Group Seeks Release of Academics in China

More than 100 Hong Kong-based academics called on Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Monday to release several scholars detained without explanation by mainland authorities in recent months.

An open letter from the academics, which expressed “deep concern” over the arrests and the secrecy surrounding them, concluded with a plea that those who have been detained be either released or formally charged and given the right to defend themselves.

Some of the detained scholars have strong American ties. The letter was organized by a group from City University of Hong Kong, where one of the detainees, Li Shaomin, is a member of the business faculty. Li, a U.S. citizen, was picked up by mainland authorities Feb. 25 in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Two weeks before, Gao Zhan, a researcher at American University in Washington, was detained as she was leaving China after a brief visit. Gao was subsequently arrested on charges of spying for unspecified foreign intelligence agencies. Gao’s 5-year-old son is an American citizen and her husband, Xue Donghua, took the oath of citizenship shortly after she was detained.

The letter is the second public appeal to Jiang by China scholars in three weeks. On April 17, a letter signed by nearly 400 academics from 14 countries was released at a New York news conference. That letter singled out Li, Gao and a third detainee, Xu Zerong, an Oxford-educated social scientist affiliated with Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, who was detained last year.

The detentions have unleashed consternation and uncertainty among Western-based China scholars largely because there appears to be no detectable pattern or explanation.

Some China experts speculate that the trend could be part of turf battles among China’s security agencies. Others believe there may be a Taiwan link to the detentions, and still others say they are baffled.

Last month, the U.S. State Department cautioned Americans, especially those of Chinese origin, that travel to the mainland could be risky for anyone who had written critically about Chinese government policies or had ties to Taiwan.

Although Monday’s letter addressed all cases involving detained scholars, it concentrated on the case of Li.

Li’s wife, Liu Yingli, said at a news conference that she believed her husband’s arrest might be part of a campaign by Beijing to cow all China scholars.

“This is not a personal freedom issue, it is an academic freedom issue,” said Liu, herself an academic. “It’s an issue all over the world. If someone’s work is China-related, then they may be the next one. As academics in Hong Kong, we’re concerned about doing research in China.”

Liu said she had had no direct contact with her husband since his detention, although U.S. diplomats have seen him on three occasions, the last time eight days ago.

“I was told he appears to be in good health,” she said.

In a separate interview with CNN, Liu said her husband traveled to China frequently and was detained on what she described as a “very normal overnight trip to Shenzhen.” After five days, she got a call from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing informing her of Li’s arrest.

During the news conference, she criticized Hong Kong authorities for not acting more forcefully on her husband’s behalf. Government officials said they were mystified by the accusation, insisting that she personally had requested that the case be dropped, apparently after Li had been located by the embassy.