Li Shaomin GS '88 was detained by the Chinese government while travelling with a U.S. passport in the country, according to former University professor Arthur Waldron, a friend of Li.
Li has remained captive since Feb. 25, though his detainment was not known until Sunday. An assistant professor of Chinese enterprise management at Hong Kong's City University, Li was captured as he attempted to enter the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from Hong Kong, Waldron said.
The Chinese government has held two scholars since February in what has been widely perceived as a crackdown on pro-democracy Chinese scholars — though Li is the first American to be detained, Waldron noted.
"This really escalates things," Waldron said. "Li may be Chinese, but he carries an American passport. The Chinese government is trying to intimidate the scholars in their own country — if even the big United States and powerful Princeton University can't help."
Waldron said that the only way to ensure Li's release is continued and effective media coverage to pressure the Chinese government.
"Li is a very good man. It is important that we in America see to it that the Chinese don't let us forget about him — they have to be pressured to release him," Waldron said. "Speaking softly will not help."
University spokeswoman Marilyn Marks noted in an e-mail that "the University is concerned when a [a member of the community] of any institution is detained," but continued that the University does not have "an institutional role to play."
Waldron, however, said the University's intervention may be the most important catalyst to ensure Li's release.
"Whether it is a letter from the president himself or a faculty resolution, there needs to be some type of action," he said.
For now, no official University action is planned.
"Li is a wonderful man and is the type of scholar who gives China a good name," Waldron said, adding, "You have to remember that he is sitting in a cell somewhere right now and we have to get him released."
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