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Successfully Rescued: Young Chinese Democratic Party Leader Yuan Bin Arrives in the United CCC Caring for China Center News ¨C December 14, Providence, RI ¨C Yuan Bin, a young leader of the Chinese Democratic Party (CDP) who was handicapped in prison, has successfully departed China and arrived in the U.S. on December 14. Yuan Bin, 26, having been educated in Belarus, became one of the earliest members of the CDP in 1998. On November 9, 1998, the Tianjin branch of the CDP was founded. A few days later Yuan was introduced into the Party by Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin. By December he had been arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. After Yuan's release on December 14, 2002, he was instructed by CDP leader He Depu to go to Southeast Asia and expand CDP organizations there. Because Yuan was effective, he soon attracted the attention of Chinese officials in Thailand. In June 2002 the Chinese kidnapped Yuan and returned him to China along the Mekong River, setting a dangerous precedent for the abduction abroad of Chinese dissidents. On June 20 of that year, Yuan entered the Zhenjiang city jail. Chinese agents suspected that Yuan knew many CDP secrets and tortured him. In the course of his imprisonment Yuan's spine was damaged, causing permanent handicap. His skeletal deformities have also affected his heart functions. The Chinese government then sentenced him to 21 months of reeducation by hard labor. On January 9, 2004, Yuan was released. Since then, whether he was furthering his studies or visiting his ailing mother, he was constantly harassed by Chinese policemen and on several occasions detained. In November of this year, exile organizations of the CDP, in order to ensure Yuan's safety, secretly transferred him to the China-Myanmar-Laos border. He immediately established a CDP exile branch in Myanmar. When he entered Thailand on December 2, he was detained by Thai police in Chiang Saen of Chiang Rae Province. On December 3, 2004, the overseas exiles headquarters of the CDP was established, and Yuan was elected as the youngest member of the party's executive committee. On the same day the headquarters learned of Yuan's detention and immediately contacted the U.S. government, former Human Rights Watch president Robert Bernstein, and Duihua Foundation president John Kamm for aid. Subsequently the CDP contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington D.C. and Bangkok. With the help of these organizations and individuals, plus the Diocese of Providence's Office of Community Services and Advocacy, Yuan Bin has arrived in Providence, RI on December 14. Xu Wenli of the CDP overseas headquarters and Caring for China Center, on behalf of all exiled members of the CDP, would like to welcome Yuan Bin and thank these friends as well as the Thai government who have done so much to ensure Yuan's safety. For more information, contact Xu Wenli: £¨O£©401£863£9768 £¨H£©401£274£5120 (12/14/2004 17:12) |