WEDNESDAY marked the 1,000th day that pro-democracy activist Yang Jianli has been incarcerated in a Chinese prison. Congressmen Barney Frank and Christopher Cox, along with Jianli’s wife, Christina Fu, and his lawyer, held a press conference to commemorate the occasion, to review the state of human rights in China, and to call for a medical parole for Jianli, who suffered a debilitating stroke in July.
Jianli, a permanent U.S. resident, is founder of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century. A former member of China’s Communist party, Jianli eventually became skeptical of the repressive Chinese government and emigrated to America in 1986 to study at Berkeley and Harvard. He returned to China in June of 1989 to support students during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Because of his involvement he was blacklisted and exiled by Beijing. Jianli fled to America, where he became a permanent resident under a special program for Tiananmen Square activists.
