David G. Strand

Professor of Political Science

and East Asian Studies

Dickinson College

717-245-1204 (office)

717-245-1479 (fax)

E-mail:strand@dickinson.edu

Dozens of other members of the China studies community have already signed this petition.  The phrase "China studies community" is construed very broadly to include any student of China in any profession.  For example, if you specialize in the study of India but teach courses that include China, I hope you will consider signing.  If you are a journalist or business person who directly or indirectly sees your mission as understanding China and educating the wider public about China, please consider signing.  You need not be an American or be based in the United States to sign.  Many scholars and researchers from around the world have lent their names to this effort.  As the number of names grow, and until Song Yongyi is released, we will periodically send the petition to President Jiang Zemin, President Bill Clinton, and the other Chinese and American officials listed.  Thank you again for your consideration and your support.

TO:    His Excellency Jiang Zemin, President of the People's Republic of China

cc:     The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States of America

          His Excellency Zhu Rongji, Premier, People's Republic of China

          The Honorable Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State, United States of America

          His Excellency Li Zhaoxing, Ambassador, Embassy of the People's Republic of China 

                 to The United States of America

          His Excellency Han Zhubin, Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate,

                 People's Republic of China

          His Excellency Xu Yongyue, Minister of State Security, People's Republic of China

          Her Excellency Chen Zhili, Minister of Education, People's Republic of China 

We the undersigned members of the China studies community abroad affirm the universal value and global importance of educational and cultural exchanges with the People's Republic of China.  For that  reason, among others, we are dismayed by the detention and arrest of Dickinson College librarian and China historian Song Yongyi.

Mr. Song is a dedicated and highly skilled librarian and a respected, internationally recognized authority on the history and documents of the Cultural Revolution period in Chinese history (1966-1976).  Many other scholars around the world also study and write about the Cultural Revolution and use the same kind of documents Song Yongyi has collected, edited, and written about so carefully and so well. All of us rely on such collections and the free exchange of information they contain to explain events and trends in China to our students, colleagues in other fields, and the public.  We are disturbed that someone whose work is so vital to seeking truth from facts about China, and who seeks the truth by collecting and making available public information about a critical period in Chinese history, has been treated like a criminal for no other reason than the conscientious performance of his duties as librarian and scholar.

The charges themselves -- "the purchase and illegal provision of intelligence to foreigners" -- as applied in this case are so general as to make suspect almost any observation or description of China by a scholar, journalist, business person, or even tourist.  The application of security laws in this case threatens to undermine the longstanding efforts made by all sides to construct a secure foundation for open and productive cultural and academic relations between China and other countries.
Continued prosecution of this case will make it impossible for foreign scholars or Chinese scholars associated with foreign universities to conduct research in open sources in China with the confidence that they will be safe from criminal prosecution.

Mr. Song and his wife and college-age daughter have already suffered a great deal because of this event.  We have been told by his family that Song Yongyi was treated for bladder cancer in 1995 and requires regular check-ups by his doctor.  During the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Song was wrongly imprisoned for five years.  Like so many others, he had the good fortune to be later exonerated of any crime.  But he still bears the scars of beatings from that terrible experience.

On the grounds of humanitarian concern and the protection of basic norms essential to open and productive cultural and academic exchanges, and with a view to the vast potential for progress such goodwill and exchanges can hold, we respectfully request that Song Yongyi be released and permitted to return to his family and professional responsibilities at Dickinson College.

The following 101 individuals support this petition:

Professor David Strand,  Columbia University Ph.D.,  Dickinson College
Professor David Bachman, Stanford University Ph.D., University of Washington
Professor Geremie Barmé, Australian National University Ph.D., Australian National University
Professor Richard Baum, University of California Berkeley Ph.D., 

University of California, Los Angeles

Mr. Thomas Beal, Cambridge University M.Phil., Journalist
Professor Gregor Benton, University of Leeds Ph.D., Cardiff University
Professor Thomas P. Bernstein, Columbia University Ph.D., Columbia University
Professor Marc Blecher, University of Chicago Ph.D., Oberlin College
Ms. Anne-Marie Brady, University of Auckland M.A. (Hons.), Australian National University
Professor Suzanne Cahill, University of Chicago Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Professor Heath B. Chamberlain, Stanford University Ph.D., University of British Columbia
Professor Anita Chan, University of Sussex Ph.D., Australian National University
Professor Donald C. Clarke, Harvard University J.D., University of Washington
Professor Jerome A. Cohen, Yale University J.D., New York University Law School
Professor George T. Crane, University of Wisconsin Ph.D., Williams College
Professor Delia Davin, University of Leeds Ph.D., University of Leeds
Professor Michael C. Davis, University of California, Hastings J.D. and Yale University L.L.M.,
          Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Bruce Dickson, University of Michigan Ph.D., George Washington University
Professor Lowell Dittmer, University of Chicago Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Professor Joseph Esherick, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., 

University of California, San Diego

Professor Michael Fratantuono, University of Washington, Ph.D., Dickinson College
Professor Edward Friedman, Harvard University Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison
Professor Paul H.B. Godwin, University of Minnesota Ph.D., National War College (ret.)
Professor Thomas B. Gold, Harvard University Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Professor Merle Goldman, Harvard University Ph.D, 

Fairbank Center, Harvard University and Boston University

Professor Steven Goldstein, Columbia University Ph.D., Smith College
Professor David S.G. Goodman, School of Oriental and Asian Studies, 

