Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the "From the Web" links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China).

Journalist Ching Cheong out of jail: From The Straits Times:

China has freed Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong reporter for The Straits Times sentenced to five years for spying for Taiwan, Hong Kong's RTHK reported on its website on Tuesday.

The International PEN, which champions writers' freedoms in 101 countries, had urged China's President Hu Jintao to free 40 jailed dissident writers and journalists, including Ching, ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Mr Ching, who was reportedly in poor health and whose family had pushed for an early release on medical grounds, was freed on Monday ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and was expected back in Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon. No details were immediately available.

He had been detained in China since April 2005 and then sentenced to five years in jail in a high-profile case underscoring China's curbs on the media and dissent.

Edison Chen releases video statement about sex pics: Edison Chen has broken his silence following a week-long controversy over nude celebrity photos circulating online. The photos are now thought to have been taken from his laptop when he took it in for repairs last year. Edison posted a formal press release to his blog and sent a video statement (entirely in English) to news agencies.

A friend from Hong Kong: Peter Guo at Amoiist talks about society and politics with Derrick Chang, a Hong Kong-based photographer who posts at Mask of China:

Don't expect the overseas Chinese to think in a way like Chinese in mainland due to the difference of educational systems, background. Actually, it's quite interesting to know the thoughts of these overseas Chinese to their 'mother land', about politics, society, etc. We should be better to hear the different voices from others. He said to me that the initiative of coming to China was to learn more about his 'roots'. Camera is his tool. When he first time arrived in China, it raised conflicts in him. He met many Chinese people and watched their deeds and behaviour.