Food safety activist Zhao Lianhai (赵连海) was supposedly released yesterday, revealing the news through a blog post and apologizing for his negative remarks about the government.

"I support and thank the government and I feel deeply sorry for the remarks I made against the government in the past."

According to the Australian, "neither Mr. Zhao nor his wife could be reached to confirm the contents [of the blog post]."

Zhao Lianhai's son was a victim of 2008's melamine-tainted milk scandal in China that sickened nearly 300,000 children. In response, Zhao organized the "Milk Powder Group" and launched the website Jieshi Baobao (结石宝宝; babies with kidney stones), "in order to facilitate communications among fellow parents and seek compensation from the Chinese Dairy Association and the manufacturers of the tainted milk powder."

Zhao was detained for his activism in November 2009 and tried in March 2010. In November 2010, Zhao was sentenced to a two-and-a-half year prison term for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." After hearing the sentence, Zhao said "I will not accept this ruling - I would rather die in prison. I will go on an indefinite hunger strike."

For more, see the Wall Street Journal's China blog and the Australian.