Monday, April 08, 2002

ShenLi Lin watches dancers at a party yesterday to thank supporters who worked to get him out of Chinese jail.

Six weeks after being released from a Chinese labour camp, ShenLi Lin held a party yesterday for his Montreal supporters to thank them for all their work.

Lin spent two years in detention for practicing Falun Gong, an exercise and meditation [practice] that the Chinese government banned in 1999 [...].

"I wanted to thank people face to face, to tell them how much I appreciate their support," Lin, 48, said yesterday through a translator. "It was only when I came to Canada that I realized how much people supported me by writing letters."

After Lin's arrest in December 1999, Chinese authorities gave his wife, JinYu Li, two days to leave the country. Li, who is a Canadian citizen, came to Montreal and worked tirelessly to free her husband of eight months.

She bombarded MPs and other government officials with letters, enlisted the help of Amnesty International, and held a vigil outside the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa.

During his two years in custody, Lin said, he was beaten, tortured and forced to sit on a small stool for 14 hours a day. "There was a prisoner there to make sure I didn't move or get up. It was awful."

During his second year of detention, Lin was forced to work 13 to 15 hours a day making basketballs. "At night, it was hard to sleep. If my body moved at all, I would wake up in pain."

At yesterday's get-together, Li thanked many of their supporters, including the Montreal news media. She singled out Montreal MP and human-rights lawyer Irwin Cotler, who helped bring her husband's case to the attention of the government and the media.

"I am so grateful to have my husband back, but we can't stop thinking of all the other people imprisoned in China because they practice Falun Gong," Li said at yesterday's party at Concordia University. "We still have to work to help them. They need our help."

Montrealer Hui Yang, who also practices Falun Gong, said she is disheartened that the Chinese government has such a negative opinion of the practice. "It is very good for your health and for your spirit," said Yang, who wrote letters to the Canadian government pressing for Lin's release.

Lin said he, too, plans to fight for other detainees in China. But like many new Montrealers, he has other pressing issues. "I don't speak English or French and I need to learn these languages so I can find a job."