Clinton, Kerry among senators urging China to release dissident

AFP News

In the bipartisan letter, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse, the senators described how 41-year-old US resident Yang had been 'allegedly beaten and tortured by four prison guards with electrified wands.'

'We strongly urge your government to exercise its discretion, in accordance with Chinese law, to release Dr Yang,' said the letter, which was dated yesterday Washington time.

'We believe a decision to release Dr Yang would be welcomed by all of those who seek to improve the bilateral relationship between the United States and China,' it said.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it took the senators' concerns 'very seriously.'

'We have communications with the US side, including with the senators, on a frequent basis to deepen mutual understanding,' ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular briefing.

President Hu is believed to be planning a visit to the United States in September, to coincide with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

Christina Fu, Yang's wife, said the expression of support from the senators gave her reason for hope, three years into her husband's five-year sentence for espionage.

'It's heartening because it's a strong voice and because of the timing, since we heard President Hu will visit the United States in the fall,' she told AFP by telephone from the United States.

A source close to Yang's family said members of Congress met yesterday with Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador to the United States about the case.

'Obviously, it's a very strong letter from 40 US senators, which is not a small number,' said Jared Genser, an American lawyer representing Yang.

'It's a big and bipartisan group of senators expressing their concern over Yang Jianli's detention.'

Since his arrest in 2002, the Harvard University research fellow has been one of the best known dissidents in Chinese custody.

Several high-profile US visitors have raised Yang's case, including US Vice President Dick Cheney, who was in Beijing in April last year.

Yang fled China following the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests and was blacklisted by the government, which refused to renew his passport or issue him travel documents to return to his homeland, in violation of international law.

He tried to secretly sneak into China in April 2002, but was arrested in southwestern Kunming city.

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Source: "Forbes".