Yang Jianli, a resident of Brookline, MA where I live, is being held by the Chinese government. He was a Tianamen protestor who , after being refused a passport many times, traveled back to China for a visit using a false one. He was caught and has been kept incommunicado.

The following letter has been signed by a number of US Congresspeople. If your representative’s name isn’t at the bottom of this message, could you please write or call him/her to urge him/her to sign?

There’s more information here and here. You can get the address of your Representative here.

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

September xx , 2002

H.E. Jiang Zemin
President
People’s Republic of China

Dear President Jiang:

As you prepare for your meeting with President Bush in Texas in late October, we respectfully ask for your assistance with an urgent humanitarian matter. We hope that your government will respond to the concerns expressed by many Members of Congress regarding Dr. Yang Jianli, a legal U.S. permanent resident who has been detained incommunicado in the People’s Republic of China since April 26, 2002.

We believe that a prompt and successful resolution of his case would help to improve the climate between our two countries and to demonstrate the PRC’s commitment to internationally recognized principles of human rights.

We understand that Dr. Yang’s brother was told by the local authorities that on June 2, 2002, Dr. Yang was arrested and was being held somewhere in Beijing. In apparent violation of PRC and international law, none of Dr. Yang’s family members has been allowed to meet with him or has received written notification of his arrest and place of confinement. These factors have prevented Dr. Yang’s family from obtaining legal counsel for him.

Dr. Yang’s wife and children are American citizens residing in Massachusetts. His detention is a cause of growing pain and anguish to his family. We urge your government to assure that Dr. Yang is given a prompt and fair trial, permitted to meet with his wife and U.S. government representatives, and allowed to return to the United States to rejoin his family as soon as possible. This positive humanitarian gesture would be strongly welcomed by Congress.

Thank you for considering our requests, and for taking the time to address this important matter.

Already signed:

REP. CHRISTOPHER COX
REP. NANCY PELOSI
REP. TOM LANTOS
REP. SANDER M. LEVIN
REP. ED ROYCE
REP. DAN BURTON
REP. JOHN W. OLVER
REP. STEPHEN F. LYNCH
REP. MARTIN T. MEEHAN
REP. BARNEY FRANK
REP. FRANK WOLF
REP. DANA ROHRABACHER
REP. CHRISTOPHER SMITH
REP. EDWARD J. MARKEY
REP. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT
REP. JAMES P. MCGOVERN
REP. MICHAEL CAPUANO
REP. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

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