(Clearwisdom.net) On January 24, 2006, Falun Gong practitioner Charles Lee, who just regained freedom after a three-year term of unlawful imprisonment, held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to expose the persecution he experienced in China.

According to a report by the World Journal on January 25, accompanied by his long-time supporters and friends, Charles Lee went to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to strongly protest the 3-year unlawful imprisonment he endured in China. The Chinese consulate closed its door to Charles and didn't have any response to the protest.

Charles Lee first acknowledged support from "so many fellow practitioners, people with a sense of justice and the U.S. government" who helped him to survive the past 3 years. Regarding his return, Charles Lee said that he had mixed-feelings: While he is happy to be returning home at last and being able to live a free life, he is also concerned about the suffering of Falun Gong practitioners in China. He called on the public to support Falun Gong practitioners and hoped that people in China will have true freedom in the future.

The report said that Charles stated that his detention by the Chinese Communist regime was "completely unlawful and undue." During the 3 years of imprisonment in Nanjin Prison, he repeatedly appealed, and underwent 9 hunger strikes for a total of 50 days. Lee said that the prison authorities never gave him any opportunity to talk and didn't allow him to send out his statement. Lee stressed: "We need to let the whole world know the truth of the persecution. At the same time, we need to awaken the conscience of the Chinese people and let them know the preciousness of freedom."

When talking about his experience in the Chinese prison, Charles Lee said that the Chinese Communist regime used all possible means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. In prison, he was guarded by 8 to 10 people all the time. He could not talk to those people, and they couldn't talk to him either. When he practiced Falun Gong, they tried to stop him. Besides forcing him to watch and read slanderous materials against Falun Gong, the authorities also forced him to talk with them. Sometimes he didn't feel good; however, they would still force him to talk. After one group left, another would come to continue such abuse."