Dr. Yang Jianli, who has been detained in China since his arrest on April 26, 2002, and Christina Fu are the recipients of this year’s Spirituality and Justice Award bestowed by All Saints Parish in Brookline. The award will be presented on Sunday, May 11, during the 10:30 am Worship Service. The public is invited. Dr. Yang, the founder of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, cannot be present because of his detention. His wife Christina Fu, who has been persistent in efforts with the State Department, members of Congress, human rights organizations, universities, churches and other groups to secure his release, will receive the award for herself and her husband. Dr. Yang, a legal permanent resident of the United States, has been held incommunicado in a Chinese prison after entering the country to lend support to workers and to research labor unrest and its impact on Chinese economic development. He has not spoken with his lawyer or his wife and his two children, Anita and Aaron, since he was taken into custody in an airport in Kumming, China. While Chinese procedural law requires that the family or employer of a person detained be notified within 24 hours of detention, the Chinese government has yet to present Dr. Yang’s family or employers with a formal detention notice, and to date no official charges have been filed against him. According to an analysis by attorneys at Harvard Law School, the Chinese government has violated its own law both through the prolonged detention as well as by denying access to an attorney or visits by family members. Dr. Yang is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University, and he is the president of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, an organization dedicated to promoting the establishment of a democratic China. A participant in the Tiananmen Square uprising of 1989, he has been put on a blacklist of dissidents, and the Chinese government has repeatedly refused his passport. Dr. Yang and Christina Fu and their children are members of All Saints Parish, which has formed a support committee and assisted efforts to obtain Dr. Yang’s arrest. The parish held a vigil on the anniversary of Dr. Yang’s arrest and has conducted letter writing and petition campaigns on his behalf. The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector of All Saints Parish, explained the annual award: “The award is given to persons who are outstanding leaders in promoting social justice and whose commitment is grounded in a deep spirituality. Jianli and Christina are persons of deep personal faith that led them to confront the massive obstacles of bringing democracy to China and which sustains them now during Jianli’s imprisonment. All Saints Parish admires Jianli’s work for justice and admires Christina’s courage determination in seeking his release. They have taught us much about putting our beliefs into action.” Previous award recipients were: Bishop Barbara C. Harris (1998), Bishop Simon E. Chiwanga (1999), Bishop M. Thomas Shaw (2000), Bishop Steven Charleston (2001), and Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu (2002). The cash gift is given with the award each year to the charity designated by the recipient. Julie Seavy, Director of Religious Education at All Saints Parish, who has coordinated the parish’s support group for Christina Fu and her family, will be the preacher at the service on May 11. The celebrant will be the Rector. All are invited. All Saints Parish is located at 1773 Beacon Street (at Dean Road) in Brookline.
-------------------------- |
