In announcements from the democracy movement, Dr. Wang has been termed a 'U.S. national.' That status entitles Dr. Wang to some further diplomatic protection, and jurisdiction of the U.S. legal system, than he might otherwise receive.

"The trouble now is that he is not receiving that U.S. service," says Kusumi. Horrified dissidents are coming to be at odds with U.S. officials, and an entire sidebar dispute is flaring. A statement by the Free China Movement's board of directors says,

Americans should know that our State Department refused to assist an American national and deeply religious Christian brother, Dr. Bingzhang Wang, in his hour of need after having been illegally kidnapped.

State Department officials in the Asia and Pacific Affairs bureau told US government journalists working for the Voice of America that Wang was not entitled to US diplomatic protection, and with reminiscences of the drama 'Red Corner' come to life, US Embassy officers in Beijing told the New York Times the same thing.

Shengde Lian, the Executive Director at the Free China Movement, said, "It's wrong and irresponsible for official to say Dr. Wang is not US National and there is no difference between US citizen and US national."

"This is a glib way for the State Department to wriggle off the hook, at a time when the conscience of the entire free world is being affronted -- at a time when the State Department should respond vigorously to this international abduction," notes Kusumi. "There is an immediate hole to be found in the State Department's line of the day. Looking into U.S. law, we can find that, yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as a non-citizen U.S. national."

Dissidents know that there is indeed a difference in the definitions of U.S. citizen, on the one hand, and U.S. national, on the other hand. They avow that Dr. Wang Bingzhang is a non-citizen U.S. national.

The U.S. government likely will not hear the end of this dispute until they come around to side with the Chinese dissidents. Kusumi quipped, "The State Department couldn't take the heat, and they got out of the kitchen, dodging their responsibilities in a cowardly way. People for freedom and democracy have the kitchen left all to themselves, alone."

Noting that Dr. Wang and his cause are all about democracy, freedom, and justice, the board of directors concluded in their statement, "It behooves all who cherish those same core American ideals to extend their best efforts to secure his [Dr. Wang's] immediate release and return."

This just in ...

Transferred from China Support Network (CSN)