11.   It also occurred as authorities imprisoned dissidents and Jiang promised in other public speeches that the Communist Party would crush challenges to its rule.

12.   Sinn Fein has refused to help police identify and imprison the dissidents, whose leaders include former senior Provisional IRA members.

13.   The Chinese government has acknowledged that several thousand political dissidents are imprisoned, though human rights groups say the numbers are higher.

14.   Previously, most dissidents were imprisoned for advicating the idea of an independent Taiwan, which the government proscribes.