United States: "Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" Arrives in Connecticut, Sends Mid-Autumn Festival Greetings to Hope for the Early Return of Charles Li

On the morning of September 6, 2003, a family garden party was held in Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. On a greenbelt along the lake, three people were busy displaying photo boards. Their peacefulness was very apparent. What has connected a Chinese Malaysian young lady, a middle-aged Western man and an elderly Chinese man? The Westerner is William Timm, from Eureka, California. On August 13, he set out from California, travelling northward to the states of Oregon and Washington, and then turned eastward. Yesterday evening, he arrived in Connecticut from Albany in upstate New York. He is a self-employed electronics equipment repairman. Putting aside his busy business, he travelled to many strange cities on his own expense. This is the longest journey in his life, which was unimaginable for him before. But he wanted to appeal in this way for his friend--an American Chinese Falun Gong practitioner named Charles Li--to obtain freedom as soon as possible.

"The Car Tour Across the US to Rescue Charles Li" passes by the campus of Yale University

Charles Li is a resident of Menlo Park, California, who graduated from Zhongshan Medical University in Guangzhou City, and started a business related to Chinese medicine in California. On January 22 this year, he was arrested at Guangzhou Airport when he travelled to China. "He was sentenced to prison by Jiang's regime for helping the ordinary Chinese people not be deceived by lies."

The Chinese lady, Yeong-ching Foo, is Charles Li's fiancée, "The media in China is completely controlled by the dictator. Since Jiang began persecuting Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has used all media to fabricate lies to slander Falun Gong. Many practitioners have been murdered or suffered brutal torture. If all ordinary people learnt about the truth, the persecution could not continue, and many lives could be saved. Charles Li wanted to use TV to let the ordinary Chinese people learn the truth. This is a righteous act, and completely conforms to the Chinese constitution and International Human Rights conventions. He didn't have the chance to do this but was arrested at customs and sentenced to three years in prison."

Mr. Yang Qing lived on the campus of Tsinghua University before he came to America. He had experienced the horrible pressure: "I had been plagued by all kinds of diseases before, such as atrophic gastritis, prostate adenoma, arrhythmia, edema of my left leg, etc. After practising Falun Gong, all these diseases disappeared. My wife's leukaemia also disappeared after practising Falun Gong. However, the local police came to our home almost every day to force us to stop practising Falun Gong. I really don't know why they did so. Among fellow practitioners at Tsinghua University, six were sentenced to prison in Zhuhai City, and five in Beijing with unwarranted charges. The heaviest sentence was 12 years in prison."

Miss Yeong-ching Foo described Charles Li as being intelligent, gentle and full of sympathy. "He often said to me worriedly, 'Yeong-ching, the Chinese people I can contact are limited, yet so many kind-hearted people in China are deceived by lies, what will their future be?' The day he left America, the heavy dark clouds made me feel oppressed. I had an ominous feeling, and wanted to ask him not to go, because it is really very dangerous in China. He was very calm and thought he should go, because what he would do is the most righteous thing."

Miss Foo also talked about the inhuman treatment Charles Li has endured since being arrested, "Besides torturous force-feeding, they ordered prisoners to monitor him. If he practises the exercises, they beat him. He has sustained at least 29 injuries on his body. He was forced to attend brainwashing sessions, and has been denied contact with the outside world. I obtained information about him from American diplomats." Realising that Mr. Li suffers every minute, Miss Foo has been unceasingly calling for his release from the moment he was arrested. Recently, an American official told her that due to the international pressure, the prison authorities dare not force Charles Li to attend brainwashing sessions. "But this is far from enough. He is innocent, and he should be unconditionally released immediately."

On the morning of September 7, the "Car Tour Around the US to Rescue Charles Li" set out from the campus of Yale University in New Haven and divided into two groups. One group travelled southward to New York City, the other group travelled northward to Rhode Island. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, all members of the car tour hope that all families will be reunited soon.