A Chinese American's Letter to Cambodian Officials

Dear Officials of Cambodia,

I am writing to you out of my deep concern for the two Falun Gong practitioners who were recently deported back to Mainland China by the Cambodian government. This breaks my heart, knowing the torture and misery these two people face after the deportation. I strongly urge you to look into this issue and help them if you can.

Li, Guojun and his wife Zhang Xinyi are former residents of Changsha City. They escaped from China to Phnom Penh after Chinese President Jiang Zemin launched the persecution campaign against Falun Gong in July 1999. They were having a new life in Cambodia. They had acquired the United Nations refugee status before being deported.

It pains everyone's heart to know that two peaceful lives were forcefully sent back to where they made so many efforts to escape. They did nothing wrong. Practicing Falun Gong is not wrong. It is legal and widely recognized everywhere in the world, except China. Jiang Zemin, fearing international criticism, is now trying every means to deceive or coerce other governments to co-operate with him in persecuting innocent Falun Gong practitioners. Meanwhile, he uses every way he can to torture and force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief.

Deporting Li and his wife back to China is equivalent to sending two survivors of the torture of the Nazis back to the concentration camp! I'm deeply worried about their situation. Having grown up in Mainland China, I know how hard Jiang Zemin's regime retaliates against people who manage to escape from its control. Jiang Zemin can do anything. He rose to power after brutally killing students on Tiananmen Square in 1989.

I'm sure that, helping Jiang with killing his own people and good people who merely want to be better through practicing Falun Gong, is the last thing you would like to do. Please reverse this unfortunate mistake. This would also be good for Cambodia. In ancient China, people believe that everything is based on virtue, and that good people will be rewarded with good fortune. Please kindly help the two innocent Falun Gong practitioners. Please get to know more about the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin in China. I'm certain that, upon knowing the truth and facts of the persecution, you'll feel as worried and anxious for these two people as I do.

Thank you for your attention.

(name omitted to avoid Chinese consulate's harassment)

A deeply concerned Chinese in the United States