There's been no official word on when the human rights dialogue would resume, and American officials are reluctant to comment on Shao's prospects. The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai says it has made 101 visits to see him, most recently on April 15. At that time, Shao "was in excellent health and good spirits," a spokesperson said. In the past, Shao sought a medical parole because of a heart condition that he developed at Qingpu.
By Chinese law, prisoners can be eligible for parole after they have served more than half of their original sentence. Shao crossed that point two years ago.
"We don't understand why he's still in jail," said Hoover, 43, Shao's former roommate at Stanford and a leader of the Free Jude Shao campaign mounted by his classmates.
Qingpu Prison referred media inquiries to Shanghai's Judicial Bureau, which didn't respond to a written request for an interview about Shao's case.
But Zhu Hui, a staff member at Qingpu's section overseeing foreign prisoners, said that whether an individual is paroled "depends on various situations, on the crime and the charge."
Asked about Shao, Zhu replied: "We have already explained very clearly to him and his family."
Shao's family declined to comment. But it is generally known that foreigners don't benefit equally from China's parole provisions, in part, people say, because China and the U.S. don't have an extradition agreement.
"It's harder to monitor these [foreign] prisoners and to manage their situation during parole," said Lin Fuming, a criminal lawyer at DueBound Law Offices in Beijing.
Even so, Kamm says that shouldn't be a problem in this case. Shao has "made it clear he's willing to submit to [Shanghai] police supervision," Kamm said. "He is being arbitrarily detained, and that's in violation of Chinese law." Shao's classmates contend that also is a violation of China's obligations of nondiscrimination under the World Trade Organization.
Shao's troubles began in the summer of 1997 when local tax auditors arrived at his company's office in Shanghai. Shao was importing medical equipment from the U.S. Auditors confiscated his business records, and a few days later a high-ranking official asked Shao for about $60,000 to stop the investigation, according to Free Jude Shao. Shao refused to pay the bribe, his supporters say.
