The Assembly
State of New York
Albany

Richard N. Gottfried
64 Assembly District

August 20, 2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC

Dear President Bush:

I wish you great success in your October visit to China. I believe that if your trip is to be a successful diplomatic mission, it is imperative that you respond to the Chinese government's recent detention of several scholars and intellectuals of Chinese ancestry with ties to the United States. I urge you to strongly urge the Chinese government to immediately release from detention American citizen Wu Jianmin and American permanent resident Dr. Teng ChunYan and Liu Yaping.

I was encouraged to hear that you have personally raised the issue of the detainees with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. And I was certainly glad to hear that U.S. citizen Li Shaomin, and U.S. permanent residents Dr. Gao Zhan and Qin Guangguang, have been released, although their releases came as the result of expulsion or medical parole.

I remain concerned about the fate of Mr. Wu, Dr. Teng and Mr. Liu. Mr. Wu, an author, was held for an extended period of time without being formally charged with any crime. Now charged with spying for Taiwan, he is still being deprived of access to lawyers and family members. Mr. Liu, a businessman, was also held for an extended period of time without being charged with a crime, and is reported to be suffering from severe health problems. He, too, has been denied access to lawyers and family members.

As a New York public official, and as a supporter of religious liberty, I feel the need to draw particular attention to the case of Dr. Teng. Dr. Teng, a New York-based doctor and faculty member at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York, has apparently been arrested and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for her membership in the Falun Gong spiritual movement, and for attempting to expose China's practice of detaining and torturing Falun Gong practitioners in mental hospitals. Given the Chinese government's history of mistreating Falun Gong practitioners, there is reason to believe that while incarcerated, Dr. Teng may be the victim of the same torture and abuse she attempted to expose.

While visiting China, I urge you to make it clear to the Chinese government that its continued violations of internationally recognized human rights will impair relations between our two nations. An important purpose of expanded economic and political engagement with China is to promote an improvement in China's adherence to international norms, such as those embodied in Articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.

Very truly yours,

Signature
Richard N. Gottfried
Assembly Member