Response of the Chinese GovernmentJared Genser Dear Friends, Although the response from the Chinese Government to the letters from 21 Senators, 85 Members of Congress, and 63 Harvard faculty calling for Yang Jianli's parole is not what we hoped, it is what we expected. As usual, as if multiple repetitions equates to the truth, the PRC continues to insist it is treating Yang Jianli in accordance with their own law. For your information, attached is an article describing the response from the PRC and another article describing the letter from 63 Harvard faculty echoing the call for Yang Jianli's parole. For those of you in Congressional offices, it would be especially helpful if you could call Xu Dong in the Chinese Embassy's Congressional Affairs office to express your deep concerns about Yang Jianli's ongoing detention, his health, the PRC's failure to allow the family to visit, and the lack of a constructive response from the PRC. His telephone number is (202) 328-2595. Although Mr. Xu will of course respond with the same refrain, he does track concerns coming in from the Hill and pass them on to Ambassador Yang. We will continue to keep you informed as developments warrant. Thanks for your ongoing concern. Current developments can always be found at: www.freedom-now.org Warm regards,
Jared Genser --
China Won't Release U.S.-Based Dissident BEIJING - China insisted Sunday its jailing of U.S.-based Chinese activist Yang Jianli is in line with Chinese law and rejected appeals by American lawmakers for his release. Yang, who runs a Boston-based foundation that advocates democratic change in China, was meeting with Chinese dissidents and laid-off workers when he was detained in 2002. He was sentenced in May to five years in prison. A letter signed by 21 U.S. senators and 85 members of the House of Representatives calls on China to parole Yang when he becomes eligible Oct. 26, saying he was initially denied access to lawyers in violation of international law. "Yang Jianli has been sentenced to five years imprisonment on the charge of espionage and illegal border crossing by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The verdict is based on clear facts with true and ample evidence, and the application of the law is correct," it said. "Chinese judicial organs will continue to handle this case according to law." The letter was delivered Wednesday to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Jared Genser, a lawyer for Yang's family. The Chinese government statement gave no indication whether Yang would be eligible for parole. Beijing has previously rejected U.S. protests as "interference in the judicial process of China." Yang's family denies the spying accusations but acknowledges that he was traveling with a friend's identity card. His family says he was forced to do so because he was banned from China after helping student protesters during the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. ------------------ 63 Harvard scholars call for release of dissident BEIJING: A group of 63 scholars from Harvard University has signed a letter to China's President Hu Jintao calling for the release of jailed dissident and Harvard researcher Dr Yang Jianli, a US-based rights group said yesterday. Pulitzer-Prize winning author Samantha Power, noted scholar of Chinese law William Alford, prominent human rights academic Prof Henry Steiner and constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe have signed the letter, the group Freedom Now said. "Harvard University enjoys deep, longstanding and important ties with China and would hope to expand those ties in the future," the letter said. "None of us want Dr Yang's ongoing detention to interfere with our strong partnership. "It is with this in mind that we hope Dr Yang's parole will be granted when he becomes eligible this month." Dr Yang fled to the United States after the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests but was arrested when he tried to sneak into China in April 2002. He will be eligible for parole on Oct 26 after serving half his five-year sentence. ---------------------------------
US lawmakers petition Chinese leader to grant dissident parole WASHINGTON (AFP) - More than 100 US lawmakers have written to China's President Hu Jintao asking him to grant parole to a noted US-based Chinese scholar imprisoned for alleged spying and illegal entry, his lawyer said. Yang Jianli had fled to the United States following the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests and was arrested in China when he tried to secretly sneak into the country using his friend's passport in April 2002. The Harvard University research fellow will be eligible for parole according to the laws of China on October 26, 2004 -- after serving half his five-year sentence. The letters by the 21 senators and 85 members of the House of Representatives were delivered to the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, Jared Genser, the lawyer for Yang's family in the United States, told AFP. "Your government has expressed interest in resolving differences regarding human rights matter through dialogue and consultation. This case offers one opportunity to do so," the senators told Hu in their letter. "We strongly urge you to parole Dr Yang, which is within your justice system's purview, as soon as he is eligible on October 26, 2004," they said. "Your government's decision to grant him parole would be beneficial to all parties involved," they added. The letter by the House representatives said granting Yang parole "would not only show a commitment to justice within your country's legal system, but it would also help strengthen the bilateral ties. "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," they said. The bipartisan group of lawmakers included figures such as Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Republican head of the House foreign relations panel Henry Hyde. The United Nations (news - web sites) says he is being held in violation of international law. Yang, an American permanent resident, has been one of the most high-profile dissidents in Chinese custody