While
talking to the press at the airport, Charles Lee said: “I am so glad to get back
to the United States. I would like to thank my fellow practitioners, the U.S.
consulate and all kind-hearted people around the world for rescuing me. The support
from so many practitioners and people with a sense of justice, as well as the
efforts of U.S. officials, have helped me to survive the 3 years of imprisonment.”
During the past 3 years, Mr. Lee was forbidden to
practice Falun Gong, subjected to beatings, brainwashing, slave labor and many
torture methods. To protest the abuse, he repeatedly appealed, and underwent 9
hunger strikes for a total of 50 days. During the hunger strikes, he was tortured
with forced feeding. Once, the prison authority inserted a hose through his nostril
into his stomach and purposefully left the hose in his stomach for 33 hours.
When asked about his experience during the three years in a Chinese
prison, Charles said: “They used all possible measures.” As the Chinese Communist
regime tried to torture him to death, at one point he developed an acute heart
condition. Besides physical torture, the regime also tried to break him mentally.
He said: “They resorted to many measures. Besides forcing me to read the slanderous
materials against Falun Gong and watch Chinese Central TV's propaganda every
day, they confiscated all my books and notes. They also forced me to talk with
them. When I refused to talk, they just kept interrogating me. Sometimes I didn't
feel good, however, they would still force me to talk. After one group left, another
would come to continue such torture.”
Charles
Lee Discloses the Persecution He Experienced in China
“The
Chinese Communist regime's persecution against me was totally unlawful,”
Charles said, “When my mother was ill, taking advantage of my love for my mother,
the regime tried to coerce me to accept the unlawful verdict, claming they would
reduce the sentence if I cooperated with them.” Dr. Lee's mother later passed
away, as she couldn't bear the tremendous pressure and sorrow; however, the
regime didn't allow Charles to see his mother for the last time.
Though
subjected to all kinds of torture, Charles said that he never gave up his belief
in Falun Gong. On his return, he will cultivate even more diligently and let more
people know the truth about the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of
Falun Gong. He said: “In China, there are still many Falun Gong practitioners
who are being persecuted. We need to let the whole world know the truth of the
persecution and to awaken the conscience of the Chinese people. I believe that
we will succeed one day.”
Amnesty International
Calls on the Chinese Communist Regime to Release All Detained Falun Gong Practitioners
Members of Amnesty International also went to
the San Francisco International Airport to welcome Charles Lee and presented him
with a T-shirt with Amnesty International's logo. Jeffrey Shurtleff, a representative
of AI, said: “We are here today to welcome Charles Lee back. He was arrested and
unlawfully sentenced to prison for 3 years because he went back to China to clarify
the truth and safeguard Falun Gong. We call on the Chinese Communist regime to
release all detained Falun Gong practitioners.”
Yeong-Ching
Foo: What Charles Lee did was Righteous
To rescue
Charles Lee, his fiancée Yeong-Ching Foo has been to the U.S. Congress, Department
of State, state and city governments and countless rallies to tell of Charles
Lee's plight and the persecution of all Chinese Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Foo said that she was very proud of Charles as
what he did was righteous. “Risking his life, Charles went back to China. It was
not for himself. He went back to stop the persecution.”
Charles
Lee went back to China on January 22, 2003 to tell the Chinese people the truth
about Falun Gong. However, he was arrested at Guangzhou airport right after he
landed. The Chinese Communist regime charged him with “Planning to use TV to reveal
the persecution of Falun Gong” and sentenced him to 3 years in prison on March
21 2003 after a one-day show trial. He was then detained in Nanjing Prison. During
the past 3 years, Nanjing prison staff tortured him both physically and mentally.
They force-fed him, tortured him and forced him to do slave labor in a toxic environment.
In addition, they subjected him to brainwashing repeatedly in order to force Charles
to give up his belief in Falun Gong.
Many
Citizens Learned the Truth of Falun Gong through the “Rescue Charles Lee” Efforts
When Charles Lee was unlawfully detained, to
rescue him and demand that the Chinese Communist regime immediately release him,
practitioners around the world held various activities including rallies, “Rescue
Charles Lee Car Tours” and signature campaigns to expose the persecution. Consequently,
many people learned about Falun Gong and the truth of the persecution.
In mid November, 2004, when San Francisco practitioners heard that
the Jiang regime was conducting brainwashing against Charles for 3 hours every
day and had instigated drug abusers and criminals to beat him in order to force
him to plead guilty, they swiftly held a press conference on the following day
to disclose the intensification of the persecution against Charles Lee.
On the evening of November 21, 2004, at the main track field of
the University of America in Washington DC, students, professors and alumni with
different backgrounds spoke out in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese to call
for the immediate release of Charles Lee.
Jiang Zemin
and the Chinese Communist Party colluded to launch the unprecedented persecution
against the principles of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in July 1999.
In the past 6 years, countless Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to
brutal persecution for their belief. The brutality against a U.S. citizen let
kind-hearted people clearly see the evil face of Jiang and the CCP. We call on
all the kind-hearted people around the world to unite together to bring Jiang
Zemin, the chief perpetrator of the persecution, to justice and end the unprecedented
persecution against the core values of humanity.
