MEP Condemns Human Rights Violations Initiated by the Former President of China

Belgian practitioners held a press conference in Strasbourg last week, appealing for a hearing from the European Human Rights Court regarding the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi from Finland used this opportunity to condemn China for its human rights violations and the persecution of Falun Gong. Due to maternity leave, Ms. Kauppi couldn’t attend the press conference in person but she still urged the international community to adopt a more active approach to stop Jiang’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

"Jiang Zemin should be held responsible for the human rights violations that occurred during his time in power. Jiang's case has also become a clear message to the present leader of China, which is China must make an immediate correction of its policy of persecuting Falun Gong in order to fulfil the requirements of the International Human Rights criterion."

Ms. Kauppi used a few reports from International Human Rights Groups, such as Amnesty International, as well as the 2002 Human Rights report from the US State Department. The contents of these reports clearly points out China’s situation in regards to Jiang’s encroachment upon human rights; so many practitioners have been illegally detained, tortured and killed during this brutal persecution of Falun Gong, initiated by Jiang Zemin in 1999.

According to Ms. Kauppi, the policy of systematically persecuting Falun Gong can be seen as a clear example that the Chinese Government has always been trying to hide the truth and lie to the public. She stated, ‘The Chinese Government should no longer subsist and develop in a way of disguising their atrocities and mistakes to the public as they did with SARS. In today’s society, the people of China and all over the world will, however, find out the facts sooner or later. Therefore, the Chinese Government must stop spreading propaganda about Falun Gong via the state controlled media.’

Ms. Kauppi also praised the European Union for making an effort to start a human rights dialogue with China, but she expressed deep regret after seeing that China has paid no attention to the facts. She urged the European Union to take further steps. She also gave her support to the global lawsuits launched against Jiang agreeing that the ex-president of China must be held responsible for what he has done and the human rights violations that have occurred during his time in power as head of state.

Ms. Kauppi also said ‘Despite the violence and persecution carried out by the Chinese Government, Falun Gong practitioners remain peaceful.’