By Li Mingxi
Epoch Times Staff
Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese American, was accused by Chinese authorities in 2003 of “attempting to impair TV broadcast facilities” and sentenced to three years imprisonment. (The Epoch Times)
A Taiwanese businessman has been charged in mainland China with participating in television broadcast interception, which “endangered China’s state and public security,” Xinhua News Agency, China’s state-owned media, reported on June 26.
Chung Ting-pang visited relatives in China’s Jiangxi Province on June 15. On his way home, China’s national security authorities detained Chung at Ganzhou Airport. His whereabouts are unknown.
Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese American, was similarly accused of “attempting to impair TV broadcast facilities” in 2003, and sentenced to three years imprisonment by Chinese authorities.
Speaking to The Epoch Times, Dr. Lee said that Chung was arrested because he is a Falun Gong practitioner. China has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners since 1999.
“The persecution is legally baseless and violates the International Human Rights Convention,” Lee said. “This is why the communist authorities did not dare to mention Falun Gong in the press release published by Xinhua News Agency. When they brought the illegal trial against me, they did not mention Falun Gong either, because the persecution against Falun Gong is completely unlawful. The more the authorities mention Falun Gong, the more likely it is that people will want to understand the truth about Falun Gong.”
When Lee went to China on Jan. 22, 2003, he was arrested as he got off the plane. He was accused of “intending to broadcast a Falun Gong video through TV interception” and was subsequently illegally sentenced to three years in prison, where he suffered brutal torture.
Lee said he was imprisoned for alleged intent alone; he never attempted to intercept a TV broadcast, much less succeed at trying.
However, intercepting a TV broadcast does not violate any law in China, he said. “It is actually protected by China’s law, as it is a deed of justice.”
Lee said Article 21 of China’s Criminal Law stipulates that if a person is compelled to commit an act in an emergency to avert an immediate danger to the interests of the state, the public, his own, or another person’s rights–of the person, property or other rights–thus causing damage, he shall not bear criminal responsibility.
“Falun Gong practitioners may be ‘compelled’ to intercept TV broadcasts because of the Chinese authorities’ relentless persecution of Falun Gong, which deprives practitioners of every possible channel to voice their appeals,” Lee said. “The high probability of severe injury or death as a result of persecution can likely be viewed as immediate danger to the interests or rights of the person,” he added.
“In short, bringing the truth to the general public is a very effective way to stop the aforementioned danger. It totally complies with Article 21 of the Criminal Law. It is a deed of justice,” Lee said.
The most critical factor in the continuous persecution of Falun Gong, according to Lee, is that the general public has been deceived and doesn’t know the truth.
“This deception has completely paralyzed the social monitoring function and allows the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee to circumvent the law, preventing legislative and law enforcement agencies from carrying out the law,” Lee said.
Read the original Chinese article.
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