119 US lawmakers urge Bush to raise Chinese dissident's case

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A bipartisan group of 119 US lawmakers urged President George W. Bush to raise with President Hu Jintao the case of an imprisoned prominent Chinese pro-democracy activist.

Yang Jianli, a US permanent resident, was detained by the Chinese government in April 2002 when entering the country with a friend's passport after Beijing refused to renew his own due to his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

"We believe that your personal, direct advocacy with President Hu at this crucial time is our best and greatest hope in helping to bring Yang Jianli, who is a hero to so many, home," the legislators from the US House of Representatives said in the letter to Bush.

The House and Senate have unanimously passed several resolutions calling for Yang's unconditional release.

Bush had raised Yang's case with Hu during his visit to Beijing in November and as well when he met the Chinese leader at a UN summit in New York in September last year, according to rights groups informed of diplomatic attempts to seek his release.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also raised the matter several times with her Chinese counterpart, while the US embassy brought his plight to Beijing's attention more than 60 times, they said.

Yang was initially held for more than a year in solitary confinement without access to counsel, and was reportedly abused by prison guards.

He suffered a minor stroke, and "his health continues to be a serious concern to many of us," the lawmakers said in the letter, a copy of which made available to AFP.

On April 28, Yang will have served four years of a five-year sentence for illegal entry and alleged espionage, the latter charge repeatedly denied by him.

"We welcome this remarkable outpouring of support for Yang Jianli" said Jared Genser of Freedom Now and an attorney representing Yang's family.

"Not only should the Chinese government take notice, but we join these members of Congress in calling for President Bush to press President Hu for Yang's release," he added.

A report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture last month said Yang was convicted of a "political crime" possibly on the basis of information extracted by torture.

Bush is expected to raise with Hu the general human rights issue in China aside from economic, trade and other concerns when they meet in the White House on April 20.

In November, Hu rebuffed Bush's calls to allow greater religious and political freedom in China, but promised to show more flexibility on Sino-US economic disputes.

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Source: "AFP".