Dear Colleage Letter (July 21, 2004)

Rep. Barney Frank and Res. Christopher Cox

Dear Colleague,

We write to invite you to sign the enclosed letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging a favorable response when Dr. Yang Jianli becomes eligible for parole later this year.

Last year, the United Nations found that Yang Jianli had been held in violation of international law, and in June 2003, on a roll call vote of 412-0, the House unanimously passed H. Res. 199 calling for Yang Jianli's release.

On May 13, 2004, Yang Jianli was sentenced to five years in prison for espionage for Taiwan and illegal border crossing. His sentence, which includes time already served in detention, provides for the possibility of parole halfway through his prison term. This would make Yang Jianli eligible for parole in October.

If you would like to sign this letter expressing support for parole for Yang Jianli, or if you have any questions, please contact Daniel McGlinchey (x 53548, Rep. Frank) or Paul Wilkinson (x 56168, Rep. Cox). Thank you.

        REP. BARNEY FRANK /s                            REP. CHRISTOPHER COX  /s

Dear President Hu:

We write to share with you our ongoing interest in the case of Dr. Yang Jianli and to convey our strong hope that your government will respond favorably to a petition for his parole.

As you know, many of us over the past two years have expressed concern about Dr. Yang's treatment while in detention, which we believe was very harsh. In particular, we objected to his detention in solitary confinement for more than a year without access to his family or a lawyer, or even to reading materials or exercise.

We also expressed concern over the long delay in a verdict in the case, which caused a great deal of daily anguish to Yang Jianli's wife and children, and to the rest of his family, especially his 93-year old father who is in very ill health.

We were disappointed by the verdict in the case because we do not believe that it accurately reflects Dr. Yang's intentions, motives or character. And we were troubled by Yang Jianli's sentence because we hoped your justice system would exhibit a humanitarian impulse that would permit Yang Jianli to be immediately reunited with his family.

We believe that the rule of law in any country is strongest if it can show some capacity for compassion and consider individual human circumstances.

With this in mind, we hope that Yang Jianli's parole will be granted when he becomes eligible later this year. We believe a decision to grant Yang Jianli parole would not only show a commitment to justice within your country's legal system, but it would also help strengthen the bilateral ties between our two countries.

Members currently on this letter: Christopher Cox, Barney Frank, John Shimkus, Chris Van Hollen, Michael Capuano, William Delahunt

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Source: "ChinaEWeekly".