Posted by FCM on February 19, 2004 at 22:53:18:
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Copyright 2003 Financial Times Information
All rights reserved
Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2003 BBC Monitoring/BBC
BBC Monitoring International Reports
December 11, 2003
LENGTH: 297 words
HEADLINE: US RESIDENT JAILED IN CHINA THREATENS HUNGER STRIKE
BODY:
jailed dissident", published by Hong Kong newspaper South China
Morning Post
web site on 11 December
Imprisoned dissident Wang Bingzhang is on the brink of a nervous
breakdown
due to the "mental torture" he has suffered in jail, and is threatening
to go on
a hunger strike, his brother says.
Wang Bingwu, who visited his older brother at a prison in Shaoguan,
Guangdong, last Friday (5 December), said he found the solitary
confinement and
mandatory "political education" imposed three times a day increasingly
difficult
to bear.
"He told me to tell the world that in order to end his solitary
confinement
and mental torture, he would go on a hunger strike," Mr Wang said in
Hong Kong
yesterday.
Critics say the so-called "political education" sessions in mainland
prisons
typically include several hours of brainwashing, forced self-criticism
and
confession of alleged crimes.
Bingzhang, 55, is a permanent resident of the United States. He went
to
Vietnam in June last year, where he was reportedly kidnapped and taken
to
Guangxi province.
He was arrested and convicted on espionage and terrorism charges and
given a
life sentence in February. He was found guilty of providing
intelligence to
Taiwan between 1982 and 1990. He and his family deny the charges.
Mr Wang said his brother looked frail and was suffering from stomach
ailments
and varicose ulcers. He said his brother was given medicine in prison
but was
banned from taking other medication that his family brought from
America.
Originally trained as a medical doctor, Bingzhang is a Christian and
is known
for his view that people have the right to overthrow their government
in a
revolution.
Source: South China Morning Post web site, Hong Kong, in English 11
Dec 03
) BBC Monitoring
JOURNAL-CODE: WBMS
LOAD-DATE: December 11, 2003