January 25, 2006 Wednesday

Charles Lee -- the only U.S. citizen ever to serve a prison sentence in China because of his belief in the spiritual movement Falun Gong -- said Tuesday he experienced constant abuse, intimidation and brainwashing attempts before he was released last week.

Lee spoke at a news conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. A Bay Area campaign drew international attention to the Menlo Park resident's incarceration.

"Everyone has a right to practice Falun Gong if she or he chooses," said Lee, 41. "The crackdown in China constitutes the most widespread and brutal violation of human rights in history."

Other American citizens detained for engaging in pro-Falun Gong activities in China have been quickly deported after being questioned. It is unclear why Lee was sentenced and others released, though Falun Gong spokeswoman Sherry Zhang speculates that it is because Lee was born in China; the others detained were Westerners.

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Lee, who ran an herbal medicine Web site from Menlo Park, said he was arrested at Guangzhou airport in 2003 carrying videos about Falun Gong that he planned to broadcast on the state-controlled media in China.

Lee said he was imprisoned in Nanjing, handcuffed in painful positions, deprived of sleep and kicked and shoved. He was forced to read and watch anti-Falun Gong videos and books. He also said he was ordered to make shoes and Christmas lights for as long as 12 hours a day.

Authorities repeatedly asked him to renounce Falun Gong, promising he would be released early if he did.

"I had faith," said Lee. "I knew we were on the righteous side and they were evil-doers. Everything they did reinforced my faith."

The U.S. Consulate checked on him twice each month, once in person and once by phone. Chinese Falun Gong followers receive far worse treatment, Lee said.

Lee was born in Jiangsu province and received a medical degree in China before entering graduate school in 1991 in Illinois, where he earned a master's degree in physiology. He is barred from returning to China for five years.

Charles Lee, at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, shows how prison guards treated him. / Jeff Chiu / Associated Press