澳大利亚提前释放被中国判刑的商人吴植辉

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.

澳大利亚悉尼——一名澳大利亚商人从监狱提前获释。这名商人因有关公司的纠纷被中国判处监禁，根据中国与澳大利亚的条约，被送回澳大利亚继续服刑已经19个月了。

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.”

为其获释做出努力的律师汤姆·伦诺克斯(Tom Lennox)说，这位名叫吴植辉(Matthew Ng)的商人周三下午已从悉尼的一个监狱释放。“这是非常好的消息，”伦诺克斯在电话中说。“他出狱了。简直是太棒了。”

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，吴植辉被一家中国法院判处12年以上有期徒刑，罪名是行贿和欺诈。伦诺克斯表示，吴植辉的案子是捏造的，是为了让一家中国国有企业夺走他经营的旅游生意。

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.

澳大利亚司法部长迈克尔·基南(Michael Keenan)在周三的声明中说，“出于对其家庭特殊情况的考虑”已批准提前释放吴植辉。自从吴植辉被捕以来，他的大女儿去世，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.

吴植辉试图出售他在中国的旅游公司易网通(Et-China)时遇到了麻烦。易网通的总部设在南方城市广州。在公司发展过程中，他买下了岭南集团下属的一家子公司的多数股权，而岭南集团是广州市政府拥有的酒店和旅游企业集团。

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，瑞士旅业集团(KUONI)提出收购易网通，开价1.25亿美元。岭南集团希望以原价购回那家子公司的股份，被吴植辉拒绝了。

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.

吴植辉于当年晚些时候被捕，在被关押了13个月之后，案子送到法院审理。他被判犯有挪用公司资金、虚报公司注册资本、以及向一名董事行贿等罪名，他的律师把这些罪名描述为荒唐。

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

在2013年的另一起民事诉讼中，吴植辉的商业资产被剥夺。

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

在吴植辉被捕后管理易网通的一名商人透露，岭南集团最终收购了该公司的资产。

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.

吴植辉被捕后，他的家人接连遭遇不幸。他15岁的女儿陷入重度抑郁，患上神经性厌食症，之后去世。伦诺克斯透露，吴植辉的妻子之前就得知自己患有乳腺癌，当时又不断遭到中国当局的骚扰，被迫独自带着三个年纪较小的孩子回到了澳大利亚。自那之后，检查显示她又患上骨癌。

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，吴植辉成为根据中澳囚犯互换协议而被送回本国的首名澳大利亚人。该协议允许囚犯在本国服刑。伦诺克斯提出吴植辉定罪的行为在澳大利亚够不上罪行，开始为他的获释而奔走游说。他请求基南和检察长乔治·布兰迪斯(George Brandis)赦免吴植辉，让他在自己位于悉尼的家中重新开始生活。

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.

根据协议规定，囚犯需要在本国服满刑期。但伦诺克斯主张，因为包括同情在内的一些原因提前释放吴植辉，不会违反协议。他还曾表示，吴植辉可能会在今年8月获得假释资格。

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.

中国外交部发言人陆慷对澳大利亚提前释放吴植辉表示失望，认为此举违反协议。

“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.”

“希望澳大利亚能依据协议和双方达成的共识正确处理这个问题，”陆慷在周三举行的例行记者会上称。“毕竟，只有双方遵守达成的共识，才能建立互信，开展进一步的合作。”

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

伦诺克斯表示，吴植辉提前获释的条件包括定期向假释官报告，以及接受一些出行限制。