President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
202-456-2461
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of Friends of Falun Gong USA, I am writing regarding Dr. Charles Li, an American who is imprisoned in China. Dr. Li is now into his seventh day of a hunger strike to protest his unjust treatment and imprisonment by the Chinese government.
Our previously expressed concerns that Dr. Li will be severely mistreated now seem quite real. According to sources at the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, he has been force-fed since May 31 in a hospital inside Nanjing Prison. US consulate officials are not permitted to visit and needless to say we are very concerned about the welfare of our fellow American. More than 10% of all deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese custody have resulted from force-feeding.
As you may know 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 programs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Dr. Li is a brave man, incarcerated purely because of his practise of Falun Gong, and because he would not accept the lies and deception perpetrated on the Chinese people by Jiang Zemin.
This former head of the Chinese government banned the practise of Falun Gong in July 1999, and since that time, the State Department, various human rights organisations, and the unanimous House of Representatives have documented the brutal nature of the crackdown. The egregious behaviour of this regime and the intensity of the persecution bear no relation to a peaceful system that has provided superior physical and mental health to millions of its adherents.
Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have been imprisoned and tortured and hundreds, if not thousands, have been murdered, affecting millions more who are part of their lives. To have such a large proportion of the Chinese population experience genocide without the leader of the free world speaking up publicly and forcefully will be a blemish on the legacy of your presidency.
Since Jiang banned the practise of Falun Gong in July 1999, the State Department, various human rights organisations, and the unanimous House of Representatives have all condemned the brutal nature of the crackdown on an unarmed and peaceful people. Now that Jiang has stepped down as head of state, he is subject to the consequences of violating international human rights law, and as such faces a civil suit in the United States for genocide and crimes against humanity. The circumstances surrounding Dr. Li's arrest and subsequent torture are but one more example of this.
Mr. President, we urge you to please speak up in defence of the human rights of those people who practise Falun Gong in China, and Dr. Li in particular. Further, we ask that you instruct the Department of Justice to withdraw its attempts to dismiss the case against Jiang. By intervening on his behalf, the United States is implicitly supporting Jiang and his brutal dictatorship, and this is counter to every principle Americans have defended with their lives.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Executive Director
Friends of Falun Gong USA
CC:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
Deputy Secretary -- Richard L Armitage
Under Secretary for Global Affairs -- Paula J. Dobriansky
Assistant Secretary -- Lorne Craner
Ambassador Clark T. Randt
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