Letter to Italian Ambassador to Increase Protection for Chinese Dissident Living in Italy

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party wrote to the Italian Ambassador to the United States today, urging Italy to increase the protection of a notable Chinese dissident, Li Ying. Li had become widely known for sharing uncensored updates and videos within China following the White Paper protests and the CCP’s draconian COVID lockdowns.

In the letter to Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi write, “As Li’s influence expanded, he became a target of severe harassment. He has received death threats and faced coordinated smear campaigns aimed at discrediting him. His PRC financial accounts have been frozen, and his parents have been placed under extreme scrutiny. Ministry of State Security officials have visited his parents' home in Fuyang City, pressuring his family for information about his whereabouts, threatening to block their pensions unless he ceases his online activities and returns to the PRC, and installing surveillance cameras outside their house. These tactics are unacceptable.”

They continue, “These actions represent a clear violation of the sovereignty of every country in which they are employed and pose a grave threat to the human rights and personal freedoms both our countries so greatly value. Together, we must ensure that free countries remain a haven for the persecuted, rather than a target for authoritarian regimes. In this spirit, and with grave concern for the safety of Li, we ask you to take quick and decisive steps to protect Li Ying and work with the United States to ensure transnational repression is not tolerated in either of our societies. Thank you for your partnership with the United States, and we look forward to engaging with you on this important matter.”

The lawmakers also highlighted consecutive instances of suspicious behavior by individuals targeting Li – such as painting graffiti on his door with the word ‘rape.’

Read the lawmakers’ letter HERE