Yahoo head Jerry Yang apologized to the families of two jailed Chinese dissidents whom the internet company helped the Chinese government expose, the Wall Street Journal reported. "I want to say we are committed to doing what we can to secure their freedom. And I want to personally apologize for what they are going through," said Yang during a congressional hearing on Yahoo's role in the jailings. Journalist Shi Tao was imprisoned after Yahoo China, then a unit of the company, gave Chinese authorities his information in 2004. Writer Wang Xiaoning, who called for open elections in China, was jailed in 2002 when Yahoo helped authorities with his detention. The hearing was called by Tom Lantos, chairman of the congressional foreign affairs committee. Lantos urged Yahoo to settle a court case with the wives of the jailed men as soon as possible, and pressured Yang to endorse a bill that criminalizes cooperation between American technology firms and foreign governments seeking to restrict democracy activism.
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