SHANGHAI -- At least three Shanghai dissidents have been sentenced to lengthy terms of "re-education through labor," and the wife of one of the men began a 24-hour hunger strike Tuesday in protest, their family members said.


Yang Zhou, Bao Ge and Yang Qinheng were handed three-year sentences which are a form of administrative detention that avoids the need for a court trial. Yang Zhou is a founder member of the Shanghai-based Association for Human Rights. Bao has angered authorities with his persistent demands for compensation from Japan for Chinese victims of Japanese wartime atrocities. Yang Qinheng is a businessman. All three have had long spells in jail for their roles in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.