Ambassador Yang Jiechi
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008

Dear Ambassador Jiechi:

On behalf of the American Sociological Association (ASA), we are writing to urge that authorities in the People's Republic of China take immediate steps to release Dr. Gao Zhan who has been detained since February 11, 2001. Dr. Gao, a sociologist, has pursued her scientific research over the years in China. We understand that she has been confined without counsel and that members of her family have not been able to contact her. We ask that you assure her safety and well being and unconditionally release her from detention.

The American Sociological Association, the national membership organization of sociologists in the United States, is deeply concerned that Dr. Gao's detainment was motivated by an effort to limit her work as a scientist in her field. Dr. Gao holds an appointment as a Faculty Fellow at the American University in Washington, DC, where she conducts research on women's issues and economic reforms in China. Although she was born in China, Dr. Gao is a Permanent Resident of the United States. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Syracuse University and an M.A. in Sociology.

We would appreciate timely action to release Dr. Gao. Absent a change in these circumstances, we remain gravely concerned about the conditions under which scholarly inquiry and scientific exchange can occur in China.

Douglas S. Massey, PhD
President 2001

Felice J. Levine, PhD
Executive Officer

Cc:
Secretary of State Colin Powell
Ambassador Joseph W. Prueher, Beijing
ASA Council
AAAS Science and Human Rights Program