Charles' Friends in Boston: "What We Know About Charles Li"

(Clearwisdom.net) When many of Charles Li's (Li Xiangchun) friends heard that the Chinese government had detained him for unjustifiable reasons, they were shocked and wrote these short articles about Charles, hoping that the people in the U.S. would know more about Charles and call on the Chinese government to release him as early as possible.

Last weekend, while shopping in a supermarket for the Spring Festival, I picked up a newspaper. On the front page was a photograph of a familiar face, Li Xiangchun -- a friend who had previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University's main campus in Massachusetts. The news report said, "US citizen Li Xiangchun was arrested upon arriving Guangzhou Airport on his trip to visit his relatives in China. He could be sentenced to 7 to 15 years in prison." This news astounded me! I called other friends and told them the news right away, and everybody thought it was hard to believe.

In the news report, Xiangchun believed that Chinese police arrested him because he practices Falun Gong; that the Chinese government took him as a political prisoner. As one of the friends who has known him for many years, at this critical moment, we think it is necessary that we introduce the Xiangchun we know to the public to let more people know him.

I met Xiangchun when he was a postdoctoral researcher before he started his own business. In the beginning I felt he was a little arrogant, but after knowing him for a while I found he was very amiable and easy to approach. He easily understood other people's feelings. He went through a lot of difficulties and frustration when conducting his business. One time when he treated his business partner with honesty without holding back any information, the partner used the information and pursued the deal without him. After he learned that, he was very calm and did not make any complaints, although at that time he really needed that business.

I felt very sad and could not sleep after I read the news report. When I knew him, he was working in our company as a sales person. He was very polite to others. Customers said he was very patient, always on time, and was honest and reliable. Later he went to California to start a business. He needed to raise some capital and borrowed some money from us, as a revolving fund. My instincts told me, at such a far distance, we probably would never get the money back! To my surprise, a few months later, he returned all of the money. This made me feel ashamed of my original fears.

Xiangchun is an honest person. He always considered others first and was a trustworthy friend. In that couple of years I knew him, he was very busy, did not have much savings, did not have much time to rest, yet he still offered his limited income to print Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials and did his best to explain the facts about Falun Gong to other people. Right before he moved to California, he rented a space at his own expense to show the Falun Gong nine-day-lecture videotapes to the public and to teach Falun Gong exercises free of charge.

The first time I met him was at a Falun Gong practice site. He spoke humorously and had a quick wit. A deep impression I had about him is that he does what he says. In 1999, when he learned that the innocent Dafa practitioners in China were arrested, he discussed with several friends about delivering an appeals letter to the Chinese Consulate. At that time he did not have a car. After they agreed on this course of action, he rented a car and drove overnight to Washington D.C., delivered the appeals letter to the personnel concerned, and then drove back to Boston overnight. He has such a kind heart. He went around and appealed for help for the good people he didn't even know. I often recalled him in those days after he left Massachusetts. Now, he has been arrested for unjustifiable reasons. I want to appeal for him and do my best to help him regain his freedom as soon as possible.

It seems that Xiangchun's familiar figure is right in front of us. We, from the bottom of our hearts, appeal to the world and to the officials concerned, to stand up and to speak for justice, with respect for the basic human rights and freedom of human beings, to rescue an innocent U.S. citizen to allow him to return as soon as possible.

Friends in Boston who knew Xiangchun before, if you want to help to free Xiangchun, please call or fax your appeals letter to Ms. Cindy Hurley, at Tel: 202-647-6803, FAX: 202-647-6820. The Secretary of State Collin Powell's Office staff said that they are doing their best to rescue Li Xiangchun (Charles Li). Additional appeals letters will provide more support for the rescue effort.

Feb. 9, 2003

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2003/2/10/44310.html

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