Third-Party Commentary: The Odd January 22nd -- About Different Treatments of Nancy Chen and Charles Li

Voice of America reported that on March 13, 2003, Terri E. Marsh, attorney for the plaintiffs, Falun Gong practitioners, will discuss with a U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois judge regarding the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, which was filed under the United States Human Rights Statutes (Alien Tort Claim Act & Torture Victims Protection Act). At that time, they will come up the next step of the legal procedure.

Two Odd Things Happened On the Same Day - January 22nd

Recently two Chinese foreign nationals were kidnapped in Mainland China, but they received completely different treatment from the Chinese Communist Party.

Why Did the Communist Party Wait Until January 22nd to Arrest Them?

Australian-Chinese Nancy Chen, a Falun Gong practitioner, took her 6-year-old daughter with her and visited her elderly parents in Yibin, Sichuan Province, flying via Shenzhen, Guangzhou Province on January 18. She wasn't arrested until January 22nd, when National Security Agents kidnapped her in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

On January 22, she obviously must have been followed by someone. She went to the local American Embassy and requested help. The staff in the American Embassy agreed to accompany her to a hotel to book plane tickets. As they arrived at the hotel, the Embassy staff left. Right after that, dozens of police came up and told her they would investigate her. They forced her into another hotel. Some people who claimed to be National Security Agents questioned her. What's odd is that they had been following her all along, but only arrested her on January 22nd.

She was detained in the hotel the whole time. Every day some people questioned her, but she was not subjected to physical torture. After she was detained for several days in Chengdu, she was taken back to her hometown. She was allowed to stay at home for two hours and briefly met her daughter and family members. Afterwards, she was detained in the Yibin Communist Party College Hotel in Yibin, Sichuan Province. On the morning of January 30th, she was told that she had to depart with her daughter within a limited period of time.

He Is the Person That They Are Waiting For

Charles Li, an American Citizen and Falun Gong practitioner from Menlow Park, California, did not experience the same thing as Nancy Chen. According to information from the American Embassy in Shanghai, Mr. Li was arrested as soon as he landed at Guangzhou Airport. After a short while, he was escorted to Yangzhou, a distant city hundreds of miles away.

The Security Agents once threatened Nancy Chen that if she were to contact the Australian Government, she would be expelled from China and not allowed to take her daughter with her. As for Charles Li, however, the Communist Party's security agents first contacted the American Embassy. Li and Chen are both foreign Falun Gong practitioners, but why did they receive different treatment? For one of the two, the agents seemed to be afraid that people would find out their situation; for the other, they were not.

Hostage: The Negotiating Table

What the Security Agents said to Nancy Chen already indicated that the punishment she would receive was expulsion, and she was released right after the officials of the Australian Embassy visited her. The entire process was simple. As for Charles Li, the Security Agents contacted the American Embassy first. According to officials from the Embassy, the Chinese Authorities had already filed a lawsuit against him and planned to sentence him to 7 to 15 years in prison. Li said the charge was false and that he was framed, but this time, the will of Jiang's Regime is unexpectedly strong and it gives the impression there is no room left for further discussion. The officials of the American Embassy are allowed to visit Mr. Li every month but only for 30 minutes. This amounts to declaring war on the United States.

But why?

Falun Gong Practitioners File Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin

On January 30, in an article entitled "An America Court Accepts a Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin," the Voice of America reported that some Falun Gong practitioners had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois against the Chinese regime leader Jiang Zemin for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. It was said that the court accepted the file based on an American Law that is 200 years old . The law allows foreigners to file a lawsuit against other foreigners who violate international laws.

Jiang Zemin Imposes Pressure on the U.S. State Department and the Justice Department

Not long ago, the U.S. State Department and the Justice Department brought a proposal to the court regarding the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. It was said that Sun Dewei, the First Secretary of the News Section of the Chinese Embassy, said that, based on the relevant UN conventions, the president of a country has diplomatic immunity. But all Americans know that the U.S. government has no right to control the Justice Department. The Court may pay close attention to or even follow a proposal from the government, but they can also shelve the proposal and make a judgement independently.

On March 3rd, 2003, Jiang Zemin will be relieved of the duty of "president of China," and therefore lose the right to diplomatic immunity. However, the hearing for the Jiang case is on March 13th, 2003. This is indeed unfavourable for Jiang.

Jiang Zemin Must Go to Court In Person

Terri E. Marsh, is the attorney for the Falun Gong practitioner plaintiffs. She said that under pressure from the Chinese government, the U.S. made a proposal. But whether Jiang has immunity rights does not depend on the government. She said that according to American laws, the defendant must go to court to give a statement.

Marsh said, "According to the American Legal System, the defendant should go to court to give a statement. Jiang should get a lawyer and go to the federal court with his lawyer to state whether he has diplomatic immunity rights. The federal court, as a matter of fact, has already laid out the legal procedure against Jiang. I have seen the judge and set up the next hearing. I will talk with him again about the case on March 13."

When Marsh talked about the immunity rights for state leaders, she said that plenty of leaders have already been sent to trial, including the former Yugoslavian President Milosevic, the former Panamanian President Noriega, etc. She also mentioned that Falun Gong practitioners and their family members have not only filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, who is most responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong, but also against the "610 Office"; the latter does not have any protection such as diplomatic immunity. She thinks that if the American legal system carefully tries this case, she can win it. If she wins, the defendant Jiang will face having to pay millions, even up to 1.7 billion dollars, in compensation.

Charles Li is an American citizen. He had to go to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to get his travel visa for China. Therefore, his arrest is not random but a plot. Jiang thinks that as long as he arrests a Falun Gong practitioner from the U.S., he can use him or her as a hostage to negotiate with the U.S.

As a matter of fact, the arrest of Nancy Chen was just a smoke screen; she was only the setup for Li's arrest. Jiang just wants to deal the U.S. a head-on blow: "if you want to sentence me to jail, I will first sentence one of your citizens to jail."