Rights activists urge lawmakers to press Beijing about Yang

The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會) yesterday held a press conference to urge legislators to convey their concern to Beijing over the fate of former pro-democracy student leader Yang Jianli (楊建利), who was arrested when he tried to enter China on Apr. 27 and has not been heard from again.

Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), the president of the association, said that Yang was one of the student leaders during the Tiananmen Square student movement back in 1989.

After the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4 that year, Yang was exiled to the US and put on China's list of unwelcome people, along with 48 other pro-democracy activists.

After Yang received his doctorate degree in mathematics from the University of California (Berkeley) in 1991, he had twice tried to apply to the Chinese government to be allowed into the country -- in 1996 and 1999 -- but both his applications were denied.

Lin said that Yang was arrested at Yunnan Airport on Apr. 27 for using a fake passport and he had not been heard from again. However, the Chinese government never admitted that they had arrested Yang.

"As many of our lawmakers are going to visit China during the legislative recess, we sincerely urge them to show their concern over this issue and discuss it with Chinese officials when they meet during their visits," said Lin.

"Yang was just trying to go home, but the communists took his basic human rights away without blinking. We must show our concern."

According to Lin, the association will invite as many lawmakers as possible to endorse an official statement to China that will urge the government to free Yang as soon as possible.

"We will announce the progress of the endorsement process in two to three weeks, probably at another press conference," Lin said.