Austin American-Statesman: Hitting home

By Sharon Jayson

Monday, September 10, 2001

A University of Texas student whose father is imprisoned in China wants help to win his release, so on Wednesday, Danielle Wang will demonstrate the Falun Gong exercise regimen that helped sparked his arrest.

Wang, 21, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering, says a 24-hour hunger strike and a statement at the West Mall rally area is her way of drawing attention to her father's plight.

Wang Zhiwen, 50, is among four leaders of the Falun Gong spiritual movement accused of organizing a protest in April 1999 that drew tens of thousands to government headquarters, said Mickey Spiegel, a consultant with New York City-based Human Rights Watch, which monitors human rights issues.

"They've disappeared off the face of earth once they got sentenced," Spiegel said.

The Falun Gong exercises are similar to tai chi in that they involve meditation, with [...]slow, sweeping movements. [ ] In July, the U.S. State Department expressed concern about the crackdown on Falun Gong, but an official with the agency could not confirm Friday whether any efforts have been requested on Wang Zhiwen's behalf.

Because much of the information from China cannot be verified, Spiegel said, little is known about Wang's father other than that his arrest in July 1999 was followed by a December 1999 sentence of 16 years in prison.

Wang was raised in Beijing by her father, a railroad engineer, after her parents divorced. She said she has not had any communication with him since the arrest and only learned of his fate through television news.

"At first, I didn't know what to do, so I just cried all day," she said. "I am very close to my father. I really miss him. He raised me all alone."

You may contact Sharon Jayson at sjayson@statesman.com or 445-3620.

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