No Release for Dissident, Beijing Says

China on Wednesday dismissed as “speculation” the reports of a deal to free the country’s leading dissident from refuge in the U.S. Embassy, but Western diplomats and Chinese sources said the negotiations are continuing.

“The recent rumors about the question of Fang Lizhi floating around abroad and overseas are speculation pure and simple,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said, reiterating that the embassy refuge was “interference in China’s internal affairs.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement came after a Hong Kong magazine reported that dissident astrophysicist Fang Lizhi and his wife, Li Shuxian, would be allowed to leave for Australia under an agreement negotiated with the United States. The couple took refuge in the U.S. Embassy shortly after the June 3-4 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

In Washington, White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said the situation has “not been resolved” and he is not aware of any new discussions concerning Fang’s release.

An Australian government spokesman in Canberra denied the report.

Speculation about the couple’s release has intensified since President Bush’s controversial initiative last month to improve relations with Beijing. The Administration is known to want concessions from China to stave off sharp criticism in Congress.

Western diplomats and Chinese sources, although unaware of the details of the talks, said negotiations have been under way for some time and appeared to be nearing a conclusion.

“It looks like something may happen within the next 10 days,” one diplomat said, adding the couple would be allowed to leave for a third country, but the destination had not been fixed.