Informing a Royal, Political and Business Delegation from Belgium about the Persecution Against Falun Gong Prior to their Economic Mission to China

On November the 20th, a Belgian delegation consisting of Prince Filip and Princess Mathilde, the Federal, Wallonian and Flemish Minister of Economic Affairs, some other politicians and 470 business people, left Belgium for an economic mission to China. Before their departure, Belgian practitioners sent letters to and called the Prince and the Princess, the politicians and as many business people as possible in order to let them know the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong.

Below you can find the letter, translated from Dutch, written to Honourable Prince Filip of Belgium. Practitioners also wrote similar letters to the above-mentioned politicians and companies.

Many of the companies replied with a positive response such as this one from Unilever:

“We thank you for your e-mail. As a very big economic player on the market Unilever is conscious of their social responsibility. We take care to act in a very proper manner towards the community and the environment. We wish you all the best in your search for justice.”

A university professor also replied, stating that the issue of Falun Gong is discussed in a comprehensive way in at least two courses at the university. A practitioner proposed to him that if he was interested in having some in depth explanation on the issue of Falun Gong and the persecution against Falun Gong in China during one of the classes, practitioners would be happy to go to the university and give a presentation to the students.

Letter Sent to Prince Filip of Belgium: Request to Support the Human Rights of Falun Gong Practitioners

Honourable Prince Filip

Through the official website of the Belgian Monarchy, I learned that together with Princess Mathilde, you leave on an economic mission to China on 20/11/2004, accompanied by Belgian politicians.

During the visit, we hope that you as a representative of Belgium will bring up with your Chinese colleagues the silenced but cruel persecution that Falun Gong practitioners are still undergoing every day, thereby honouring the importance of respecting human rights and upholding human morality.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an Eastern spiritual practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Falun Gong has its roots in traditional Chinese culture, but is different and independent from other practices like Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, Falun Gong quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China. At present it is practised in more then 60 countries around the world (http://www.falundafa.org).

Since July 1999, China’s former leader Jiang Zemin started a nationwide persecution against Falun Gong. Because of jealousy that Falun Gong would touch people’s hearts and because of a fear of losing power, he outlawed Falun Gong and its practitioners. From an official estimate by the Chinese Government, it appeared that 100 million people practised Falun Gong in China; at that moment there were less then 60 million members in the Chinese Communist Party.

The unlawful decision to outlaw Faun Gong – the Chinese constitution holds that people can have their right to freedom of belief – meant that hundreds of thousands of people were taken away and put in prison cells, forced labour camps, psychiatric hospitals etc. In prison they are confronted with the most inhumane tortures, which could even lead to their death; these cruelties have but one goal: to persuade practitioners to give up their belief. Besides that, family members and friends are under the threat of being fired from their jobs or excluded from education; they are forced to cope with this barbarian regime by reporting to the police on the actions of their neighbours and colleagues. There are also Falun Gong practitioners working in Western companies in China being fired due to the misleading propaganda of Jiang Zemin’s regime.

Why turn against 100 million good people who offer so much to society? And how many of those 100 million practitioners have family members and friends who don’t practise Falun Gong? Then, is it merely a matter of 100 million people?

The official death toll, as confirmed by Amnesty International, reaches 1128 people who have died due to torture in imprisonment. Roughly estimated, the actual figure lies 5 to 10 times higher. All of this has been reported by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other NGOs. Many governments, from Australia to North America, as well as the European Union, have condemned this grave persecution against humanity (http://faluninfo.net).

Outside China’s borders, Jiang Zemin and his accomplices, through Chinese embassies and consulates, try to extend their campaign of slander against Falun Gong: black lists with names of practitioners are made, government leaders, mayors and MEPs in America, Canada and Europe have been intimidated.

From the start of the persecution until now Falun Gong practitioners worldwide always reacted in a peaceful and rational manner against such inhumane treatment. They have written letters to politicians and held candlelight vigils and peaceful appeals in front of Chinese embassies and consulates.

Until this day, the persecution continues. Almost every day we receive messages about torture, people who died due to torture, personal witnesses, slave labour etc. A lot of those messages are published on our websites and other media.

We hope that this letter and the attached documents gave you a clear understanding about the silent horror that Falun Gong practitioners are suffering. After all, this regime uses every possible means it possesses to cover up and hide the truth from the Chinese people and the rest of the world.

Would it be possible, before your departure, to have an audience during which we explain this issue further? We are looking forward to your answer and already thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

A Belgian Falun Gong practitioner