The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
1 June 2003
Dear Sir
Dr Charles Li - American citizen in extreme danger in China
We are writing to draw your attention to the arrest and detention in China of a completely peaceful and law-abiding American Falun Dafa practitioner, Dr Charles Li. Dr Li is currently on hunger strike in a Chinese jail and we believe that his life is in danger. We believe that Jiang Zemin could use the SARS epidemic to hide his possible murder. We ask you to use your influence with the Jiang regime to help rescue him urgently.
According to a U.S. consulate official in Shanghai, Dr Li is being held in a Chinese prison and is on the fourth day of a hunger strike to peacefully protest severe human rights violations.
Dr. Charles Li was imprisoned in China after being ushered through a “show trial” in April for allegedly “preparing” to tap into Chinese state-run T.V. and broadcast programmes exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Faced with no rule-of-law it appears Dr. Li has chosen the only way that may be available to him to peacefully protest this injustice. Specifically, a U.S. official has said that Dr. Li initiated the hunger strike for three reasons:
1. His illegal detention by the Chinese regime.Officials at the Nanjing Prison where Dr. Li is being held have denied him all contact with his fiancée, Ms. Yeong-ching Foo. Chinese officials have also refused to allow U.S. consulate representatives to visit him, citing the severe spread of SARS in the region where the Nanjing Prison is located.
2. The Chinese regime’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
3. The unlawful treatment he has received from prison guards and officials.
Moreover, they have denied him the right to practise Falun Gong by stripping him of his Falun Gong books and pressuring him not to practise.
While imprisoned, Dr. Li wrote a 96 page document to the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. According to a U.S. consulate official, however, Nanjing Prison officials removed 8 pages out of the document that contained specific information regarding Dr. Li’s request to become a plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit against former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, which was filed in U.S. District Court in October, 2002.
A U.S. consulate official told Ms. Foo that the Chinese government is “completely responsible” for Dr. Li's well-being. “The U.S. government and the American people are watching this case closely and seriously,” the consulate official told Ms. Foo.
We, representatives of Falun Gong practitioners in Europe, agree with the U.S. government officials. The Chinese government is completely responsible for Dr. Li's well-being. We also ask the U.S. government and the international community to help rescue Dr. Li. His illegal imprisonment is deplorable, and represents a trampling of the basic human rights and freedoms we all cherish.
According to recent United Nations Human Rights Commission annual reports, many Falun Dafa practitioners have been killed as a result of force-feeding while on hunger strikes in Chinese prisons and labour camps.
We have confirmed 714 cases of Falun Gong practitioners dying from torture and abuse in Chinese police custody. 74 of those died from force-feeding while on hunger strike.
The case of Dr Charles Li clearly shows the Chinese regime’s influence in spreading its persecution of Falun Dafa to include law abiding and peaceful American citizens. We hope that you will act immediately to stop this brutal and inhumane treatment
Yours sincerely
European Falun Dafa Association
Falun Gong Association (UK)
French Falun Gong Association
Swiss Falun Gong Association
Swiss Falun Gong Association
Belgian Falun Gong Association
German Falun Dafa Association
Italian Falun Dafa Association
Nordic Falun Dafa Association
Chinese version available at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200306/20964.html
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