Tom Lantos Commission Chairs Congressmen Frank Wolf (VA) and Congressmen Jim McGovern (MA) Author Joint Letter to Ambassador Jim Huntsman on behalf of Wang Xiaoning and He Depu.

Submitted by Lindsey on

Releases Date: 

Mon, 09/14/2009

 

Washington DC, September 14th, 2009- This afternoon Congressmen Frank Wolf and Congressmen Jim McGovern co-authored a letter on behalf of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to Ambassador John Huntsman concerning the continued imprisonment of Wang Xiaoning and He Depu, prominent Chinese political activists. 
 
Wang Xiaoning was arrested on September 30, 2002, for “inciting to subvert state power,” and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in solitary confinement. Wang, a prominent author and intellectual, was jailed when his political writings and activities were discovered by Chinese authorities from records turned over to the Chinese secret police by Yahoo! Hong Kong.   Wang is also the founder of the “China Third Road Party,” a party committed to promoting democracy and human rights in China. 
 
He Depu helped to found the China Democracy Party, and was arrested after he authored and signed an open letter to the Chinese Communist Party calling for an end to “one party dictatorship,” in 2002. He is currently serving an eight year sentence. 
 
Wolf and McGovern stated, “These two brave men languish in jail today solely on account of their efforts to bring freedom to the Chinese people. The United States government should always stand with those who call for freedom and liberty.” 
 
The Laogai Research Foundation is a not‐for‐profit organization founded by former political prisoner Harry Wu in 1992.  
Its mission is to gather information on and raise public awareness of the Laogai—China’s extensive system of forced 
labor prison camps.For more information on the foundation and its work, please visit www.laogai.org.
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