Xu Zhiyong, Zhuang Lu, and Ilham Tohti released from detention

Here's the New York Times story. The NYT speculates that it may have to do with the arrival of the new US ambassador the day before. Unless you believe that the wheels of justice, grinding apolitically in each case, just happened to reach the point where all three could be released on exactly the same day, this is yet more evidence (if more were needed) that these are entirely political cases.