In a letter addressed to Sen. Barbara Boxer, Mayor Nick Streit requested that a letter urging U.S. Chinese Ambassador Yang Jiechi to "do everything possible to ensure Mr. Charles Lee's safety and his immediate release" be sent.

City council members voiced their opinions at the July 16 meeting.

"People should have the right to speak and practice whatever they believe in," said Waltonsmith. "But our main concern is to have Lee released."

Kline added that he would typically be cautious of sending such letters on a national level but made an exception in this case.

Lee was arrested by Chinese authorities on Jan. 22 upon his arrival to his native country. He was charged with intending to use the state-controlled television to expose severe human rights violations suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in China. He was tried and sentenced in March to three years in prison.

The meditation-exercise movement was banned in China in 1999.

According to Lee's friend Feng Wang, who received a 95-page letter from the Menlo Park resident detailing his experiences, Lee has been isolated and tortured in various ways, including getting electric shocks, being deprived of food and sleep and being exposed to extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Wang said Lee had to go through an eight-day hunger strike to have the letter sent to his girlfriend and was handcuffed for 130 hours while writing it.

The state representative for the 14th congressional district, Anna Eshoo, has been active in leading 82 members in Congress in the fight to bring Lee home. So have Wang and friends, who held a rally on July 12 in the streets of San Francisco at the United Nations Plaza. According to Wang, approximately 200 people attended the rally, including some government officials.

Supporters went back to the streets on July 22 in Washington, D.C. to spread awareness about Lee's situation and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

"I'm grateful for the positive responses we've been getting from the public," said Wang. "We've been collecting many signatures from residents in different communities."