Letter from Christina Fu to Representatives Cox and FrankChristina Fu I’m Christina Fu, wife of Yang Jianli. I’m deeply grateful for the Congressmen and all the people here today to stand by me. Thank you, Representative Frank for raising the case to a new level. Thank you, Congressmen Cox and Capuano for your persistent efforts to gain the freedom of my husband. Each day I see more efforts are being made. Eighteen letters from the Congress have been sent to both Chinese and U.S. government publicly or privately. All these have encouraged me and sustained me through these difficult days. I also believe that the wide range of concern and support on behalf of my husband stem from the acknowledgement for his important works to promote freedom and democracy. I have known my husband for 20 years. But when I think of my husband, I have in my mind a little boy in a rural country of China. It was during the Cultural Revolution, when he was about 9 years old. As a little red guard, he was sent by his teacher to the street to capture farmers who were selling their produce, which was prohibited that time. When Jianli saw those vendors, he would quietly tell them to quickly run away before others catch them and beat them. From that young age, he could feel the pain and hardship people lived. I was very touched by his kind heart. My husband was brought up with both parents being illiterate. As a young child he was determined to make a difference for his family. He was the first in the family who ever went to college. When he grew up, he was determined to do something for a bigger family, that is China and the world. He was always deeply troubled by innocent people suffering from wrong doings of government officials. He hates violence. He often told me that the vicious cycles of violence and revenge must be stopped and be replaced by understanding and forgiveness. In the past ten years, he traveled about thirty states in the U.S. and more than a dozen countries around the world to look for supporters for his non-violent ideas in bringing democracy to China. I’m very proud that my husband is such a peace seeker. I hope the Chinese government understands that such a peaceful man is not a threat but can only be a contributor to the country he loves. I hope they can be lenient and allow him to come home. As an American citizen, I also respectfully appeal to President Bush to join the Congress, the human rights groups, schools, churches, Chinese communities, and many national and international efforts to gain the freedom of my husband. As the United States seeks cooperation of China on anti-terrorism, please do not forget terrorism is bred where there is no respect for human rights, no democracy, freedom, and rule of law. If human rights are sacrificed, we can only expect terrorism to increase. As a mother of two young children, I ask President Bush to do everything in your power to help my husband. You are a powerful man who can save the powerless individuals. I believe you are a man of principle. Your strength and wisdom enable you to carry on the tradition of our government by standing with those who risk their lives to promote freedom and democracy around the world. Thank you all very much again for being here today and for caring about us so much. My family and myself shall be grateful for the rest of our life.
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