MEDIA ALERT FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
NEWS CONFERENCE ON THE ARREST CASE OF LEADING CHINESE DISSIDENT, ZHOU YONGJUN, STUDENT LEADER IN TIANANMEN SQUARE UPRISING OF 1989
Co-hosts: China Support Network (CSN); China Judicial Watch (CJW);Rescue Alliance for Zhou Yongjun (RAZY); and theTear Down This Wall Foundation (TDTWF)
Pro-Chinese democracy campaigners, legal experts, and dissidents will hold a news conference on Friday, September 18, 2009 with specific focus on the "outrageous" case in which Chinese authorities now hold Tiananmen Square student leader Zhou Yongjun, a U.S.-based father of two U.S. citizen children, in prison for his third time as a political prisoner under Chinese state repression.
WHO: Presenters include -Li Jinjin, a student leader from the Tiananmen uprising, who became a lawyer and chief of China Judicial Watch;Ning Ye, a prominent dissident attorney, accomplished commentator and public speaker;John Kusumi, the founder and director emeritus of the China Support Network;Yuewei Zhang, the fiance of Zhou Yongjun on behalf of his U.S. and China-based families.
WHAT: Presenters will make it clear that China's government lacks a leg to stand on as they incarcerate Zhou for a third time.
Attorney Ning Ye will explore the ominous legal precedent for Hong Kong -- a challenge posed by this case -- where HK immigration authorities acted against the rule of law by extraditing Zhou to Mainland China with no legal basis or proceedings whatsoever.
The fiance of Zhou Yongjun will bring out examples of persecution -- threats, harrassment, and intimidation -- directed against Zhou's family, and the impact of the case there.
In the upshot, this capricious, arbitrary instance of rule by fiat will be decried as direct continuation of Tiananmen Square political persecution, and there will be announcement of next steps as the Rescue Alliance pursues justice in this case.
Communist China and Hong Kong immigration authorities will certainly be criticized. As time permits, the U.S. State Department might be criticized. And, the New York Times and its columnist, Tom Friedman, might be criticized.
WHERE: The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003In Manhattan, that's E. 20th St between Park and 3rd Avenues.
WHEN: 12:00 to 2:00pm on Friday the 18th of September, 2009.
BACKGROUND: The Tiananmen Square massacre is a famous occasion in Chinese history, also broadcast to the world by television networks. Beginning on April 17, 1989, the college students of Beijing Universities occupied Tiananmen Square and became the vanguard of a nationwide uprising in favor of freedom, democracy, human rights, and less corruption. The Communist Party of China, which still rules today, sent its army and used live ammunition to clear the square, killing about 3,000 unarmed protestors in Beijing. This is also known as the "June 4" massacre for the day--June 4, 1989--when the army ended the uprising.
Books about Tiananmen Square have plenty to say about the prominent roles played by Zhou Yongjun, the political prisoner who is the focus of concern at this newser; and Li Jinjin, one of the presenters slated to appear at this Friday's news conference. Zhou was first arrested in 1989 and jailed until 1991. He moved to the United States, and attempted a return to China in 1998, when he was arrested again and sentenced to three years in a labor camp. Released in 2001, he returned to the U.S. in 2002. Now is his third prison term in China; for details of the case, attend the news conference.
The China Support Network was among hundreds of groups that sprung up to protest, to push back, and to respond after the massacre. In less than two months, it rose to become the only American-run group that was integrated among Chinese dissidents, functioning as political handlers for top Chinese dissidents. Its other credits include coordinating simultaneous activities in over 150 cities; organizing thousands to march on the Chinese embassy in Washington; and collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures on a joint petition with Amnesty International.
The Tear Down This Wall Foundation is a Chinese dissident group which is running an art exhibit and they have provided the venue at the National Arts Club for this news conference. They are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Foundation has been co-sponsored by numerous well known Chinese dissidents, including Fang Lizhi, Liu Gang, Wang Dan, Wang Juntao, Wei Jingsheng, Xiong Yan, and Xu Wenli.
Their point is to say that The Wall is still there for those under Communism in China. We still need to tear down this wall. About the art exhibit, see also an earlier announcement from the Foundation, at: http://www.duping.net/XHC/show.php?bbs=11&post=998854
WHO: Presenters include -Li Jinjin, a student leader from the Tiananmen uprising, who became a lawyer and chief of China Judicial Watch;Ning Ye, a prominent dissident attorney, accomplished commentator and public speaker;John Kusumi, the founder and director emeritus of the China Support Network;Yuewei Zhang, the fiance of Zhou Yongjun on behalf of his U.S. and China-based families.
WHAT: Presenters will make it clear that China's government lacks a leg to stand on as they incarcerate Zhou for a third time.
Attorney Ning Ye will explore the ominous legal precedent for Hong Kong -- a challenge posed by this case -- where HK immigration authorities acted against the rule of law by extraditing Zhou to Mainland China with no legal basis or proceedings whatsoever.
The fiance of Zhou Yongjun will bring out examples of persecution -- threats, harrassment, and intimidation -- directed against Zhou's family, and the impact of the case there.
In the upshot, this capricious, arbitrary instance of rule by fiat will be decried as direct continuation of Tiananmen Square political persecution, and there will be announcement of next steps as the Rescue Alliance pursues justice in this case.
Communist China and Hong Kong immigration authorities will certainly be criticized. As time permits, the U.S. State Department might be criticized. And, the New York Times and its columnist, Tom Friedman, might be criticized.
WHERE: The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003In Manhattan, that's E. 20th St between Park and 3rd Avenues.
WHEN: 12:00 to 2:00pm on Friday the 18th of September, 2009.
BACKGROUND: The Tiananmen Square massacre is a famous occasion in Chinese history, also broadcast to the world by television networks. Beginning on April 17, 1989, the college students of Beijing Universities occupied Tiananmen Square and became the vanguard of a nationwide uprising in favor of freedom, democracy, human rights, and less corruption. The Communist Party of China, which still rules today, sent its army and used live ammunition to clear the square, killing about 3,000 unarmed protestors in Beijing. This is also known as the "June 4" massacre for the day--June 4, 1989--when the army ended the uprising.
Books about Tiananmen Square have plenty to say about the prominent roles played by Zhou Yongjun, the political prisoner who is the focus of concern at this newser; and Li Jinjin, one of the presenters slated to appear at this Friday's news conference. Zhou was first arrested in 1989 and jailed until 1991. He moved to the United States, and attempted a return to China in 1998, when he was arrested again and sentenced to three years in a labor camp. Released in 2001, he returned to the U.S. in 2002. Now is his third prison term in China; for details of the case, attend the news conference.
The China Support Network was among hundreds of groups that sprung up to protest, to push back, and to respond after the massacre. In less than two months, it rose to become the only American-run group that was integrated among Chinese dissidents, functioning as political handlers for top Chinese dissidents. Its other credits include coordinating simultaneous activities in over 150 cities; organizing thousands to march on the Chinese embassy in Washington; and collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures on a joint petition with Amnesty International.
The Tear Down This Wall Foundation is a Chinese dissident group which is running an art exhibit and they have provided the venue at the National Arts Club for this news conference. They are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Foundation has been co-sponsored by numerous well known Chinese dissidents, including Fang Lizhi, Liu Gang, Wang Dan, Wang Juntao, Wei Jingsheng, Xiong Yan, and Xu Wenli.
Their point is to say that The Wall is still there for those under Communism in China. We still need to tear down this wall. About the art exhibit, see also an earlier announcement from the Foundation, at: http://www.duping.net/XHC/show.php?bbs=11&post=998854
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