December 13,2000
His Excellency Li Zhao Xing
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
Dear Ambassador Li:
I am writing to express my grave concern abut reports that authorities in the People's Republic of China have seized and imprisoned Chunyan Teng, a permanent resident of the United States and the wife of a United States citizen who resides in Union County, New Jersey.
I am informed that after Ms. Teng traveled to Shenzhen, China in May of this year her family lost communication with her for six months. It was only in October that her family learned that she was being held in Beijing's Banbuqiao Detention Center and facing criminal charges. Neither Ms. Teng's husband nor the United States Embassy was informed of her arrest. On November 23, she was reportedly tried in secret by the Beijing Intermediate People's Court, having been charged with "prying into state intelligence for foreign organizations" for attempting to gather information about the Chinese government's institutionalization and torture of Falun Gong practitioners. It was reported today that Ms. Teng has been sentenced to three years in prison.
The Chinese government actions described in these reports are outrageous. I urge your government to immediately release Ms. Teng and allow her to return to the United States. At the comports with the international norms embodied in Articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 9 and 14 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Sincerely,
Christopher H. Smith
Chairman, Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights
Category: Voices of Support Worldwide
