MCLC: Tiananmen veteran's relatives held

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Bill Goldman (billgoldman at mac.com)
Subject: Tiananmen veteran's relatives held
***********************************************************

Source: Guardian (8/6/12):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/08/china-police-detain-tiananmen-v
eteran-relatives

Chinese police detain Tiananmen Square veteran's
relatives
Family members questioned circumstances of Li Wangyang's reported suicide
in hospital, reports human rights group
By Tania Branigan in Beijing

Relatives of a Tiananmen Square protest veteran have been detained by
police after raising concerns that he died in strange circumstances, a
rights group has said.

Li Wangyang was found dead in a hospital ward in Shaoyang, central Hunan
province, on Wednesday, two days after the anniversary of the brutal
crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy protests. He had a noose around his
neck and local officials said he had killed himself.

But thousands of people have signed an online petition calling for an
investigation into his death after relatives said his feet were on the
floor when he was found and questioned whether he was physically able to
hang himself given his ill health.

Li, 62, had spent more than 22 years in jail for his role in the protests
in Beijing, but was released last year. He was blind, had severe hearing
difficulties and was being treated for poor health.

Human Rights in China said police had taken Li's sister Li Wangling and
her husband Zhao Baozhu to a hotel and were holding them there, citing an
unnamed source who said the couple felt isolated and feared for their
safety.

Earlier this week Zhao told the Los Angeles Times: "[Li] could barely hold
a bowl without his hands shaking Š how could this happen when there were
security guards watching him? We have many questions
<http://www.theage.com.au/world/tiananmen-activist-dies-in-chinese-hospital
-20120607-1zye9.html>."

The source told the group police had agreed to delay the cremation of Li's
body and allow the couple to watch the postmortem. But they have been
unable to contact Guangzhou rights lawyer Tang Jingling since hiring him
to represent them. Tang's current whereabouts are unknown, the group added.

"HRIC is deeply concerned about the safety of Li's sister and
brother-in-law and urges that the authorities immediately restore their
personal freedom and ensure the right of Li's family to retain legal
representation of their own choosing," the group said in a statement.
Calls to police in Shaoyang were not answered.

Li was jailed for instigating counter-revolutionary propaganda after
co-founding the Labour Autonomous Union to support the student protestors
in 1989. When he was released in 2000 he sued for compensation ­ earning
himself another lengthy sentence for the same crime.

In his last interview, with Hong Kong cable television, Li described being
tortured but said he had never regretted supporting the students. "Even if
I were beheaded, I would not regret it
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lClvj9J5m7E&feature=youtu.be>. For
democracy and the survival of the country, the ordinary man should take
responsibility," he said.

"I believe in the future China will be on the path of freedom and
democracy and the implementation of a multi-party system. The date is not
so far away."

========================================================
From: Bill Goldman (billgoldman at mac.com)
Subject: Activist's hospital death

Source: The Guardian (6/7/12):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/07/pressure-china-investigate-acti
vist-hospital-death

Pressure grows on China to investigate activist's hospital death
Thousands sign petition over alleged suicide of Li Wangyang, imprisoned
for 22 years after Tiananmen Square crackdown

Online petitioners have stepped up pressure on China to investigate the
death in hospital of a labour activist after he spent more than 22 years
in jail for his role in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing.

Li Wangyang, who was only released from prison last year, was found dead
in a hospital ward in Shaoyang city in Hunan province on Wednesday, his
neck tied with a noose made from cotton bandages. Authorities said it was
suicide.

He was being treated for deteriorating health, but details were not
available. The group Human Rights in China said Li lost his sight and
hearing as a result of torture during his years behind bars.

"We saw that his body was still hanging by the window, and his two feet
were clearly still standing on the ground. But they [hospital staff] did
not let us get near him Š Then they dragged his body away," Zhao Baozhu,
Li's brother-in-law, was quoted as saying by Human Rights in China.

As of Thursday afternoon, 2,700 people had signed an online petition,
including prominent Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/ai-weiwei>, scholars, lawyers and
writers who called for an authorized forensic investigation.

Li had been one of the first Chinese activists to push for independent
labour unions in China, but was punished after the 4 June 1989 crackdown
for his participation in the pro-democracy movement.

Li's death comes after the high-profile case of blind activist Chen
Guangcheng <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/chen-guangcheng>, whose escape
from village confinement and subsequent flight to freedom in the US became
a diplomatic flashpoint and raised global awareness of China's poor human
rights record.

Hong Kong's Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said a
number of rights activists, lawyers and citizens had arrived in Shaoyang
to assist the family in its bid for justice, but many were unreachable and
had probably been detained by authorities.

"It's very difficult to accept the official explanation of events," said
Wen Yunchao, a prominent Chinese blogger and journalist now based in Hong
Kong who helped initiate the online petition.

Several dozen activists and lawmakers in Hong Kong protested outside
Beijing's liaison office, carrying white flowers.
Just last week, Li had said in a television interview that he'd never
regretted his fight for justice.

"The souls of the martyrs deserve to finally find some peace," said Li,
referring to the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent crackdown in
which hundreds, if not thousands, were killed.