AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 22 January 2003, Dr. Charles Li arrived at China’s Guangzhou Airport for a visit with his family to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Dr. Li, who is an American citizen, received a medical degree in China. He came to the U.S. in 1991 to pursue a graduate degree in Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After graduating from the program in 1995, Dr. Li did further research at Harvard University. He currently lives in Menlo Park, California where he manages his own business.

Chinese security officials arrested Dr. Li at the airport and transferred him to the Yangzhou Detention Center, a facility that is about 1,000 miles away from Guangzhou in the Jiangsu Province of China. According to reports, Chinese officials are charging Dr. Li with sabotaging T.V. and/or radio equipment, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Dr. Li denies the charge and believes that he was arrested because he practices Falun Gong, a non-violent spiritual practice that is based on an ancient Chinese form of meditation and special exercises.

Authorities granted Dr. Li a 30 minute visit with a U.S. consular official, who provided the doctor with a list of attorneys. However, prospects for fair treatment are not high. The Chinese government has often used extreme means against Falun Gong members, which they see as a “cult” and a challenge to Communist Party control over the country. In December 2001, President Jiang Zemin stated, “Under the current international and domestic conditions, we can only strengthen, not weaken, the Communist Party's leadership and the government's control over religion.”

Human Rights Watch has received reports that Falun Gong followers were subject to beatings and torture and other ill treatment by the government. A group that monitors persecution against Falun Gong members claims that in the past few years 583 people have died as a result of persecution and thousands more have been arrested and sent to labor camps.

Friends and colleagues of Dr. Li are planning a rally on his behalf in front of the U.S. Department of State on Friday, 7 March 2003. Dr. Li’s fiancée will speak about the case. She has not had contact with Dr. Li since he was arrested, over 40 days ago.

Persecuting an individual for the peaceful expression of opinion and belief is in violation of freedoms of expression and religion, which are specifically protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). China signed the ICCPR in 1998; signing a treaty signifies a nation’s intention to comply with its provisions and to work for its ratification.

(Sources of information for this case include: Human Rights Watch, the Falun Dafa Information Center, and www.rescuecharles.org, a website created by Dr. Li’s friends and family to publicize the case.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 13: An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority.
• Article 18(1): Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his [or her] choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his [or her] religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
• Article 18(2): No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his [or her] freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his [or her] choice.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Expressing your concern about the arrest of Dr. Charles Li, who appears to have been arrested for the peacefully exercise of his internationally recognized rights to freedom of belief, expression and association;
• Requesting that the government make every effort to ensure that Dr. Li has full access to a lawyer and is guaranteed a fair trial, should the charges go forward; and
• Calling on the Chinese authorities to stop the repression of the Falun Gong movement, and to respect freedom of belief, expression and association.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Jiang Zemin
President
Beijinshi
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Your Excellency:

Zhang Fusen Buzhang
Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
Sifabu
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu
Beijingshi 100020
People's Republic of China
Fax: 011 86 10 65 292345
Salutation: Your Excellency:

COPIES SENT TO:

Ambassador Yang Jiechi
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 328 2582
chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

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