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Academics make freedom plea to China


U.S.-based scholar Gao Zhan has been detained in China since February

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly 400 leading China scholars have signed a petition to Chinese President Jiang Zemin requesting the release of three academics detained by the country's state security police.

In an open letter, the petitioners express concern with what they view as serious violations of China criminal law and international human rights policies to which China has previously agreed.

The letter was signed by leading scholars from 14 countries and Hong Kong and Taiwan to protest the detention of the U.S.- and Hong Kong-based scholars.

According to the letter, in cases specific to certain detainees, the Chinese government has failed to provide reasons for their detention and specify the charges against them, has kept secret their location, has not provided evidence to confirm their alleged confessions, and has refused them access to a lawyer.

The petitioners cite scholarly relations and the free exchange of ideas as essential to improving relations between China and the rest of the world, especially the United States.

They fear that "their detention will likely deter other academics, especially but by no means only those of Chinese nationality, from freely pursuing their research in and about China for fear of suffering the same treatment."

Gilbert Rozman, a sociology professor at Princeton University and one of the panelists who presented the petition, said: "We hope that the Chinese government's response will be to accept the petition for what it is -- a sincere statement by the academic community -- and to act upon it, and to do what will enhance academic freedom and benefit academic exchanges."


Gao's husband denies she was a spy for the U.S.

The letter urges Jiang to immediately release the detainees, or failing that, to provide them with the opportunity to defend themselves against formal charges in a court of law under the international standards of due process.

The three detained scholars are:

-- Gao Zhan, a Chinese-born researcher at American University in Washington, D.C. Gao is a citizen of China but has a U.S. green card. She is the mother of a 5-year-old son, an American citizen, who was detained with her but held separately for 26 days, sparking a diplomatic firestorm when Chinese officials failed to inform the U.S. Embassy of his detention.

-- Li Shaomin, a business professor at the City University of Hong Kong and an American citizen. Li has published influential sociological studies on China's privatizing economy, and has worked as a consultant for several large American corporations and universities.

-- Xu Zerong, an associate research professor at the Guangdong Provincial Academy of Social Sciences in southern China. Xu is a legal resident of Hong Kong and holds a doctorate from Oxford University.