China has released the captain of a Taiwanese freighter seized last July for alleged smuggling.

The captain Kuo Tai-sheng and an assistant crewman were freed without charge and have returned to Taiwan.

The freighter was carrying food and fuel to the Taiwanese military base on the island of Matsu, just off the Chinese coast, when it was impounded.

China released the boat and the other eight crew members in December.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service