Law Office of Stewart L. Weisman

(Address, contact numbers are omitted )

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March 21, 2002

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Premier of the People's Republic of China
Zhu Rongji Zongli
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China

Director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Public Security
Zhao Yongji Tingzhang
Jilin Gong'anting
42 Xinfalu
Changchunshi 130051
Jilinsheng
People's Republic of China

Governor of the Jilin Provincial People's Government
Hong Hu Shengzhang
Jilinsheng Renmin Zhengfu
11 Xinfa Lu
Changchunshi 130051
Jilinsheng
People's Republic of China

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Dear Gentlepersons:

As a college professor and attorney practicing in the area of civil rights and discrimination I am disheartened to read a report by Amnesty International concerning the treatment of members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. According to the report, on or about March 5, 2002, pro-Falun Gong films where broadcasted on a state-owned cable television company in Changchun City, Jilin Province. As a result of the broadcast, dozens of suspected Falun Gong practitioners have reportedly been detained during a security crackdown in that city.

The detainees, Amnesty International believes, are at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment solely due to their status

In light of the above, I urge you to (i) to account for and publish the names and whereabouts of all those detained in connection with the pro-Falun Gong broadcast and during the ensuing police operation (ii) guarantee the safety of all the detainees (iii) ensure all detainees have immediate access to lawyers, their families, and medical attention, if required and (iv) release all Falun Gong members ensnared in the reactionary arrests in a speedy manner.

Hopefully, the government recognizes that guilt by status is antithetical to the lofty ideals to which the People's Republic of China aspires and will not tolerate such wrongful behavior by local authorities against its own citizens.

Thank you for your attention to this international matter which touches us all.

Very truly yours,

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Stewart L. Weisman, Esq.

SLW/sw