China Expels Activist After He Visited U.S.

China has expelled a former political prisoner and prominent labor activist a day after he returned to the country after receiving medical treatment in the United States.

At a press conference Sunday in Hong Kong, Han Dongfang said Chinese security officers detained and beat him, then forced him across the border into the British colony on Saturday.

“They told me that while I was overseas I had engaged in activities to subvert the Chinese government and that this was a violation of the Chinese constitution,” Han said.

“Because of this, they went on to say, I . . . was no longer welcome.”

Han, a factory worker, flew to New York last September for treatment of tuberculosis. He said he believes that Chinese authorities were angry because he had attended human rights conferences abroad and told President Clinton to consider labor conditions in China when reviewing its “most-favored-nation” trade status.

Human rights groups and trade union leaders said they were surprised by China’s move, since human rights are closely linked with renewal of the preferential trade status as well as Beijing’s bid for the 2000 Olympics.

Han traveled from Hong Kong to China by boat on Friday. He was seized at his hotel the next morning and escorted to a border crossing. He said some of the officers beat his hands and arms when he tried to hang onto an iron railing at the crossing.

Han also said that police took $1,000 he had been carrying.

Hong Kong customs officials granted Han a one-week transit visa upon entry into the colony. He attempted to re-enter China on Sunday but was turned away.

Han, 30, is not wanted for any criminal charges in China. He already served 22 months in prison after the 1989 crackdown on China’s pro-democracy movement. He founded an independent trade union movement that participated in the Tian An Men Square protests.