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【大纪元3月7日讯】80多位美国国会议员2月21日联名致信中国驻美大使杨洁篪，要求中共立即释放被非法拘押在中国扬州拘留所的美国公民查尔斯李(李祥春)。这次联署签名呼吁活动由美国国会加州众议员安娜 G.艾舒(Anna G. Eshoo)在2月初发起，不到两周，超过八十位美国国会议签名支持该倡议。新唐人电视2月20日采访了国会议员安娜.艾舒。安娜议员强调中国政府应该无条件释放李祥春﹐并指出衡量一个国家是否伟大的最重要标准就是这个国家的政府是否善待它的人民。以下为访谈实录。
问﹕能谈谈您致同僚们(关于美国公民李祥春被关押一事﹐译者注)的信吗﹖
答﹕我函邀众院的同事们与我一起致信中国驻美使馆﹐表达我们对李博士所遭受的不公正待遇的强烈不满。我为此信在国会中所引起的强烈反响感到震动。包括民主和共和两党在内的共83位议员在信上署名。这封信目前已转交给中国驻美大使﹐督促他通过一切可行的方式恢复李博士的人生自由﹐并允许他返回美国。李博士是美国公民﹐住在门洛公园市﹐是我所在选区的选民。这次我与其他83位众院的议员联署签名已使李博士在众院内赢得了众多的朋友和支持﹐我为此感到非常地骄傲。我同时认为这也使中国政府充分地意识到我们对此事的关注以及对要求释放李博士的强烈态度。
问﹕能预料一下这封信的后果吗﹖
答﹕信将直接送交中国驻美大使。这封信代表着多重的含义。首先﹐此信将显示除了安娜.艾舒之外﹐其他众多众院议员对此事的关切﹐表明我们将拭目以待﹐密切关注这个美国公民被以莫须有的罪名起了诉而面临判处15年监禁的事件﹐另外﹐我们认为中方完全没有指控李博士任何罪名的任何证据。我们将坚定地站在李博士的一边。他是一名美国公民﹐必须早安地回到美国。
问﹕您与中国政府有过接触吗﹖
答﹕我曾多次与中国政府接触过﹐主要是关于美国公民在人权问题上一次又一次所受到的中国政府的不公正待遇。在李博士与其他相关法轮功成员的案例上﹐我们不认为在当今这个尊重信仰自由的时代﹐任何政府有权对待不同信仰者实行镇压。我希望中国政府能坦承他们对李博士的错误指控以获得国际社会的谅解。我认为这才是问题的关键所在﹐我们将不断朝此方向努力。
问﹕您与美国国务院有过联系吗﹖
答﹕有﹐但尚未得到国务院方面的回复。我们一直让国务院方面了解我们所作的努力。当然了﹐一封由84名众院议员联署的信件一定会引起国务院和中国方面的重视的。我们所作的一切努力都将围绕在促使李博士获释﹐重获自由﹐并平安地返回美国。我们一刻都没有认同过中方强加在李博士头上的重罪。李博士已在监禁中﹐我们只希望他能尽快获释并重返美国。
问﹕在我们早些时候采访法轮功学员时﹐他们对美方只被允许每月一次30分钟与李博士进行非常短暂的接触表示关切﹐他们非常担心在每月的其他时间中会发生什么﹐中方很可能制造伪证。
答﹕尽管我们还是要问清为什么李博士会被关押﹐因何被指控﹐中方已采取了哪些步骤等等问题。但在我看来﹐中国政府已经对此事单方面做出了结论。我不认为他们还处于考虑阶段﹐他们已经作了在我们看来不正确也不合情理的指控。他们在未经正式法律程序之前就将李博士关押﹐并准备将其判处15年监禁的重刑。这是完全不公平的。这就是为什么84位众议员要一起说﹕这么做没有道理﹐放了他﹗
问﹕您认为美国政府在此问题上能做些什么﹖
答﹕我认为我们正在做我们所应该做的。我们要用一切方式去呼吁﹐通过各种渠道进行喊话﹐持续﹐坚定地以尊重他们的方式向他们施加压力﹐毫不间断地密切关注此事。李博士不获释放﹐决不罢休。这就是我们所应该做的﹐所正在做的﹐和必须去做的。
问﹕下一步将如何办﹖
答﹕下一步将看中方的反映。他们必须对84位议员的联名致信做出回复。最痛快和受欢迎的回复当然是他们释放李博士的通知。我们非常焦虑地在等待他们的答复。
问﹕中国政府对法轮功的镇压已持续了三个多年头﹐现在他们居然抓捕练习法轮功的美国公民﹐您对此有何看法﹖
答﹕在过去几年中有好几个美国公民因练习法轮功而被中国政府关押或监禁的案例。每次营救行动我都参加了﹐每次营救都获得了成功。除了总体上的努力非常重要之外﹐其中每个案件都应得到足够的重视﹐因为每个案件都是人命关天。我们所做的一切就是在告诉中国政府﹕如果你确实想成为一个好政府﹐你就应该善待你的人民。这就是我们的民主原则﹐这就是为什么我们要挺身而出﹐因为这是我们作为一个民主国家所能做的最好的出口。我们不仅仅在对待中国政府上如此﹐也同样地对待世界上其他类似的政府。衡量一个国家是否伟大的最重要标准就是这个国家的政府是否善待它的人民。正因为此我认为李博士这件事非常重要。
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An Interview with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo:
Q: Can you tell us about the Dear Colleague Letter?
