US scientist being detained in China (12/22/99)
SAN DIEGO, Dec 22 (AFP) - A Scripps
Research Institute scientist with ties to a banned meditation movement is
being detained in China and, because she is not a US citizen, is being
denied access to American officials, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported
Wednesday
Lili Feng, 47, was arrested on December 15 by authorities in the city of
Shenzhen while she was visiting a friend, the Union-Tribune said.
Chinese officials contacted Monday confirmed that Feng -- who works for
the San Diego-based institute -- was being detained at the Futian Public
Safety Bureau Detention Center in Shenzhen.
Authorities would not reveal the reason for her arrest.
But Feng's family and friends told the paper she was caught up by
Beijing's suppression of Falungong, a meditation movement that claims 100
million adherents throughout the world, with about 70 million in China.
Feng's husband, Yiyang Xia, said he was informed of his wife's arrest by a
Hong Kong businessman who is also a Falungong member. The businessman was
arrested the same day as Feng and expelled from the area.
"I'm worried sick," he told the Union-Tribune. "We don't
know what's going to happen to her. Until she's home, we cannot be sure
she's safe."
Feng, who has worked for Scripps for the past 11 years, is not a US
citizen but has permanent resident status, the paper said.
Because Feng is not a citizen, American consular officials in China have
not been granted access to her or information regarding her arrest.
"We don't know anything about her," an official from the US
Consulate in Guangzhou told the paper.
"We raised the issue with the foreign affairs office, and they told
us this lady and two other Chinese nationals will be treated in accordance
with Chinese law."
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