As a student, she was active in the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
Wei played a leading role in a democracy movement in 1979 and served most of a 15-year prison sentence. After he was released in fall 1993 he resumed speaking out for democratic change, publishing his writing overseas and meeting with foreign reporters and other dissidents. He was arrested again last spring, and his whereabouts are unknown.