Eshoo: I invited my colleagues to join with me in sending a letter to the Chinese Ambassador in America, our very strong objection to what’s happening to Dr. Li. I am overwhelmed by the support generated with the member of the congress. 83 member of the House, on bipartisan basis, both republicans and democrats, signed the letter that we are now sending to the Chinese Ambassador urging him to do everything he can to see to it to Dr. Li to be released and be allowed to return to America. He is a US citizen, he resides in Menlo Park, and he is my constituent. I think with securing 83 other members of Congress to sign on means he has many friends in the Congress to speak on his behalf. I’m very proud of that. I also think it presents a very full and noticeable case to the Chinese government that we are watching and that we insist on his release.
Q: What will happen with the letter?
Eshoo: It’ll go directly to the Chinese Ambassador. The letter serves more than on purpose. It means that many members of Congress now have weighed in, not just Anna Eshoo, that we are watching and this is of high importance to us, that we will stay on this case of this American citizen who we believe have been falsely charged, and what he faces is 15 years imprisonment. So we do not believe there is evidence against Dr. Li that warrants anything much less a 15-year prison sentence. We are going to continue to stand next to Dr. Li, he is an American citizen and we insist his safe return.
Q: Have you contacted Chinese government?
Eshoo: I have contacted Chinese government many times. It centers in and around American citizens and how they have been treated by the Chinese government on many fronts, certainly in terms of human rights, over and over again. On this case Dr. Li, as has been the cases with others, that members of Falun Gong their beliefs, their practices, that we do not believe in this great democracy where people can express themselves their belief, their practices, that warrants the utmost, in terms of a government being punitive. I think the Chinese government should be looking for ways for their acceptance, their broad acceptance in the world community. So they have the opportunity to write the wrong they have imposed on Dr. Li. That’s what it is about and we’ll stay on it.
Q: Have you contacted US State Department?
Eshoo: We haven’t heard back from State Department. We have kept the State Department informed of our efforts. Certainly a letter signed by 84 members of Congress will more get their attention, as should the Chinese government. This is all about freeing Dr, Li, releasing him and allowing him to come back to the U.S., and we do not for one moment agree with the charges have been brought against him and this extraordinary penalty that is hanging over his head. He is imprisoned now, he is held. So we want to see his swift release and his return to the US.
Q: It is said that the US Consulate in China can only visit Dr. Charles Li for 30 minutes per month. What do you think of that?
Eshoo: It is not becoming the Chinese government treat anyone right. I think there is recognition on that. That’s very unusual that 84 members signed onto a letter. Sometimes there are 4, sometimes there are 2, maybe 8 or 9. 84 members of congress is a very clear signal to the Chinese government in this case about Dr. Li. I am proud of leading the effort. But it becomes an even more important effort when so many congress members say, “we care as well, and we insist that Dr. Li is released.” So I am going to remain positive that the Chinese government will do the right thing. They have done the wrong thing with Dr. Li, as they have with others. But they have the opportunity to make the situation right to release him and allow him to return to US with his full citizen of our great country.
Q: When we interviewed Falun Gong practitioners early, they expressed concerns of the very short visit by US officials. They worry about what will happen during the rest of the 30 days when Dr. Charles Li was not in contact with anyone. The Chinese government could make up charges and evidences.
Eshoo: In my view, the Chinese government has reached the conclusion that they wanted to reach. I don’t think they are in the process of thinking about it. They have already leveled charges that we found to be inappropriate and not correct, and they are keeping him imprisoned before they take him to a trial where they have already made up their minds where he will certainly be imprisonment for at least 15 years. This is not a fair process. Of course there should be cause of concerns about why he is being held, what the charges have been brought against him, about the steps the Chinese government has already taken. These are all grieve concerns, that’s why 84 members of congress say that’s not right. Release him.
Q: What do you think US government can do to gain the release of Dr. Li?
Eshoo: I think where we are and what we are doing is right thing to do. So every tool at our disposal needs to be brought there, we need to speak up, we need to do it in multitude voices, not just a few, we need to continue to apply the pressure on the government, very respectfully but very firmly. We will stay on this, we will watch and we will not be satisfied until Dr. Li is released. That’s what we should do, what we are doing and must continue to do.
Q: What’s the next step?
Eshoo: The next step is the Chinese government must do. They have to respond to a letter from 84 congress members. The ball is as we say in their court. We will wait for their response and then analyze what they say to us. The swiftest and most welcomed response is in their announcement that they will release Dr. Li. So we’ll anxiously wait for their responses.
Q: The Chinese government has been persecuting Falun Gong practice for over three years, and now they are arresting U.S. citizen for practicing Falun Gong. What do you think of this?
Eshoo: There have been handful cases over the last few years relating to Falun Gong practitioners who are U.S. citizens that have been arrested and held by the Chinese government. Every time I’ve weighed in and I think in every case we have been successful. But the larger part of this is, these are all very important. Each case is important because each case is human being, and what we have to stay on is being instructive to the Chinese government that if in fact you want to be a great nation, the way you come to greatness is how you treat your own people. Those are the principles of our democracy, and the greatest export that we have as a country is democracy. That’s why we stand up. That why we object not only to the Chinese government, but also to other government in the world. The greatest measure of the greatness of a nation is how it treats its people. That’s why I think it’s important.
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