John Kamm, director of the Dui Hua Foundation, a San Francisco group that works to free political prisoners in China, said he was very happy about Shao's parole.
"This has been a long and hard-fought campaign," Kamm said, adding that he viewed it as a favorable sign for U.S.-China relations. "It's an indication of a warming trend."
Shao, a naturalized U.S. citizen, returned to his native Shanghai for business after receiving an MBA from Stanford in 1993. He formed a company that was exporting U.S. medical equipment to China.
But in 1997, a tax auditor arrived at Shao's office in Shanghai and solicited a bribe, according to Shao's supporters. After Shao refused, the auditor seized company records and froze bank accounts, killing the business, Shao's friends said.
Shao was arrested in 1998, and supporters say he wasn't given a fair trial, a claim supported by legal experts at People's University in Beijing who reviewed his case and determined that Shao deserved a retrial. That never happened.
While behind bars, Shao learned that his father had died and that his wife was divorcing him. His mother and older sister, who live in Shanghai, were allowed to visit him once a month, for 30 minutes each.
Shao's Stanford classmates, however, never gave up hope.
They set up a website, wrote opinion pieces in newspapers about his case and urged Congress and others to take up the cause.
During the 15-year reunion in May for the Stanford Business School's class of 1993, alumni spent part of the weekend brainstorming ways to keep up pressure for Shao's release.
Shao's friends were thrilled to hear word of his parole.
"We're very excited for him," said Chuck Hoover, Shao's former roommate at Stanford and a leader of the Free Jude Shao campaign. Hoover, who works for an Internet company in Los Angeles, said he had not talked with Shao in more than 10 years.
"We're excited he can get on with his life now."
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don.lee@latimes.com
