Shou Yi

March 21, 2003

According to an overseas news report, on March 21 a Chinese court sentenced U.S. citizen Charles Li to three years in prison and deportation , even though presently it could not be confirmed as to when Charles Li would safely return to the United States. We strongly condemn this illegal sentencing that tramples on human rights and justice, and demand that Chinese authorities immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Charles Li who is innocent.

According to reports from Voice of America, the American consulate in China was very concerned about Charles Li's abduction, and had twice sent consulate officials to visit Charles in the prison. Charles' fiancée Yeong-ching Foo had been lobbying in Washington D.C. for the past several weeks, asking U.S. Congressional members and the Department of State to help rescue her fiance

The so-called court of law in China has always been under the complete control of Jiang's dictator regime. In their hands, the Chinese legal system has become a tool to persecute innocent people and to maintain the corrupt government.

As overseas Falun Gong practitioners and just people of our society have clearly pointed out, China has consistently ignored the Chinese constitution and international treaties all along. They have stripped people of their freedom of belief and speech, tightly blocked information transfer, jammed the Voice of America and other overseas media for decades and intensified their Internet censorship. It is precisely under such circumstances, that individuals who courageously carry out the TV interception against the Chinese State terrorism become truly righteous heroes who deserve people's respect and admiration.

The Chinese Public Security abducted Charles Li at the airport in Guangzhou when he went back to China to visit his family on January 22 this year. Based on the so-called charges alleged by the Chinese authorities it was a severe crime. Yet after just two months of illegal detention of Charles Li, Chinese authorities issued a much lighter sentence timed to coincide with the annual United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting. It was painfully clear how a totalitarian political regime could despise the law and human rights based on the need for dictatorship and political objective.

The trial conducted by Jiang's regime was a trial of the victim by the murderers themselves. It was a shameless farce.

In order to persecute Falun Gong, the dictator Jiang had established the notorious "610 Office" above the constitution and above the law. This terrorist office, which resembles the Nazi Gestapo, has branches all over the country, down to every county and city. Their objectives for the Falun Gong practitioners who practice "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" are to "Cut off their livelihood, tarnish their credibility and reputation, and destroy them physically." As of this date, more than 634 innocent Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death. At least 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners have received illegal prison terms, more than 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to labor camps, and several thousands practitioners were sent to mental hospitals where they were forcefully injected drugs that damage the nervous system. Furthermore, countless Falun Gong practitioners were abducted to many local brainwashing classes to be persecuted; many more have been beaten, physically punished and subjected to financial extortion.

The murderer Jiang and his cohorts have never followed any law in their persecution of Falun Gong, and now this group of thugs dares to put American citizen Charles Li on trial based in the name of the law? This is the most blatant disregard of Chinese Constitution and law, and is an insult to human civilization and conscience.

We strongly demand that the Chinese authorities immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Charles Li, as well as all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners. We ask that Jiang and his cohorts to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We will continue to appeal to the U.S. Government, the American people, as well as governments and people from other nations to urgently rescue innocent American citizen Dr. Charles Li, and all Falun Gong practitioners who have been put behind bars because of their belief in "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance." We shall continue our efforts until Dr. Charles Li is safely back in the United States, until the Chinese people can finally enjoy the fundamental right to live following the principle of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," and finally, until the hideous Jiang and his cohorts are put behind bars.

Posting date: 3/29/2003
Original article date: 3/28/2003
Category: Open Forum
Translated on 3/23/2003
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/3/22/46942.html

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