[mgj-discuss] FREE DR. WAN - Protest Alert (NYC)

[Robert Naiman]

----- Original Message -----
From: Mark M <marknyc at hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 1:00 AM
Subject: FREE DR. WAN - Protest Alert


Please circulate widely to all your email lists!

FREE DR. WAN

LEGAL PROTEST/RALLY

THURSDAY, SEPT. 19  12 NOON

CHINESE CONSULATE - 520 12th AVENUE, NYC

Dr. Wan Yanhai, the foremost AIDS activist in
mainland China, disappeared on
the evening of August 24 after attending a gay and
lesbian film festival in
Beijing.  He is an internationally
known advocate who has helped many people affected
by AIDS by providing
crucial health information through his
organization's web site.

Reporting on AIDS is strictly censored in China's
press, and Chinese
and foreign journalists who investigate the topic
have faced harassment or
detention. Because of this, Wan Yanhai's Web site
has become one of the only
independent sources of information on the disease
in China.

The Chinese Government has now confirmed that Dr.
Wan has been arrested and
charged with disseminating state secrets.  This
could mean detention of
unspecified length - we must come out in support
of this ally!

Chinese Human Rights activists have urged public
displays of protest that
are respectful but powerful.  Please join us at
the Chinese consulate to
demand Dr. Wan's release and the support, not
obstruction, of his efforts to
fight AIDS in China.