Yang Jianli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yang Jianli (Traditional Chinese: 楊建利, Simplified: 杨建利) is a Chinese dissident with U.S. residency.
Yang Jianli, a Tiananmen Square activist in 1989, came to the United States, earned two Ph.D.s (Ph.D., Political Economy, Harvard University and Ph.D. Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley), and then founded the Foundation for China in the 21st Century. Given his political activism, he was blacklisted by the Chinese who also refused to renew his passport.
Yang Jianli returned to China in April 2002 on a friend's passport to view labor unrest in the northeastern part of China. He was detained when trying to board an internal flight. Although Freedom Now typically would not take up an illegal entry case, since his initial detention, Jianli has been held incommunicado by the Chinese in violation of their own and international law. His wife and children as well as his extended family have been denied access to Jianli and are justifiably concerned for his health and safety while he languishes in prison.
On May 13, 2004, the PRC announced a guilty verdict and sentenced Yang Jianli to five years in prison for espionage and illegal entry.
