By Staff Reporter; June 6 2003

Several North Carolina residents have gone on a hunger strike to support the immediate release of U.S. citizen Dr. Charles Li from a Chinese prison.

The strikers will continue their hunger strike in a rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., this weekend. Some area hunger-strikers will meet in front of the Duke International House at 9 a.m. today before leaving for the nation's capital.

Li was arrested by ex-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for practicing Falun Gong, a form of meditation that combines physical exercise with moral and spiritual beliefs. The practice became popular in China in 1992 and has since (1999) been banned in the country.

The strikers say Zemin has tortured and force-fed Li since his hunger strike started May 27.

One of the strikers, Thai Ton, said citizens from the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries have filed a lawsuit against Zemin [for genocide Falun Gong practitioners in China], saying he is violating Li's human rights to practice his own belief.

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