(Clearwisdom.net) At 11 a.m. on February 26, a North California
organization, "Friends of Charles Li" held a news conference in front of the
Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to urge the Chinese government to
immediately release American Falun Gong practitioner Dr. Charles Li, who has
been wrongfully detained in China. On January 22, Dr. Li was arrested at the
Guangzhou Airport in China. His fiancée, Ms. Yeong Ching Foo, delivered a
petition letter to the Chinese Consulate and was interviewed by the press.
Delivering the petition letter On February 25, 2003, officers from the San Francisco Police Department
phoned the Chinese Consulate to inform them that Falun Gong practitioners would
hand in a petition letter. However, the Chinese Consulate appeared to be
indifferent towards the practitioners' appeal. Their attitude was cold and
detached. The staff in the Consulate did not open the door, nor did they come
out to receive the letter. Under this circumstance, Ms. Yeong Ching Foo faced
the gate of the Consulate and loudly read her petition letter.
In her letter, Ms. Foo requested to directly talk with Charles Li and to see
her fiancée in person, because this is a most fundamental human right.
She said in her letter that the Chinese government unlawfully arrested her
fiancée Xiangchu Li and attempted to use fabricated accusations to put him into
jail under a heavy sentence. In fact, Charles Li was arrested simply because he
practices Falun Gong. Hundreds of thousands of kind Falun Gong practitioners
have been detained, violently beaten and cruelly tortured, some were even
tortured to death. Ms. Foo said that in face of the nearly four years of brutal
persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have used only peaceful ways to appeal
for their fundamental right -- the freedom of belief, a right guaranteed by the
Chinese constitution.
In an interview, Yeong Ching Foo said that her fiancée has been imprisoned
for 34 days. The Chinese government has not provided any formal accusations and
has not allowed any family members to visit Charles. Charles is only permitted
to have 30 minutes every month to talk with an US diplomat in China. Other than
that, he is completely separated from the outside world. She pointed out that
the Chinese government routinely arrests people first and then makes
accusations later. It isolates the detainees and then uses brainwashing and
torture to coerce them to "confess" their so-called crimes. Such behavior is
immoral and should not be tolerated.
The news conference marked the first stop of the "Rescue Charles Li
Interstate Car Tour."
ABC TV, KQED radio station, the World Journal, Epoch Times, New Tang Dynasty
TV and Voice of the Bay Area came to cover the event.
Press conference
Rescue Charles Li Interstate Car Tour
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Category: April 25 Events