with US Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) raising the case during his visit to China earlier this year. The US Congress had passed several non-binding resolutions calling for his release. Some 67 US legislators sent a letter to Hu on April 26, warning that bilateral ties could suffer if Beijing did not release Yang, who was then reportedly mistreated in prison. Genser said Harvard University staff were preparing to send a similar appeal letter to the Chinese leader. Yang, whose wife and their two young children live in Massachusetts, was involved in research at the university focusing on formal models of voting systems and efficient mechanisms for income transfer. -------------------------------- U.S. Lawmakers Urge China to Release Scholar Yang Wed Oct 6, 2004 10:55 PM ET By Brian Rhoads BEIJING (Reuters) - Members of U.S. Congress have urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to parole a U.S.-based scholar jailed for entering China illegally and accused of spying. In separate letters to Hu delivered to the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, 21 U.S. senators and 85 representatives urged Yang Jianli be paroled as soon as he becomes eligible on Oct. 26. Yang, 40, a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Harvard graduate and now a permanent resident of the United States, has been in custody since he was detained in April 2002. He was sentenced in May to five years in jail. "Your government has expressed interest in resolving differences regarding human rights matters through dialogue and consultation. This case offers one opportunity to do so," said the letter from the members of the House of Representatives. Relations between the United States and China have been gradually improving, especially with increased economic and diplomatic cooperation, but Washington frequently criticizes Beijing for its human rights record. China in turn accuses the United States of hypocrisy and tells it not to meddle in its internal affairs. Yang entered China on a friend's passport and traveled for a week on a fake identify card to observe labor unrest in the country's northeastern rust belt. His case has drawn attention from rights groups and governments who complained that he was detained without a hearing for too long, held for too long after his August 2003 trial without a verdict, and abused in jail. The State Department has repeatedly called for his release. China's Foreign Ministry has said that the courts handled the case properly and in accordance with the law. Yang's wife, Christina Fu, has expressed hope that Yang will be expelled from China like U.S.-based sociologist Gao Zhan, who was deported in 2001 after a Chinese court convicted her of spying for rival Taiwan. "We believe the time has long since come for Yang Jianli to be released," said Jared Genser, Fu's lawyer, who provided copies of the letters. Yang's parole could help remove an irritant in relations between the United States and China. "We believe a decision to grant Yang Jianli parole would not only show a commitment to justice within your country's legal system, but would also help strengthen the bilateral ties between our two countries," the letter from the U.S. senators said. But other cases remain. Secretary of State Colin Powell pressed China last month over its detention of New York Times researcher Zhao Yan. Zhao was detained in mid-September on suspicion of passing state secrets to foreigners after the Times broke the sensitive news that former president Jiang Zemin planned to resign from his post as chairman of the Central Military Commission. -- U.S. lawmakers appeal to China to release jailed dissident The Associated Press BEIJING -- A group of U.S. lawmakers is appealing to China to release a Boston-based Chinese activist imprisoned on charges of spying and entering the country illegally. A letter calling on President Hu Jintao to parole Yang Jianli when he becomes eligible Oct. 26 was delivered Wednesday to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Jared Genser, a lawyer for Yang's family. The letter was signed by 21 senators and 85 members of the House of Representatives, Genser said by telephone from Washington. Yang, who runs a Boston-based foundation that advocates democratic change in China, was meeting with Chinese dissidents and laid-off workers when he was detained in 2002. He was sentenced in May to five years in prison. "Your government has expressed interest in resolving differences regarding human rights matters through dialogue and consultation, rather than through confrontation," the U.S. lawmakers' letter to Hu says. Sixty-three Harvard University faculty members also wrote to Hu, suggesting that paroling Yang would help China's continuing relationship with the university. "None of us want Dr. Yang's ongoing detention to interfere with our strong partnership," they said in the letter. The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing was closed Thursday for a national holiday and no one was available for comment. Yang is one of a series of Chinese dissidents imprisoned in recent years on subversion or espionage charges. Another U.S.-based activist, Wang Bingzhang, was sentenced to life in prison last year on charges of spying for Taiwan and plotting to bomb the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. Yang's family denies the spying accusations but acknowledges that he was traveling with a friend's identity card. His family says he was forced to do so because he was banned from China after helping student protesters during the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. The U.N. Human Rights Commission ruled in 2003 that Yang was denied a fair trial. Yang's imprisonment is "causing great pain and anguish to his family," the U.S. lawmakers' letter says. Chinese authorities haven't released any evidence to support charges that Yang spied for rival Taiwan. According to Genser, the charges appear to stem from four $100 grants to student researchers by a group founded by Yang in 1992 while attending the University of California at Berkeley. -------------------------- |