Finland invites a Leader who has been accused of Human Rights Violations

A very high-level Chinese official, Luo Gan, is coming for an official visit to Finland today. Luo Gan, accused in the world of human rights violations, is on his way to Finland. He has been invited by minister of justice Johannes Koskinen and the minister of the interior Kari Rajamäki.

Luo Gan is a high ranking member of the Chinese communist party. During his four-day visit he will meet the leading politicians of Finland, including Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, Minister of Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja, and speaker of the Parliament Paavo Lipponen.

Foreign governments and human rights associations have criticized him for having made the already alarming situation of human rights in China worse. According to the human rights association Amnesty International, thousands of people have been tortured to death under his surveillance in the past few years.

One of Luo Gan’s “achievements” is the crackdown on the spiritual movement Falun Gong. According to the movement, thousands of its practitioners have been tortured and sent to labour camps or mental hospitals without trials. According to the leader of the Finland Ministry of Justice, Matti Joutsen, human rights issues are not on the agenda during the meeting. The defenders of human rights are putting their hopes on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja who, during his visit to Beijing last year, criticized the human rights situation in China. During his visit he discussed this with the deputy foreign minister of China, Li Zhaoxing, and also brought up the human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners.

"The violations of the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners are causing concern in Finland and in other European countries," states Tuomioja.

Tomorrow there will be a demonstration in central Helsinki. There will be people coming from abroad as well, at least from Sweden and Denmark.

According to Hannu Järvinen, a representative of the Falun Dafa Association of Finland, the demonstration will take place in Central Park and last the whole day. The demonstrators will have banners with Chinese writing for Luo Gan to read when he visits the Ministry of Justice in the morning. According to Järvinen, other demonstrations may also be held during this 4-day visit.

“Luo Gan is the head of the Gestapo-like office. The office is doing a dirty job, carrying out the persecution. It is unbelievable that a man who is committing an act of genocide is invited to Finland.”

China banned Falun Gong in 1999, when the number of practitioners exceeded the number of communist party members. Falun Gong, which is based on meditation and exercise movements, is [banned] in China.