A Petition Letter from Scholars on China Studies for the Releasing of Doctor Jiang Yanyong

July 1, 2004

To:
Mr. Hu Jintao
President of People’s Republic of China
Yongneixijie, Beijing100017
People's Republic of China

Dear President Hu Jintao:

We are writing to request the immediate release of Doctor Jiang Yanyong, a senior surgeon from No. 301 Hospital in Beijing.

Doctor Jiang and his wife, Hua Zhongwei, were arbitrarily detained on June 1, 2004, before the 15 years anniversary of the crackdown in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 4, 1989.

We were happy to hear of the recent release of Hua Zhongwei, but remain extremely concerned with the well being of Dr. Jiang.

Doctor Jiang is a respected and admired medical specialist who has greatly contributed to the well being of society in China and the world. The role he played in alerting the world to the extent of the SARS epidemic is well known. Without his courageous actions, the epidemic would have been larger in scale, putting at risk an untold number of Chinese and potentially further expanding the epidemic throughout the world.

We understand that in February of this year Doctor Jiang wrote a letter to

The People’s Congress calling for an official reassessment of the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square. We find it unacceptable if Doctor Jiang is being detained for this reasonJuly 8, 2004dom of speech and expression. Rather Doctor Jiang should be praised for his fortitude of mind and his years of service both as a medical professional and a concerned citizen.

We, the below signed, are mostly scholars in Chinese studies. We welcome all positive developments in Chinese culture, society and economy in recently years, also concern the development of human rights. We are extremely concerned about Doctor Jiang's well-being. At age of 72, Doctor Jiang has admirably served his country throughout his long career in public service and should not in any way be detained or harmed by the your government. We urge you to take immediate action and release Doctor Jiang Yanyong.

Sincerely,

Professor Goran Malmqvist (Stockholm, Sweden)
Professor Torbjorn Loden (Stockholm, Sweden)
Professor Andrew J. Nathan (Columbia University, USA)
Professor Halvor Eifring (Oslo, Norway)
Professor Perry Link (Princton University, USA)
Professor Barrett L. McCormick (Marquette University USA)
Professor Noel Dutrai (Aix, Marc. France)
Prof. Peter Van Ness (Australian National Univ. Astralia)
Professor Ku-Lan Chung (Tunghai University, Taiwan )
Professor Chang Chinhwa (NTU, Taiwan)
Professor Michael C. Davis (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
Professor Gloria Davies (Monash University, Australia)
Professor Daniel C. Lynch, (University of S. California, USA)
Professor Warren Sun, (Monash University, Victoria Australia)
Professor Andre Laliberte (Univ du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
Professor Ching-hsi Chang (Taipei, NTU, Taiwan)
Professor Merle Goldman （Harvard University, USA)
Professor Richard Baum (UCLA, USA)
Senior Researcher Jean-Pierre Cabestan (Univ. of Paris 1, France)
Professor Lowell Dittmer (UC Berkeley, USA)

Last Updated: July 8, 2004