Wife of local man charged with espionage hoping for husband's safe return

Brock Parker

More than a year of tireless work is now turning into a waiting game for Brookline resident Christina Fu, who will soon hear whether the Chinese government will convict her husband of espionage.

Since the spring of 2002, Fu, who lives near Washington Square, has been working through every diplomatic agency she can find to generate support for the release of her husband, Yang Jianli, who was arrested in April 2002 after entering China with a false passport.

Yang, who was later charged with espionage, is being held prisoner in Beijing and went on trial for both charges last Monday, Aug. 4.

Now, Fu says she and her husband, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to since he was arrested, could have to wait another month before knowing if Yang will be released or convicted. If convicted, Yang could face a death sentence, the maximum Chinese punishment for espionage.

But Fu said in an interview with the TAB this week that she's confident there is not valid evidence supporting the charge of espionage, and that she is hopeful that Yang's punishment will be deportation back to the United States.

"On one hand, I'm very optimistic that our government, especially [U.S. Congressman] Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, will do everything to get him out. On the other hand, you never know what the Chinese government wants to do."

Fu - a U.S. citizen who emigrated from China - and Yang moved to Brookline four years ago when he began work towards a doctorate in political economy and government at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

While working toward his degree, Yang has headed the Boston-based Foundation for China in the 21st Century. Yang's work with the foundation was the latest in his history of democratic advocacy for China; his activism began when he attended the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which ended with the massacre of thousands of demonstrators.

Fu, through information provided by Yang's lawyer in China, said prosecutors are using part of Yang's history as an activist to charge him with espionage.

While working with a Chinese youth development foundation in 1994, Fu said Yang accepted a $400 donation that originated in Taiwan for the foundation.

Fu said prosecutors claimed that Yang used the money to promote democracy and to garner friends and support for the foundation's cause.

But Fu said that the evidence is hardly supportive of a charge of espionage.

"My husband has no intention of doing anything harmful to the Chinese government," Fu said. "We're pretty confident that there is no basis for the espionage charge."

Fu said she was not allowed to attend Yang's trial in China, which only lasted several hours.

The Chinese government, Fu said, refused to allow her entry into the country, and said that if she did attempt to enter China she would be dealt with in accordance with Chinese law.

Fu said the Chinese government told the U.S. State Department that she could not enter the country because she helped her husband plan for his trip.

During the trial, Fu said she was in Washington, D.C., with her 7-year-old son, Aaron, and 10-year-old daughter, Anita.

"I was there with my family," Fu said. "Nobody slept that night."

After the trial, Fu said Yang's lawyer was encouraged by some of the proceedings in the trial, including the lack of interruptions by the prosecution during his closing statement; Fu said that when Yang's lawyer defended clients on similar charges in the past, he said he had always been interrupted during his closing statement.

In addition, Fu said that the fact that a verdict was not immediately handed down by the Chinese judge could be a good sign.

If the verdict had been immediately rendered, Fu said it could have meant it was predetermined and that the Chinese government paid no heed to the political pressure from the United States and United Nations on Yang's behalf.

While she waits for the verdict to come down, Fu is working to get President George Bush to weigh in on Yang's behalf.

Fu said she and her friends have been sending letters to Bush urging him to ask for Yang's release.

The Rev. David Killian, the rector at All Saints Parish, Yang's and Fu's church, said last week that the church has sent one letter to Bush urging his support in Yang's release.

Killian said All Saints also held a special prayer service for Yang last week at the same time that his trial was scheduled to start.

"Our goal was to be meeting here at the exact moment Yang Jianli was on trail," Killian said. "Even though he was on trial in China, we wanted to spiritually be united with him."

Susan Cleaver, a friend of Fu's and fellow member of All Saints Parish, said she has been amazed at the strength Fu has shown throughout her husband's captivity.

"I don't think people realize how much she has put into this," Cleaver said. "The persistence is amazing and the lack of despair, which is all too easy to have at this point. ... I have just been amazed at her stamina with this."

Brock Parker can be reached at bparker @cnc.com.

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Source: "Boston Herald (Brookline TAB)".