Dissident Who Secretly Entered China Is Released, Sent to U.S.

China has freed and expelled a U.S.-based Chinese dissident who sneaked into the country to try to set up an opposition party, ridding itself abruptly of an international human rights embarrassment.

Wang Bingzhang, 50, was released from detention and put aboard a flight to Los Angeles from Shanghai on Monday. He had been seized in Anhui province Friday.

“I wasn’t surprised by my release,” he said by telephone from Los Angeles, where he was resting at the home of a friend. “They had two choices--either give me a harsh sentence or quickly get rid of this hot potato,” he said. “Their swift decision could be a sign that the Communist Party is adopting new ways and becoming more open.”

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman James Foley, speaking before the release, said the U.S. was concerned about Wang’s detention and was seeking details.

Wang was in China on a secret mission to set up a pro-democracy group to be called the Justice Party.

He crossed the border from Portuguese-run Macao using an alias and traveled around China meeting dissidents before he was caught in a nationwide manhunt Friday.