Washington, D.C. - 13 January 2012 - Renowned dissident Yu Jie, along with his wife and son, safely landed at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport on the evening of Wednesday, January 11th. Laogai Research Foundation's Executive Director Harry Wu made a special trip to the airport to welcome them.

Since Yu Jie's book, China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao was published in 2010 - the same year his close friend Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize - the authorities have increasingly persecuted him. The night before the Nobel Prize awards ceremony, Beijing's national security police suddenly arrested Yu Jie, at which point he was beaten and humiliated. His wife, Liu Min, was also put under house arrest. National security police also pressured Liu Min's employer into firing her.

For the last year, Yu and his wife have been under house arrest, with state police and hired security personnel posted outside their house day and night.  Six cameras were placed both inside and outside his unit, monitoring their activity around the clock.  In the loss of his smallest personal freedoms, Yu's fundamental rights were seriously compromised, giving him no choice but to leave China. He still firmly believes that, when he returns to China someday, he will step foot on free land.

Yu Jie, along with Liu Xiaobo, is a senior author and major contributor to Observe China - a website run by the Laogai Research Foundation. For these past few years, Yu Jie has written countless articles for Observe China, and with the aid of the Laogai Research Foundation, has also published Sorry to Be Born Chinese.

The Laogai Research Foundation plans to host a press conference to invite Mr. Yu to discuss China’s recent suppression of dissidents and the persecution he himself has faced. 

For more information please contact Harry Wu at (202) 408 8300 X300 or laogai@laogai.org.