(Clearwisdom.net) California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore wrote to Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, Secretary Wang Jinshan of Anhui Province and Governor Chen Zhenggao of Liaoning Province and requested that they immediately release 4 Falun Gong practitioners being imrpisoned.
Here is the original letter:
The Honorable Han Zheng, Mayor
Shanghai Municipal Government
No.200 People Avenue, Huangpu District, Shanghai City, 200003, China
Dear Mayor Han,
I am Chuck DeVore, Assemblyman from the 70th Assembly District of California, and a candidate for United States Senate in 2010. I represent over 500,000 Californians, and I regularly reach millions of Americans on national print, online and television media. I write to express my profound concern for the safety and liberty of several relatives of American citizens, including:
- Ms. Yao-Hua Li , and Ms. Yi-Bo Zhang, both of whom are reportedly in detention at the Xuhui District Detention Center in Shanghai. These women are the mother and sister, respectively, of Mr. Yi-Yuan Chang, an eminent Californian who serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for Esthetic Dentistry at the University of California at Los Angeles. Ms. Li and Ms. Zhang are arrested in your city.
- Mrs. Jinhua Ma , reportedly in detention at the Anhui Women's Forced Labor Camp since September 2008. She is the mother of Ma Qiong Wang, a prominent Californian who is well known in our community.
- Ms. Chunyan Wang , reportedly in detention at the Laioning Province Women's Prison. She is the mother of Ping Yu, a well-respected Californian who has earned the attention and action of our state's officials.
We understand that these women are held without charge or sentence for their adherence to Falun Gong. I need not remind you that this violates the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which explicitly guarantees "freedom of religious belief" (in Chapter II, Article 36), "freedom of the person" (in Chapter II, Article 37), and "the personal dignity of citizens" (in Chapter II, Article 38).
Our action on behalf of these women is not limited to this letter. A copy of this message is also sent to your superiors and colleagues in the Chinese Communist Party, to ensure they understand the injustice done in your city. I will furthermore introduce a resolution in the California Assembly, urging you to free these women. Finally, I will use my access to national and international media to publicize their unjust imprisonment. Millions of Americans will henceforth pay close attention to your treatment of these women.
I have no doubt that you sincerely wish to implement the stated ideals of the People's Republic of China, and that the jailing of Ms. Yao-Hua Li, Ms. Yi-Bo Zhang, Mrs. Jinhua Ma, and Ms. Chunyan Wang is an unfortunate error. We therefore await the implementation of true justice for the unjustly imprisoned.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Chuck Devore, Seventieth District