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Two `Tiananmen Mothers' released, third still in custody

China has freed two "Tiananmen Mothers" detained by security agents this week, but a third, whose son was killed in the crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy protests, remained in custody, a relative said yesterday.

The women were taken away on Sunday, roughly two weeks before the 15th anniversary of the death of former Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦) on April 15, 1989, which sparked nearly two months of student-led demonstrations centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

"Ms. Zhang Xianling and Ms. Huang Jinping were released," said Jiang Peikun, whose wife, Ding Zilin, was also detained.

Zhang's husband had called him with news of their release, Jiang said, but added: "My wife has not been released."

On the night of June 3 to June 4, 1989, troops and tanks converged on the square to disperse the protesters, killing hundreds, possibly thousands. Among the victims were the teenage sons of Ding and Zhang and Huang's 30-year-old husband.

Ding, 67, a Beijing-based leader of the Tiananmen Mothers campaign, was taken into custody by plainclothes agents while visiting her ancestral home in Wuxi, eastern China.

Zhang and Huang, also members of a campaign that urges the government to take responsibility for the killings and re-assess the protests it still officially deems a "counter-revolutionary rebellion," were detained in Beijing.

Jiang said his wife had called him from detention in Wuxi around lunchtime on Friday.

"She didn't say anything, just asked about my health, my heart condition, and told me to be sure to wear a lot of clothing so as not to catch cold," Jiang said. "I asked her when she was coming back, and she said `don't ask that question.'"

The two freed women could not be reached for comment.

Jiang and others suspect their arrest was a warning to keep quiet on the anniversary of the incident.

The US State Department and rights groups had demanded the three women's release.

News of their detention emerged on the day that China released a report saying its human rights conditions had greatly improved last year, a move to deflect US-proposed censure in the UN.
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