A Hong Kong journalist who was jailed in mainland China on spying charges has been released after serving less than half a five-year sentence.
Ching Cheong was detained in 2005 and sentenced to five years in jail in a case that angered human rights groups.
Chinese officials accused him of buying information and passing it to Taiwan - charges his family and his employer, Singapore's Straits Times, rejected.
He is now returning to Hong Kong to spend Lunar New Year with his family.
The Hong Kong Journalists' Association said the terms of his sudden, unexpected release are not yet known, and it is unclear whether he will have his full political rights restored.
"We are glad that Ching Cheong has been released early," said the association's general secretary Mak Yin-ting.
"But we regret that while he was innocent he was still put in jail and we hope it won't happen again."
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This article is significant to China because, as you can see the Chinese held Ching Cheong a journalist for Singapore's Strait Times. They arrested him because he was suspected to be spying on China's political, economical and military affairs and giving that information to the Taiwan government. In reality he was only trying to collect documents on the former leader of China Zhao Ziyang. China has yet to say why he was relesed early but his family is glad to have him home for Chinese new year.
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