Bush’s Help Urged for Chinese Woman

A coalition of Southern California gun owners on Wednesday urged President Bush to intervene on behalf of a young Chinese woman who is seeking political asylum after entering the United States with a forged passport.

T.J. Johnson, chairman of the Gun Owners React Committee, told reporters at the Greater Los Angeles Press Club that his group is seeking a “fair and speedy trial” for Chen Yiwei, 22, who has been held at a federal detention center in Inglewood since she was detained June 24 by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. She told authorities that she fled China after seeing her name on a government wanted list.

“Our concern is that she has been incarcerated for the past 60 days,” Johnson said. “She has not been charged. She has not been tried, and yet she remains in detention without a setting of bail.”

An INS hearing on Chen’s bid for asylum has been continued as officials await a U.S. State Department letter on whether her request should be granted.