Dissident: China under martial law; U.S. failing democratic forces
A Chinese democracy activist told Congress last week that China is under martial law as part of security preparations for the August Olympic Games.
Yang Jianli, a Tiananmen democracy advocate in 1989, fled the country and was arrested and charged with espionage in 2002 before being release in 2007.
Chinese pro-democracy activist Yang Jianli at a news conference in Washington on Aug. 21, 2007, after serving five years in a Chinese prison. Left to right are Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, Yang's wife, Christine Fu, Yang and their son, Aaron.
AP Photo/Dennis Cook
Now at Harvard and president of the Initiatives for China, Yang told the hearing that “the Chinese government is clearly intimidating the Chinese people not to do anything during the Olympics.”
“Beijing is under martial law now. Beijing has become a forbidden city itself,” he said.
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Yang said he does not oppose the U.S. engagement policy toward China, but that it must be realistic. “A very important component of the policy is missing, that [is] engagement with the democratic forces in China.” He said the Bush administration’s “under-the-table deal with China” not to support democratic groups will fail.
“President Bush should send a message to the Chinese people, should engage with the Chinese people,” Yang said, noting that there are “two Chinas in China” — one of people seeking democracy and freedom and the other silenced by the government.
Yang said China supports anti-American and anti-democratic forces around the world and is an ally of Iran. “It is in the interest of the Chinese government to ally with all the dictatorships in the world,” he said.
The solution to China’s problems is democracy and the United States needs to “help China democratize,” he said.
