The wife of a jailed Chinese dissident is urging President Bush to press for her husband's release when Mr. Bush visits China on Thursday. He Xintong, the wife of veteran Chinese democracy activist Xu Wenli, told VOA that her husband suffers from hepatitis and acute arthritis. She says she is worried he may die suddenly. Ms. He says she has sent a letter to Mr. Bush, calling on him to ask Chinese President Jiang Zemin to free her husband on medical parole. One of China's most famous dissidents, Xu Wenli is serving a 13-year prison term for organizing the opposition China Democracy Party in 1998. Ms. He says she has written many letters to President Jiang, pleading for more humane treatment for her husband, but has never received a response. Here in Washington, some two dozen Americans expelled from China last week are complaining of physical abuse at the hands of Chinese police. The Americans were part of a group of more than 40 foreigners who staged a protest in Beijing against China's crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Associated Press quotes a State Department officials as saying U.S. officials will ask the Chinese government about the allegations of abuse.

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