Dear Minister,
We have been approached by Ms Zheng Zeng appealing for support for her husband Cao Jianwei who was taken into custody by the Chinese authorities on 25 October 2002.
Ms Zeng fled China after being incarcerated in a labour camp for twelve months because she is an adherent of Falun Gong. She is currently in Australia seeking asylum. Her attempts to ascertain why her husband was arrested and his present whereabouts have been unsuccessful. As she notes, her husband is not a follower of Falun Gong, he is non-political and is a businessman by profession.
Ms Zeng has found from family members that the police broke [into] the house, searched their house thoroughly and took Cao Jianwei away, together with a computer. No warrant was shown nor information given as to the reasons for his arrest.
She suspects that his arrest happened because she and a number of other Falun Gong members on 18 October submitted a formal legal case against Jiang Zemin at the UN and the ICC for the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China.
We would ask you to raise the concerns about Mr Cao with the Chinese [Jiang] Government and ask the reasons for his arrest and detention at an unknown place. Unless there is a bona fide criminal case against Mr Cao, he should be released. Heavy handed activities can only damage relations with democratic countries who respect freedom of speech and association. This is important for China with the approaching Olympic Games in 2008.
Yours sincerely,
John Launder
Secretary
International Society for Human Rights (ISHR)-Australia
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