Geneva, March 27th, 1997 - The sister of imprisoned Chinese dissident WEI Jingsheng, speaking in the name of the TRP, called attention to the ambiguous concept of the "threat to national security" that is invoked by certain nations, among them china and the Republic of Korea, and introduced into legislation in order to justify arbitrary and incorrect legal procedures designed to limit the freedom of expression and association.

Wei described the difficult prison conditions Wei Jingsheng and other Chinese political prisoners are forced to endure for crimes of expression. Wei Shanshan concluded by soliciting the UN work group on arbitrary detainment and the Special Investigator on rights of freedom and expression to broaden the investigation in China and other nations, and she invited the authorities of these countries to reconsider the concept of the "threat to national security" through a more precise definition of it, as well as to release those persons who are detained because of the abusive fallout of such laws.

(Published by TRANSNATIONAL #12, May 27th, 1997

BULLETIN OF INFORMATION AND ACTION ON THE CAMPAIGNS OF THE TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY)