A Supporter's Letter to WA Senator Cantwell for S.Res.184A Supporter July 2, 2003 The Honorable Senator Cantwell Dear Senator Cantwell: I'm a Chinese American. Born and raised in China, now an American citizen, lived in US for 12 years. I didn't know Mr. Yang until early 90s on an occasional case, when I was a Master student at Utah State University. I had an opportunity to give a technical conference presentation in Boston. My school and I couldn't afford a hotel. Mr and Mrs. Yang hosted me during the conference. Prior to that, we didn't know each other. He and his wife are just such an honest, candid, warm-hearted couple, like average American, you and I. My family and I are grateful to them. Now I write to you asking for support for the above bill. You may contact me for more information. I am a resident in the state of Washington. I am writing to express my concern for Dr. Yang Jianli, a scholar and pro-democracy advocate from Brookline, Massachusetts who has been detained for more than a year in China with no official charges filed against him. A legal permanent resident of the United States, he has been denied contact with a lawyer and with his family members. I ask that you please come to the aid of Christina Fu and Dr. Yang by both calling publicly for Dr. Yang's release and by sponsoring Senate Resolution S.Res.184. Your efforts at this time are crucial now that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that the detention to date of Dr. Yang is "arbitrary" and in "contravention of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of Article 9 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and falls within category III of the categories applicable to the consideration of cases submitted to the Working Group", and the Chinese government has responded by refusing to acknowledge the harm they have brought to Dr. Yang...they continue to take the position that they are only acting fully in accordance with the law. Aside from the basic violations that the UN Working Group have addressed, I also deeply fear that Dr. Yang is also being otherwise persecuted as he is a well known dissident who for years has been a formidable leader of the Chinese pro-democracy movement in the US. Thank you very much for your time and your concern. Sincerely,
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