Choi Yung Hun Still Sits in a Chinese Prison

Congratulations, to those of you whose letters, calls, and other hard work led to the admission of the first six North Korean refugees into the United States. I hereby declare an end to the congratulation period (I can do that, right?).

Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (which we must have forogotten to blogroll) gives us fresh reasons to write your local ChiCom Embassy (chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn; or go here) and tell them why you won’t be attending the 2008 Olympics.

Kato Hiroshi here with a quick update on the North Korean refugee issue.
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The United States recently accepted 6 North Korean refugees, which marks a dramatic change in the situation of North Korean refugees.

But for Choi Yong-hun, the South Korean Huamanitarian aid worker, nothing has changed. After having served 3 years and 4 months in the Chinese prison, he is still being punished for his attempt to help North Korean refugees in China.

Choi Yong-hun’s wife visited him on April 26. The following is a brief summary of her report.
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My husband looked pale and had grown even thinner, indicating his extended difficulties with life in the prison, but he smiled when he mentioned that people call him “Mr. Missionary” in the prison.

He never fails to read the Bible and pray every morning, believing the God will help him. He also repeatedly mentioned how sorry he was that he had been causing so much trouble to his family, in addition to not being able to support his parents and family members.

The meeting with Choi Yong-hun only lasted 30 minutes, and his mother and I could not help but follow him with our tear-filled eyes until he was led out of sight.
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LFNKR urges you to send postcards or letters to the Shandong Province Prison, letting the general manager know that the eyes of the world are on him and on China’s “justice”
system.

For more details, refer to the report from Choi’s wife (Aug. 2004) at this URL:

http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com/choivisit-aug2004.htm

———- Start SAMPLE LETTER ———-
General Manager of Shandong Province Prison
Shandong Province Prison Office
163 Lishan Road
Jinan City, Shandong Province
China 250014

Dear General Manager of Shandong Prison:

I was shocked to learn that Mr. Choi Yong-hun, a South Korean humanitarian aid worker, was sentenced to 5 years for his attempt to help desperate North Korean refugees in China, and that he is still incarcerated in your prison after serving 3 years and 4 months! It has already been widely recognized by international society that the North Korean defectors into China are true refugees. For example, the United Nations general assembly passed the resolution on human rights on North Korea in November last year, and the United States of America recently accepted six refugees from North Korea while officially announcing that it will accept more. Please immediately release Mr. Choi Yong-hun to show that China respects human rights.

Signature:

———- End of SAMPLE LETTER ———-

Regards from Japan,
Kato Hiroshi
Secretary-General

Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (NPO)
A-101, 2-2-8 Nishikata, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0024
Tel/Fax: 03-3815-8127
http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com

Nice to see that Japanese and Koreans can still work together on things that matter more than such inanities as Tokdo.
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