University of London Ph.D., University of Technology, Sydney

Professor Peter Gries, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., Ohio State University
Professor Edward X. Gu, University of Leiden Ph.D., Australian National University
Professor He Baogang, Australian National University Ph.D., University of Tasmania
Professor Zev Handel, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., University of Washington
Professor Stevan Harrell, Stanford University Ph.D., University of Washington
Professor Kathleen Hartford, Stanford University Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Boston
Ms. Nancy Hearst, Simmons College M.S., Fairbank Center, Harvard University
Professor Ann M. Hill, University of Illinois Ph.D., Dickinson College
Professor Beverley Hooper, Australian National University, University of Western Australia
Professor Sandra Hyde, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., Harvard University
Professor Harlan W. Jencks, University of Washington Ph.D., University of California
Professor Jin Dengjian, George Mason University Ph.D., Dickinson College
Professor Ellis Joffe, Harvard University Ph.D., Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Professor Alastair Iain Johnston, University of Michigan Ph.D., Harvard University
Professor William Joseph, Stanford University Ph.D., Wellesley College
Professor Daniel Kelliher, Yale University Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Professor Andrew B. Kipnis, University of North Carolina Ph.D., Australian National University
Professor William Kirby, Harvard University Ph.D., Harvard University 
Professor Richard Kraus, Columbia University Ph.D., University of Oregon
Professor Philip A. Kuhn, Harvard University Ph.D., Harvard University
Professor Steven Levine, Harvard University Ph.D., Mansfield Center, University of Montana
Professor Li Lianjiang, Ohio State University, Ph.D., Hong Kong Baptist University
Professor Stanley Lubman, Columbia University J.S.D., Stanford University Law School
Professor Laura M. Luehrmann, Ohio State University Ph.D., Wright State University
Professor Daniel C. Lynch, University of Michigan Ph.D., University of Southern California
Professor Roderick MacFarquhar, London School of Economics Ph. D.,  Harvard University
Richard Madsen, Harvard University Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Edward A. McCord, University of Michigan Ph.D., George Washington University
Professor Melanie Manion, University of Michigan Ph.D., University of Rochester
Professor Lyman Miller, George Washington University Ph.D., School of Advanced International

Studies, The Johns Hopkins University

Professor Robert Miller, Harvard University Ph.D., Australian National University
Dr. Jonathan Mirsky, University of Pennsylvania Ph.D, Shorenstein Fellow, Harvard University
Professor Katharyne Mitchell, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., 

University of Washington

Professor Robin Munro, University of Edinburgh M.A. Hons, School of Oriental and Asian

Studies, University of  London

Professor Ramon H. Myers, University of Washington Ph.D., Hoover Institution
Professor Andrew J. Nathan, Harvard University Ph.D., Columbia University
Professor Barry Naughton, Yale University Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Professor Peter Van Ness, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., 

Australian National University

Professor Christopher E. Nevitt, University of California, San Diego Ph.D., 

Arizona State University

Professor Kevin J. O’Brien, Yale University Ph.D., Ohio State University
Professor Michel C. Oksenberg, Columbia University Ph.D., Stanford University
Professor Clemens S. Ostergaard,  University of  Aarhus Ph.D., University of Aarhus
Professor Jean Oi, University of  Michigan Ph.D., Stanford University
Professor James B. Palais, Harvard University Ph.D., University of Washington
Professor Minxin Pei, Harvard University Ph.D., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Professor Randall Peerenboom, University of Hawaii Ph.D. and Columbia University J.D.,

University of California,  Los Angeles Law School

Professor Paul G. Pickowicz, University of Wisconsin, Madison Ph.D.,

University of California, San Diego

Dr. Jonathan Pollack, University of Michigan Ph.D., RAND
Professor Lucian W. Pye, Yale University Ph.D., MIT
Professor Elizabeth Remick, Cornell University Ph.D., Tufts University
Professor Carl Riskin, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., Queens College
Professor Stanley Rosen, University of California, Los Angeles Ph.D., 

University of Southern California

Professor Mark Selden, Yale University Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghamton
Professor James D. Seymour, Columbia University Ph.D., Columbia University
Professor David Shambaugh, University of Michigan Ph.D., George Washington University
Professor Hugh Shapiro, Harvard University Ph.D., University of Nevada
Professor Dorothy Solinger, Stanford University Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
Professor Julia Strauss, University of California,  Berkeley Ph.D., 

School of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of London

Professor Douglas Stuart, University of Southern California Ph.D., Dickinson College
Professor Warren Sun, Australian National University Ph.D., Monash University
Professor Jonathan Unger, University of Sussex Ph.D., Australian National University
Dr. Michael D. Swaine, Harvard University Ph.D., RAND 
Professor Harold M. Tanner, Columbia University Ph.D., University of North Texas
Professor Murray Scott Tanner, University of Michigan, Ph.D., Western Michigan University
Professor Frederick Teiwes, Columbia University Ph.D., University of Sydney
Professor James Tong, University of Michigan Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Andrew Walder, University of Michigan Ph.D., Stanford University
Professor Richard Wang, University of Virginia Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Professor Byron S.J. Weng, University of Wisconsin, Madison Ph.D., 

Chinese University of Hong Kong (ret.)

Professor Allen S. Whiting, Columbia University Ph.D., University of Arizona
Professor Ian Wilson, Columbia University Ph.D., Australian National University
Professor Lynn White, University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., Princeton University
Professor Martin K. Whyte, Harvard University Ph.D., George Washington University
Professor Dali L. Yang, Princeton University Ph.D., University of Chicago