Editors' Note: This open letter, composed on Oct. 29, asserts that Mr. Jia Jia, whose advocacy of democracy for China and outspoken criticism of the Chinese Communist Party have put him at peril, is in Hong Kong. News came on Thursday afternoon that Jia has arrived in Thailand. For the moment he is safe. However, he is still in imminent danger of deportation to the People's Republic of China, and still requires asylum.
29th October 2006
Open Letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair Re: Appeal for Rescuing Mr Jia Jia
Dear Prime Minister,
In support of Mr Edward McMillan-Scott's appeal to the UK Government, we are writing to appeal to you for help for Mr. Jia Jia who is currently stranded in Hong Kong, having failed to obtain political asylum from the government of Taiwan. On the 22nd of October, 2006, Mr. Jia went to Taiwan as a member of a tourist group and left the group soon after landing in Taipei. Two days later he requested political asylum from the Taiwan government. Due to intense pressure from the Chinese government, and other unknown reasons, the Taiwan government decided to deport Mr. Jia to Mainland China. With the help people in Hong Kong, however, he got to stay in Hong Kong for 7 days on a transit visa. Now Mr. Jia has only 3 days left on his visa which will expire on Tuesday, 2 November, and he will have to return to China after that. The situation is very critical.
Mr. Jia is the general secretary of China Shanxi Science and Technology Experts's Association and legal representative. He is also the board director of GOLD Experts's Services Co. Ltd, the director of National Experts Network Centre, the leader of the Strategy Team for the Chinese Experts Committee. The basis of Mr. Jia's asylum application is that he had openly denounced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and brought with him a name list of several hundred people who wanted to renounce their membership in the CCP or its affiliate organizations. He also announced that in the past two years he had been distributing the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party", a book banned in China which has led to millions of people to quit the CCP and its affiliate organizations. Mr. Jia also announced that he would like to join the Chinese overseas prodemocracy movement to fight for a free and democratic China. By so doing, he would no doubt face persecution if he were to be returned to China.
Last year, in Shi Jia Zhuang, China, because she got possession of a copy of "Nine Commentaries," Ms. Sun Li was sentenced to 5 years in prison. On 24th of January this year, the Chinese Public Security Bureau announced "The Act of National Public Security Bureau for Punishing Falun Gong for distributing 'the Nine Commentaries'", which stipulates severe punishment on anyone for distributing the book and for publicly quitting the CCP, the Youth League, or the Young Pioneers. There has already been information that the Chinese police have searched Mr. Jia's office. If Mr. Jia were to be sent back to China, he would be sentenced to prison with a long sentence or even be given the death penalty.
As a group of sympathetic Chinese living in Great Britain, we would like to appeal to you, both on humanitarian grounds and with the hope for your sympathy for the Chinese people's struggle for freedom and democracy, to provide immediate help to rescue Mr. Jia Jia, hopefully by granting him political asylum.
Mr. Blair, almost just a year ago today, we wrote to you with the news that about 5 million Chinese people had denounced their membership in the CCP and its affiliate organizations. Since then the number of departures from communism has been steadily increasing, and by now nearly 15 million of them have already done so. The fall of communism in China is only a question of time. So, here again we appeal to you for extending help for our cause, and this time by protecting Mr. Jia, a brave defector from communism.
Thank you very much for your time.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Yi Xu
On behalf of the Federation of Saying "Goodbye" to CCP
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