WORLD NEWS: "Beijing Releases Activist Lawyer," by Sky Canaves, Wall Street Journal, 24 August 2009.

ARTICLE: Without Explanation, China Releases 3 Activists, By MICHAEL WINES, New York Times, August 23, 2009

Opening article begins with:

Chinese authorities unexpectedly freed from jail a prominent legal activist on Sunday after an increasingly vocal campaign against his detention by China's growing ranks of citizen activists.

The second story proposes that there is "speculation about whether a crackdown is temporary," referring to the past few weeks and months. It also states that, "Officials offered no reason for the releases, but they occurred one day after the new American ambassador to China, former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, arrived in Beijing."

The guy in question, Xu Zhiyong, heads the Open Constitution Initiative, a collective of lawyers who have taken on cases against the government. Still, "Mr. Xu's detention and later arrest have surprised many here because his Gongmeng center is regarded as among the most cautious and conservative of China's small band of public-interest organizations."

No word if the tax-evasion charges will be dropped or when the center will open again. Xu was released on bail, which is unusual for China.

Something to track, all right.