Representative Grace F. Napolitano Representing the 38th District of California

For Immediate Release                                              Press contact: Jeremy Cogan, 202-225-5256
May 25, 2006                                                                                       jeremy.cogan@mail.house.gov
     

House International Relations Committee Passes Resolution Supporting La Puente Resident’s Father Detained in China
   
   
(Washington D.C.)- Today the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) passed H. Res. 794, recognizing the 17th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square.  The resolution includes language introduced by Representative Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) supporting her La Puente constituent.

 

“Dr. Wang’s daughter and son are my constituents.  When they first made me aware of this case, I was eager to help in any way I could,” commented Napolitano.

 

In June of 2002, Dr. Wang was kidnapped from Vietnam, beaten and taken into China by armed assailants.  Dr. Wang was abducted by the Chinese Authorities and held in solitary confinement for six months, during which time that government denied any knowledge of his whereabouts.  In December 2002, the Chinese government reversed itself and acknowledged he had been in custody.  Dr. Wang was then issued a life sentence after a closed half day trial.  He had been denied adequate time to prepare his defense, refused a trial before an independent and impartial tribunal, and rejected the right to call witnesses on his own behalf or cross-examine witnesses testifying against him.  To date, the Chinese government has refused to release any evidence to substantiate Dr. Wang’s alleged crimes. 

 

Dr. Wang is currently being held in Shaoguan prison in Guangdong Province.  Prison authorities continue to deny Dr. Wang access to Western medicine for his serious health issues, which include gastritis and phlebitis.  “This treatment is deplorable.  We must not allow Dr. Wang to suffer unjustly, spending the rest of his life in a 4 x 4 x 4 foot cell,” stated Napolitano.

 

The resolution, which specifically calls for Dr. Wang’s release by the Chinese government, also recognizes that his arrest and imprisonment has been recognized by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as a violation of international law.  These actions follow a prior 2004 resolution authored by Napolitano and passed by the House of Representatives, and efforts taken by the British House of Commons, Canadian Foreign Minister, and Taiwanese Legislature on Dr. Wang’s behalf.

 

“I thank the Members of the International Relations Committee who supported this bipartisan resolution and I anticipate the bill coming to the House floor soon for a vote on final passage.  My staff and I will continue to work on this critical issue, and I look forward to Dr. Wang’s release and return to his family,” concluded Napolitano.

(###)
     
 

Home | Press List