Letter from IFCSS to Senator Edward Kennedy

IFCSS

June 11th, 2003

The Honorable Senator Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senator Kennedy,

The Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the US (IFCSS) would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the situation of Dr. Yang Jianli, a prominent activist of Chinese pro-democracy movement and Massachusetts resident, who has been held incommunicado by Chinese authorities since April 24, 2002, when he traveled to China.

Dr. Yang Jianli has been one of the most prominent dissidents for the overseas Chinese democratic movement since the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, and is one of the most steadfast activists for human rights in China. He is a member of our organization and served the Council of the IFCSS earlier on. As a scholar of political economics, he also presides over an intellectual think-tank, the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, providing theoretical and strategic thinking for constitutional democratization in China. The purpose of his trip to China last April was to do on-site surveillance and research on the labor uprising in Northeastern China. During this trip, Dr. Yang was detained in Kunming by Chinese authorities and later arrested for holding invalid travel documents.

The Chinese government has held Dr. Yang Jianli for over 13 months without official arraignment and trial, in violation of Chinese laws as well as international laws. Dr. Yang Jianli has been denied of legal representation. His attorney, hired by his family, has been barred from meeting with him. His wife, brother and other family members have been denied all contact since he was arrested in spite of repeated requests. Dr. Yang Jianli’s whereabouts remains unknown to his family and to the public. The Chinese government’s mishandling of Dr. Yang Jianli’s case has further damaged this regime’s already notorious reputation for human rights abuse and caused great suffering to his wife, children and entire family.

On June 3, 2003, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, composed of an independent and impartial panel of jurists, issued its report on Dr. Yang Jianli’s case and declared that his arrest and detention contravenes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On June 6th, The U.S. State Department officially called for the Chinese government to release Dr. Yang Jianli. However, the Chinese government has rejected the allegations and insisted it has operated in good faith following both international and Chinese laws.

Honorable Senator Kennedy, we are aware that the House Resolution 199 was introduced in April, which called for Dr. Yang’s release. Over 43 Members of Congress have signed this legislation. We are fully aware, too, of your influence, your genuine concern for human rights abuses in China and your support of Chinese political dissidents and their struggle for a democratic China. We hereby respectfully request that you take leadership in the US Senate by introducing a similar bill in support of Dr. Yang Jianli and asking the Chinese government for the immediate release of Dr. Yang.

Sincerely Yours,

Zheng Xing
President,
The Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the U.S.

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Source: "yangjianli.com".