Dissident's wife seeks to raise his case
Harvard graduate detained by China in passport case

Jared Stearns

Anticipation is high for Premier Wen Jiabao of China's visit to Harvard University today, especially for Christina Fu, the wife of Yang Jianli, a Harvard alumnus and US resident who has been detained in China since April 2002.

Fu, a Brookline resident and a researcher at Harvard Medical School, said she believes that Wen's visit is an opportunity to raise her husband's case with Chinese leaders.

"Even though I may be ignored by the Chinese delegation, that's probably expected," she said by telephone yesterday afternoon. "It's not on their agenda, and they may think I'm trying to make them look embarrassing, but that's not what I'm going to do. I'm only trying to get the premier's attention in my husband's case."

Yang traveled to China in April 2002 and was detained eight days later for allegedly trying to board a domestic plane in Kunming using someone else's passport. Yang was put on trial in China in August, but the verdict has still not been returned, and he remains in prison.

Wen is visiting Harvard today as part of his first trip to the United States, which included a White House meeting yesterday with President Bush.

Most of the tickets to today's speech at the Harvard Business School were made available to faculty through a lottery system. Even if she doesn't win a ticket, Fu said she plans to be at Burden Hall.

She faxed a request to the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Monday for a meeting with Wen himself.

As of last night, she hadn't received a response, but said she's not surprised.

"All of my requests haven't gotten any response," she said.

Fu's legal adviser, Jared Genser, of Freedom Now, said he doesn't expect Fu to get anywhere near Wen at today's speech. "The goal of her attending the speech is to listen to what Premier Wen has to say with respect to China's development," he said.

However, Yang's supporters are calling attention to his case and urging both the Chinese and US governments to push for his release.

A letter addressed to Wen from more than 100 Harvard faculty members asks the Chinese government to set Yang free.

"Harvard has enjoyed deep and longstanding ties with the People's Republic of China," the letter reads. "It is in this spirit of cooperation that we ask your government, as a humanitarian gesture, to do everything in its power to facilitate Dr. Yang's immediate release, so he can return home to his family and his work in the United States."

Fu said she was touched by the overwhelming support her colleagues have given, and expects the letter to make an impact. "I think it will have a huge impact because China's always respected Harvard and they have all these projects to send officials to be trained at Harvard," she said.

More than 30 members of Congress sent a letter to Wen about Yang's case, and several senators -- including Massachusetts Democrats John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy -- signed a letter to Bush, asking the president to raise the issue with Wen.

Fu said she expects many protesters at today's event, and respects their right to express their frustrations about China's policy. She, however, doesn't intend to cause a commotion.

"I don't plan to be there yelling or shouting," she said. "I think it's an opportunity to hear his perspective. He can make the right decision. [My husband] paid the penalty for what he did. Christmas is around the corner and we hope he can come home. We miss him so much."

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Source: "The Boston Globe".