Wife of detained Chinese AIDS activist appeals to Bush, Annan for help

The wife of Chinese AIDS activist Wan Yanhai, who has been held by Chinese authorities since August 24, on Monday asked President Bush and United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan to urge Chinese president Jiang Zemin to release her husband. Wan disappeared after attending a gay film festival in Beijing and was confirmed last week to have been arrested. Human rights groups say he is likely being held for disseminating state secrets stemming from Wan's publication of government AIDS statistics on his personal Web site.

Wan's wife, Su Zhaosheng, said her husband would not "do anything to hurt his country, his people" and that he has tried to collaborate with Chinese government officials in helping to prevent the spread of HIV in the world's most populous nation. "There is absolutely no reason why he should be detained," she said. There were no comments from the White House or the U.N. regarding Zhaosheng's request.