Letter from Harvard University Chaplain to the Vice President of the United StatesThomas Ferrick March 20, 2003 Dear Mr. Vice President, May I draw your attention to the plight of a dear friend of mine presently in detention in the People's Republic of China. Dr. Yang Jianli has not been heard from since his arrest in April of last year. Educated here in America, he has been working, unceasingly but non-violently, to bring greater democracy to his homeland. Senators and Congressmen, as well as the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government have petitioned President Jiang Zemin for his release. Last December, we were happy to learn that Lorne W. Craner, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, raised Mr. Yang's case during the US-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing. We have learned that he is being investigated for use of false travel documents. To this day, Jianli's family has received no word from him, nor have the Chinese authorities responded to their repeated pleas. Nearly a full year has elapsed and still no word from him. We know that you have plans to visit Beijing next month. Is there any possibility that you might mention the case of Yang Jianli to the appropriate officials? Without question, the authority of your office, and your persuasive skills, might very well initiate the process of his release. We hope you can find a way. Individuals tend to be lost amid the affairs of state, but you will agree with me, that the blessings of democracy includes, above all, a significant regard for the basic rights of a valiant but forlorn spokesman for liberty. Dr. Yang is such a person.
Sincerely,
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