澳大利亞提前釋放被中國判刑的商人吳植輝

SYDNEY, Australia — An Australian businessman who was jailed in China after a dispute over his company there has been granted early release from a prison in Australia, 19 months after being returned to his home country to complete his sentence, under a treaty between the two countries.

澳大利亞悉尼——一名澳大利亞商人從監獄提前獲釋。這名商人因有關公司的糾紛被中國判處監禁，根據中國與澳大利亞的條約，被送回澳大利亞繼續服刑已經19個月了。

The businessman, Matthew Ng, was released from a Sydney prison on Wednesday afternoon, said Tom Lennox, a lawyer who had campaigned for his release. “It is very good news,” Mr. Lennox said by telephone. “He’s out. It’s just great.”

爲其獲釋做出努力的律師湯姆·倫諾克斯(Tom Lennox)說，這位名叫吳植輝(Matthew Ng)的商人週三下午已從悉尼的一個監獄釋放。“這是非常好的消息，”倫諾克斯在電話中說。“他出獄了。簡直是太棒了。”

Mr. Ng was sentenced by a Chinese court in 2011 to more than 12 years in prison on bribery and fraud charges. Mr. Lennox has said the case was fabricated to allow a Chinese state-owned company to confiscate Mr. Ng’s travel business.

2011年，吳植輝被一家中國法院判處12年以上有期徒刑，罪名是行賄和欺詐。倫諾克斯表示，吳植輝的案子是捏造的，是爲了讓一家中國國有企業奪走他經營的旅遊生意。

Australia’s justice minister, Michael Keenan, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had approved Mr. Ng’s early release “based on his exceptional family circumstances.” Since his arrest, Mr. Ng’s eldest daughter has died and his wife learned she had cancer.

澳大利亞司法部長邁克爾·基南(Michael Keenan)在週三的聲明中說，“出於對其家庭特殊情況的考慮”已批准提前釋放吳植輝。自從吳植輝被捕以來，他的大女兒去世，妻子也已得知自己患上癌症。

Mr. Ng’s troubles in China began when he tried to sell his travel company, Et-China, based in the southern city of Guangzhou. While building the company, he had bought a majority stake in a subsidiary of Lingnan, a hotel and travel conglomerate owned by the Guangzhou government.

吳植輝試圖出售他在中國的旅遊公司易網通(Et-China)時遇到了麻煩。易網通的總部設在南方城市廣州。在公司發展過程中，他買下了嶺南集團下屬的一家子公司的多數股權，而嶺南集團是廣州市政府擁有的酒店和旅遊企業集團。

In 2010, after the Swiss travel company Kuoni offered to buy Et-China for $125 million, Lingnan demanded to buy back the shares of its subsidiary at the original selling price, and Mr. Ng refused.

2010年，瑞士旅業集團(KUONI)提出收購易網通，開價1.25億美元。嶺南集團希望以原價購回那家子公司的股份，被吳植輝拒絕了。

He was arrested later that year and jailed for 13 months before being brought to trial. He was convicted of misappropriating company funds, misstating his company’s registered capital and bribing a director, charges that his trial lawyer described as ridiculous.

吳植輝於當年晚些時候被捕，在被關押了13個月之後，案子送到法院審理。他被判犯有挪用公司資金、虛報公司註冊資本、以及向一名董事行賄等罪名，他的律師把這些罪名描述爲荒唐。

In 2013, he was stripped of his business assets in a civil case.

在2013年的另一起民事訴訟中，吳植輝的商業資產被剝奪。

Lingnan eventually acquired Et-China’s assets, according to a businessman who managed the company after Mr. Ng’s arrest.

在吳植輝被捕後管理易網通的一名商人透露，嶺南集團最終收購了該公司的資產。

Mr. Ng’s family life spiraled into tragedy after his arrest. His 15-year-old daughter fell into a deep depression, developed anorexia and died. His wife, who learned she had breast cancer, was harassed by the Chinese authorities and forced to bring her three youngest children back to Australia without their father, according to Mr. Lennox. Since then, tests showed she had bone cancer, Mr. Lennox said.

吳植輝被捕後，他的家人接連遭遇不幸。他15歲的女兒陷入重度抑鬱，患上神經性厭食症，之後去世。倫諾克斯透露，吳植輝的妻子之前就得知自己患有乳腺癌，當時又不斷遭到中國當局的騷擾，被迫獨自帶着三個年紀較小的孩子回到了澳大利亞。自那之後，檢查顯示她又患上骨癌。

In 2014, Mr. Ng became the first Australian to be returned under a prisoner exchange treaty with China that allows people to serve prison terms in their home countries. Since then, Mr. Lennox, who said Mr. Ng had been convicted of offenses that would not be crimes in Australia, has campaigned for Mr. Ng’s release. He appealed to Mr. Keenan and to Attorney General George Brandis to pardon Mr. Ng and to let him resume life with his family in Sydney.

到了2014年，吳植輝成爲根據中澳囚犯互換協議而被送回本國的首名澳大利亞人。該協議允許囚犯在本國服刑。倫諾克斯提出吳植輝定罪的行爲在澳大利亞夠不上罪行，開始爲他的獲釋而奔走遊說。他請求基南和檢察長喬治·布蘭迪斯(George Brandis)赦免吳植輝，讓他在自己位於悉尼的家中重新開始生活。

Under the terms of the treaty, prisoners are supposed to serve their full sentences in their home countries. But Mr. Lennox had argued that an early release for Mr. Ng on certain grounds, including compassion, would not violate the accord. He also said that Mr. Ng might have become eligible for parole in August.

根據協議規定，囚犯需要在本國服滿刑期。但倫諾克斯主張，因爲包括同情在內的一些原因提前釋放吳植輝，不會違反協議。他還曾表示，吳植輝可能會在今年8月獲得假釋資格。

A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, expressed disappointment that Australia had granted Mr. Ng early release, suggesting that it violated the treaty.

中國外交部發言人陸慷對澳大利亞提前釋放吳植輝表示失望，認爲此舉違反協議。

“It is hoped that Australia can properly handle the issue according to the treaty and the understanding reached by both sides,” Mr. Lu said on Wednesday at a regularly scheduled news briefing. “After all, it is only when both sides abide by the consensus reached that they will have the mutual trust for further cooperation.”

“希望澳大利亞能依據協議和雙方達成的共識正確處理這個問題，”陸慷在週三舉行的例行記者會上稱。“畢竟，只有雙方遵守達成的共識，才能建立互信，開展進一步的合作。”

Mr. Lennox said the conditions for Mr. Ng’s early release included reporting regularly to a parole officer and some restrictions on travel.

倫諾克斯表示，吳植輝提前獲釋的條件包括定期向假釋官報告，以及接受一些出行限制。