|
Menlo Park Almanac: Menlo Park's Charles Li is arrested in China Friends say he's being persecuted for practicing Falun Gong By Pam Smith
(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese government recently arrested Charles Li, a
resident of Menlo Park's Willows neighborhood, [...] Mr. Li's friends in
California contend that he's being persecuted for practicing Falun Gong.
[...]
The impassioned pleas of several of those friends have persuaded Menlo
Park city officials to send a letter of concern regarding Mr. Li's case to
U.S. diplomats and senators.
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., sent her own letter to the American
Embassy in Beijing January 30, asking the ambassador to ensure Mr. Li's
safety and effect his immediate release, according to Cathy Zhang, a friend
of Mr. Li's who lives in San Jose.
Mr. Li was arrested January 22 at the airport in Guangzhou, said Kelly
Shannon, spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs. Mr. Li
manages his own import/export business for Chinese goods, such as medicine
and shoes, from his home address on Menalto Avenue in the Willows, according
to Ms. Zhang. He earned his medical degree in China, got a master's degree
in physiology from the University of Illinois, and has done research at
Harvard University, according to a statement by his fiancée.
"The only reason for his arrest was that Charles practices Falun Gong,"
Ms. Zhang told the Menlo Park City Council last week. Mr. Li went to China
to visit his elderly parents for the Chinese New Year, she said.
[...]
Posting date: 2/14/2003 |