By AARON CHARLES
For Word News

BEIJING, China (WordNew.org) July 7, 2012 — Reports of the suicide of Li Wangyang has sparked widespread protest in China.

One ministry said the protests are because many believe that the man who served 22 years in prison for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests did not actually commit suicide and the real reason for his death has been covered up.

In light of the uproar, ChinaAid, an international nonprofit Christian human rights organization, has created the “Legal and Citizens Support Group” to urge Chinese citizens to call for an investigation into Wangyang’s death.

“All of the available evidence surrounding around Christian democracy activist Li Wangyang’s sudden death in his hospital room indicate that the official Chinese claim that he committed suicide is suspicious and full of holes,” said ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu.  “We applaud the Support Group’s courageous effort to urge the Chinese government to investigate the cause of Mr Li’s death, to seek justice for his illegally detained family members and to hold accountable whoever abused and tortured Mr Li and orchestrated his death.”

The story begins in 1989 when Wangyang was imprisoned for taking part in the famous Tiananmen Square protests. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for state subversion. After a brief release in 2000, he was arrested again in May 2001 under the charge of incitement to subvert state power. He was sentenced to another 10 years in prison. While in prison, he sustained injuries that left him deaf and blind when he was released again in 2011. However, after multiple televised interviews where Wangyang discussed his pro-democratic views, he was once again put under around-the-clock watch until his death on June 6, 2012.

Wangyang was found hanging from a bar with a white cloth wrapped around his neck in what was a supposed suicide.

However, his feet were found touching the ground and officials say he committed suicide while under police guard.

The Legal and Citizens Support Group released its own statement regarding Wangyang’s death saying that Wangyang “would not be motivated to commit suicide” citing his faith as well as evidence of foul play to support their claim.

“The body did not exhibit the usual physiological signs of suicide by hanging, such as ‘protruding tongue.’ Besides, the bottoms of his feet were entirely in contact with the floor, and the white cloth with which he hanged himself was tied in an expert’s DuPont knot, which is not something that a deaf, blind and almost paralyzed patient could do. Furthermore… since this is not a criminal case…there is all the more reason for the body to be released to his family …. However…the Shaoyang police forcibly took control of the body and hurriedly cremated it. Legally speaking, there is great cause to suspect that they destroyed the body to cover up foul play.”

In light of this controversy, ChinaAid has set up a website (www.liwangyang.org) where citizens may go to sign a petition calling for an official investigation into Wangyang’s death.

The Support Group is citing this case as an affront to basic humanitarian rights saying that this case is “challenging the bottom line of human conscience and undermining universal rules.”  Because of this, they are seeking people to stand in opposition and fight this supposed oppression through orderly, legal means.

To sign the petition or learn more about the case, go to www.liwangyang.org. To learn more about ChinaAid visit www.chinaaid.org.