Deseret Morning News (Utah): Drive afoot to free American from Chinese custody (Photo)
By Joseph M. Dougherty
Deseret Morning News A grass-roots movement is under way to free Charles Lee, an American who is being held in China
and who some say is being tortured by forced-feeding and brainwashing.
Practitioners of Falun Gong came to Salt Lake City last week to drop in on local media and
government officials and gain support for their coast-to-coast rescue drive. They say Lee is their
friend, and they seek signatures to send to Washington, D.C., in hopes of getting Congress and the
Department of State behind them. Information is available on the Web site www.rescuecharles.org. Already, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., sent a letter to rescue drive participants encouraging them
with her support for human rights. "Your efforts are certainly important to helping Charles Lee and other individuals in trying
situations like his," she wrote. "Falun Gong's fight for justice in China is one among
many important fights for basic human rights around the world." Falun Gong is a practice similar to Tai Chi and focuses on five specific exercises that are meant
to clear the mind and strengthen the body. The fifth exercise is meditation, rescue effort organizer
Sherry Zhang said. Zhang, a scientist from California, said Falun Gong was banned in China in 1999 after enjoying
seven years of widespread popularity, because Prime Minister Jiang Zemin [Editor's note: Jiang is
the former president of China] only wants communism close to the people's hearts. Zhang and her rescue companions say Chinese secret police arrest and torture people who practice
Falun Gong. Lee was on a mission to expose human rights injustices in China when he was arrested and detained
in January. He planned to air a videotape on government-controlled airwaves but was taken into custody in the
Guangzhou airport. [...] Falun Gong practitioners in the Salt Lake Valley come together each Saturday at Liberty Park from
9 to 11 a.m. It is free to join, taught by volunteers and practiced by millions of people in more
than 50 countries. More information is available on the Web at www.faluninfo.net. http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510049267,00.html
Lin-Chu Qinn sits in a large replica of
a lotus plant - which symbolizes purity - outside City-County Building. Some Falun Gong
practitioners hope to bring attention to U.S. citizen Charles Lee, being held in China. Michael
Brandy, Deseret Morning News
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