Article Last Updated: Monday, February 10, 2003 - 3:44:17 AM MST
SAN FRANCISCO -- Nearly three weeks after Menlo Park resident Charles Li was
arrested in China on charges of sabotaging Chinese television and radio
broadcasts [Editor's note: Charles Li has denied the charges levied against him,
saying the Chinese police arrested him because he practices Falun Gong], friends
and fellow Falun Gong practitioners staged a protest walk through the streets of
Chinatown Sunday afternoon to call attention to Li's case.
"We are trying to help rescue Charles from China," said Kerry Huang, a volunteer
with the "Friends of Charles" group that started up as an offshoot of the Falun
Dafa Information Center. "We worry about his safety. We want to get him back."
Around 50 Falun Gong practitioners from around the Bay Area gathered at
Portsmouth Square in the heart of Chinatown, where they distributed pamphlets on
Li's case and videotapes showing Falun Gong exercises.
After a brief rally, the demonstrators, bearing large white signs saying "Rescue
Charles," took their march through the sunny streets crowded with weekend
shoppers and tourists.
"This is also about bringing awareness," said Alex Ma, an El Cerrito resident,
who says the meditative exercises of Falun Gong have helped his health
immensely. "We want to gain the attention of President Bush, Secretary of State
Colin Powell, and other congressional representatives."
[...]
Sherry Zhang, a spokeswoman for the Falun Gong Information Center in the Bay
Area, said that Li's case has been taken up by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who has
circulated a letter on his behalf in Congress.
According to Zhang, Li remains in prison in Yangzhou, China and does not yet
have legal representation. Zhang also stated that a New York law firm with
experience with Falun Gong detainees may be called in to represent Li.
http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~1170124,00.html
Category: Falun Dafa in the Media
