Staff Writer
The mother of a Queens acupuncturist yesterday urged the U.S. government to help obtain the release of her daughter, who was recently sentenced to 3 years in a Chinese prison on spying charges for helping publicize China's crackdown on the banned Falun Gong spiritual group.
"When I heard the news that my daughter had been sentenced by the Chinese government to 3 years in jail, I could not help but feel a deep sorrow and pain in my heart," said the mother of Teng Chunyan, 37, of Flushing.
The mother, who would only identify herself as Mrs. Qiu for fear of retribution from the Chinese government on her husband and another daughter still in China, joined five dozen Falun Gong practitioners across the street from the Chinese consulate in Manhattan yesterday morning to bring attention to Teng's imprisonment.
"Why does the Chinese government throw good people in prison?" asked Qiu, 60, of Flushing. "I appeal to the international community and all kind-hearted people to give us help." Teng went to China in February for more than a month, according to members of Falun Gong. She tipped off foreign reporters in China about the group's protests against the Chinese government's ban on the group and helped to arrange interviews with practitioners.
Teng, a permanent resident who immigrated to the United States more than eight years ago, returned from China and made another trip to her homeland in May, the last time Qiu saw her, her mother said. It was during this trip that she was detained by the Chinese government and indicted two months later. She was tried on Nov. 23 in Beijing and sentenced on Tuesday.
A State Department official in Washington who asked not to be identified said the United States is talking to Chinese government officials in an effort to secure Teng's release and end the one-and-a-half year crackdown on Falun Gong members.
"We will continue to raise this case ... and urge that they respect the fundamental rights to belief expression," the official said. "If the reports [of Teng's sentencing] were true, we would be deeply disturbed." Zhang Yuanyuan, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, confirmed Teng's sentencing on spying charges.
"She is a Chinese citizen, and she committed a crime in China, and she is subject to the Chinese laws," Zhang said.
Falun Gong is a spiritual movement that combines philosophies derived from Taoism and Buddhism with martial arts exercises. The group has grown to incorporate millions of members around the world.
"She is a good person, very compassionate," Qiu said of her daughter. "I want the U.S. government to contact high Chinese officials to have them hear my plea."
http://www.newsday.com/coverage/current/news/thursday/nd6559.htm
Category: Falun Dafa in the Media
