US lawmakers petition Chinese leader to grant dissident paroleAFP 07 October 2004 WASHINGTON : 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 charges pressed against Yang were baseless, lawyer Genser said. The United Nations 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 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. -------------------------- |