September 7, 2003

Dr. Charles Lee of Menlo Park, Calif. was arrested in January after he traveled to China in an attempt to inform Chinese people about their government's crackdown on practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that has gained millions of devotees worldwide.

Lee's fiancée is traveling across the United States trying to get him out of prison.

"The Chinese people still do not know the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong," his fiancée, Yeong-ching Foo, said Saturday. She spoke at an informal press conference in Bushnell Park as about a dozen Connecticut practitioners in yellow T-shirts sat in lotus postures.

She has staged similar events in 15 other cities to call attention to Lee's plight - and the fate of tens of thousands of fellow Falun Gong practitioners she says have been imprisoned and tortured in China.

Lee is a naturalized American citizen who has spent the last 11 years in the United States. He practiced medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to California and opening his own Chinese herbal business, Foo said. In 1998, Lee was introduced to Falun Gong, a series of mind-body exercises that draws on [principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance], she said.

In July 1999, the Chinese government, concerned about the movement's growing popularity, banned the practice of Falun Gong, [...]

Falun Gong was introduced in 1992 by the movement's founder, Li Hongzhi. Since then [Editor's note: July 1999 is actually when the persecution started], advocates say, at least 700 practitioners have been killed by the government. "At least once a day a practitioner is tortured or killed," Foo said.

[...] New Haven resident Steve Roberson said he was expelled from China last year before he could participate in a demonstration against the regime.

"There is no outside voice saying this is what is going on in your own country," he said.

The suppression of the movement spurred Lee's trip to China, where he was arrested for [intent of] sabotage of the nation's broadcasting system, a charge apparently stemming from an attempt by Lee to air Falun Gong tapes.

Lee was sentenced to three years in prison but was able to write a 95-page letter to the U.S. Consulate. He claims to have been beaten by police and during an eight-day hunger strike was force-fed by police.

There has been evidence of mistreatment of Lee in prison, but recent investigations suggest the abuse has stopped, said Stuart Patt, a spokesman for the consular affairs bureau at the U.S. State Department.

"We are trying to ensure that Mr. Lee is not abused or mistreated," Patt said.

Lee's fiancée wants him released.

"Since his arrest, I haven't stopped talking to people," she said. "He is very courageous."

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