WASHINGTON, July 27, 2001 - U.S.-based Chinese scholar Gao Zhan, who returned home this week after five months in a Chinese jail, said Friday she was subjected to daily, KGB-style interrogation immediately after her arrest. "They followed KGB tactics," Gao told Radio Free Asia's Ban Fan, referring to the secret police of the former Soviet Union. "The early period in any detention is the most crucial. You don't let the detainee sleep, so they become confused.... I was interrogated every day during the first week, for long periods of time. Numerous times." Gao said she was "very shocked, very upset, and somewhat fearful" when police arrested her in February at the Beijing airport. "I asked to call myfamily numerous times - I even offered to lie and say I was calling from the United States - but they flatly rejected my request." A permanent U.S. resident, Gao was held for five months before she was convicted on Tuesday of spying for Taiwan and handed a 10-year prison sentence. She was freed on medical parole Thursday, reuniting with her husband and five-year-old son who were also held in Beijing for several weeks. American University in Washington, DC, has meanwhile informed Gao that she has been promoted, she said. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting news and information to listeners in Asia where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Created by Congress in 1996, RFA aims to deliver such news reports - along with opinions and commentaries - and to provide a forum for a variety of voices and opinions. RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Khmer, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Mandarin, Laotian, Vietnamese, Korean, Tibetan, and Uyghur. It adheres to the highest journalistic standards and aims to exemplify accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content.
