Letter: To Christopher R. Hill , Assistant Secretary of State, East Asian and Pacific Affairs United States Department of State

Letter

Dear Mr. Hill:

We are writing to express our concern regarding David Wei Dong, an American citizen who is imprisoned in China. It is our understanding that Mr. Dong has been incarcerated on charges of espionage on behalf of Taiwan. We respectfully request that you look into the circumstances relating to his arrest and inform us of your findings, particularly with respect to his health condition, including whether any such information warrants seeking his release on humanitarian grounds.

According to his sister, Linda Dong, and a family friend, George Anthony, Mr. Dong first arrived in the United States in 1986 and shortly thereafter was granted political asylum. At that time, he was a well-known journalist in China, as well as a critic of the Chinese government. Mr. Dong continued his journalism career in the United States for several years. In 1990, he co-authored Countdown to Tiananmen: The View At The Top, which was written and published in the United States.

The book is an account of activities by Chinese officials that led to the Tiananmen Square massacre. According to Linda Dong, the book was banned in China, but could still be found there. It is our understanding that when Mr. Dong's co-authors returned to China, they were arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of stealing state secrets. It is also our understanding that they were released after signing statements implicating Mr. Dong.

Linda Dong and George Anthony advised us that following the book's publication, Mr. Dong began a new career in business, which specialized in introducing American and Chinese businessmen to one another. As we understand it, on September 27, 2003, Mr. Dong traveled to China with a group of American businessmen and Mayor Eric Martin of St. Martinville, Louisiana in order to promote a special tax-free district that had been formed in Louisiana to attract industry and create jobs. While in China, Mr. Dong was arrested on charges of espionage, and on April 22, 2005, he was convicted in closed court and given a 13-year prison sentence.

We understand Mr. Dong's case has been further complicated by the fact that he has developed serious health problems while in prison. According to Mr. Dong's family, he was hospitalized twice during pre-trial confinement and was taken to Dongguan Hospital in 2006 after his incarceration. We have been advised that diagnoses by local health officials confirmed that Mr. Dong is suffering from coronary disease, cardiac blood deficiency and acute hypertension, and that he has not been receiving proper medical care in prison.

For these reasons, we request that you look further into Mr. Dong's situation and inform us of your findings. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this important issue. We look forward to your response and to continuing to work with you on this matter.