Singapore Falun Buddha Society Writes to President Bush Urgently Seeking Assistance in Rescuing Charles Li

16 February 2003

President George W. Bush

Dear Honourable President

Appeal to Help Rescue Charles Li

We are practitioners of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) cultivation system that has attracted and benefited more than 100 million people worldwide in over 60 countries since 1992 when it was introduced in China, and has been honoured with more than 800 awards and recognitions in Asia, Europe, Australasia, and North America.

On 31 January 2003, we read with concern from the Washington Post that Dr. Charles Li, a US citizen and a Falun Gong practitioner, was arrested at the airport in Guangzhou, China and would be sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.

Since July 1999, Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched a brutal persecution and slanderous campaign against Falun Gong. As of today, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death under police custody in China. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced without a fair trial to forced labour camps.

Recently, Ms Nancy Chen, an Australia citizen, was arrested in China when she visited her family in Sichuan province before the Chinese New Year. She was tracked and then detained by Chinese police in Chengdu on January 22, 2003. She was arrested solely because of her belief of Falun Gong. With the help of the international community and Australian government, Nancy Chen was released on January 30, 2003.

The persecution of Falun Gong has already received worldwide attention as governments and international organisations have urged the Chinese government to stop the persecution. On January 15, 2003, the Washington Times reported that a lawsuit has been brought against Jiang Zemin for torture and genocide against members of the Falun Gong since July 1999. On January 22, 2003, the "Global Mission to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" was formed with the mission to "investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organisations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigation, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society."

We urgently seek your kind assistance to help rescue Charles Li, as we are deeply concerned about his safety. We express our deepest gratitude to you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Falun Buddha Society (Singapore)