Print
this articleZhang Hongbao in Blast Furnace
A Documentary on How the Outstanding Spiritual Leader
Transformed to a Political Leader
Agence France Presse: Chinese Mystical Leader Detained in U.S. Launches Hunger
Strike
กก
WASHINGTON, Dec 19,
2000 -- (Agence France Presse)
The leader of China's mystical Zhonggong group said Monday he had launched a
hunger strike, claiming he was facing inhumane jail conditions while pressing
his appeal for asylum in the United States.
Zhang Hongbao, 46, was granted the right to remain in the United States in
September, but his asylum request is still pending and he remains in detention
in Guam.
China has vigorously opposed his application, branding him a criminal and has
accused him of raping several followers and demanded his deportation.
Zhang said in a statement received here that he had started to refuse food on
December 14 and claimed his action had already led to an improvement in his
conditions.
"The ultimate goal of this hunger strike is to demand my freedom according to
the decision by the immigration court in Hawaii," he wrote in a letter released
through dissident organizations.
"I hope my overdue release be realized before the end of the Clinton
administration," he said, adding that only by giving him freedom could officials
prove that US justice was impartial and free of political influence.
The US Justice Department refused to comment on individual cases, but said that
Zhang had been granted protection by virtue of a law which grants refuge to
people deemed likely to face torture in their homelands.
A department official said allegations against Zhang were being carefully
studied, before a decision could be made on the asylum request.
A court in Guam ruled in December ruled that Zhang should remain in detention
because his life could be placed in danger if freed.
But human rights groups claim that move was an attempt to dodge the political
fallout of the case, and its potential impact on U.S.-China relations.
Zhonggong, along with the better known Falun Gong, is considered a major threat
to Communist Party rule.
Rooted in traditional Chinese martial arts exercises, both have commanded a
following of tens of millions, many disillusioned by growing corruption and
social problems in China.
China banned the Falun Gong movement in July last year and has since jailed core
leaders for up to 18 years and sent tens of thousands to re-education camps.
((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)
กก