Prominent Chinese dissident told to leave

A Chinese dissident and labour rights campaigner, Qin Yongmin, says he has been ordered by the authorities to leave China and go into exile in the United States.

Mr Qin said the order had not yet officially been served on him, but when it was, he would refuse to comply, because he wanted to continue campaigning for trade union freedoms.

Qin Yongmin served eight years in prison in the 1980s and another subsequent two-year term because of his activities in support of political reform.

In recent months, he has written several open letters to the Chinese leadership calling for greater recognition of civil rights.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service