WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. Wenyi Wang, the protester who interrupted Chinese leader Hu Jintao's speech on the White House lawn last Thursday, was released from police custody on Friday. Afterwards, she and her attorneys gave statements to explain why she spoke about Falun Gong and the harvesting of organs in China as she did.
Wang is being charged with a federal misdemeanor of willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening and harassing a foreign official. Her preliminary hearing is set for May 3.
The charges stem from her interruption of the April 20 welcoming ceremony event on the White House south lawn during Hu's speech.
Dr. Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner, obtained a temporary White House press pass as a reporter for The Epoch Times. Spokespersons for The Epoch Times explained that Dr. Wang had acted on her own, and that The Epoch Times neither approved of nor had foreknowledge of her act.
Falun Gong spokesperson Erping Zhang disagreed with the formal charges that Dr. Wang "intimidated" Chinese leader Hu. "She may have humiliated him, but this mother of two could not have 'intimidated' or 'threatened' Hu, who was protected by his guards," said Zhang.
Mr. Zhang believes that the U.S. government is overreacting to the protest. "It's understandable that President Bush would apologize to Hu for the interruption of his speech as a break in diplomatic protocols, but that shouldn't mean that a journalist, for speaking out, should be sent to jail."
With her attorney Terri Marsh at her side, Dr. Wang read a brief statement on the courthouse steps after her release. She said she sees her deed as in the tradition of civil disobedience, a practice that was employed by such famed human rights activists as Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.
"I spoke out at this time and in this way to let the world know about the harvesting of Falun Gong organs [in China]. [What I did] is not a crime but an act of civil disobedience," said Wang.
Dr. Wang has been acutely concerned about the recent news of the harvesting of organs from live Falun Gong practitioners in China, a story that was first exposed by The Epoch Times on March 9. Dr. Wang has been using her medical expertise to evaluate the facts emerging about organ harvesting in China.
Attorney Marsh explained at the press conference that as a doctor, Wang felt it her duty to try to save lives, and became appalled and dismayed upon learning that her fellow doctors in China were taking people's lives and stealing their organs.
Dr. Wang is determined to stop the organ harvesting crimes. "I call upon President Bush and the United States government to focus on the individual crimes that have been committed by the Chinese Communist Party to practitioners of Falun Gong. I also call upon all the kind people of the world to focus their attention on the massive crimes committed by the Chinese regime. I ask you to help me to stop the brutal harvesting of Falun Gong practitioner organs now!"
Dr. Wang earned her medical degree in China. She is currently chief editor of Medical Life, a journal published in North America.
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