Mother and Daughter, Both Hong Kong Residents, Detained for Nine Months

On June 4th, 2009, Hong Kong residents Ms. Li Yaohua and her daughter, Zhang Yibo, were arrested in the Xuhui District of Shanghai by personnel from the Tianlin Police Station and the local 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong]. They have been detained ever since, for a total of nearly nine months. Their case files have been sitting in the Xuhui District Court for over four months. They are still being detained in the Xuhui District Detention Centre along with other practitioners Zhang Qin, Lu Yuzhi, and Ye Ying and her daughter.

Since the practitioners' arrest and detention, the local police authorities have been to Ms. Li's husband's workplace to harass him. In mid-November of last year during U.S. President Obama's visit to Shanghai, the local police assigned several policemen to watch the husband 24 hours a day. His workplace terminated his work contract at the end of last year.

Ms. Li Yaohua's father, Li Shanzhen, is 91 years old. In order to try to secure the release of his daughter and granddaughter, Mr. Li visited the Tianlin Police Station, the Xuhui District Police Branch, the Shanghai City Police Department, the local Procuratorate, and the local People's Congress Standing Committee. He was unsuccessful each time.

Ms. Li's son, Zhang Yiyuan, teaches at the University of California at Los Angeles in the United States. He initiated a rescue effort overseas and gained attention from the international community. California State Assemblymen Chuck Devore and Van Tran wrote to Han Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, and President Obama and requested that the Chinese Communist regime immediately release Li Yaohua and Zhang Yibo.

In November 2009, Mr. Li Shanzhen and Mr. Zhang Yiyuan flew to Taiwan from Shanghai and Los Angeles, respectively. They appealed to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and the Taiwan Ministry of Justice.

Due to pressure from the international community, Shanghai authorities have repeatedly delayed the proceedings. Reportedly, in early February of 2010, Xuhui District prosecutor Xu Zhenhui attempted to persuade Ms. Li Yaohua to plea guilty in return for a lenient sentence, but she did not agree.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/2/28/219000.html