UK Liberal Democrat Party Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Signs Motion in Support of Campaign for Falun Gong Practitioner Rights

The principal Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the Liberal Democrat Party in the UK, Menzies Campbell MP, recently signed an Early Day Motion in support of a campaign for a 21 month old girl, who has been denied a passport by the Chinese Embassy simply because her parents practise Falun Gong.

The baby girl's mother is a postgraduate student at the University of Dundee in the UK. She was detained for 7 days in China in 1999 for possessing a Falun Gong banner and kicked for practising Falun Gong exercises despite the fact that she was 8-months pregnant at the time.

After the baby was born, her went to the Chinese embassy in London for the registration/passport for her daughter, who she named Minghui. However, she was told by the embassy that if she carried on practising Falun Gong, there would be no way to get a registration/passport for her daughter, who is now effectively a stateless person.

The campaign for baby Minghui has been going on for over a year and has been reported widely in the media, including Bella Magazine [a national women’s magazine], BBC News On Line, BBC radio stations, and many local newspapers. The mother’s MP, Mr Iain Luke offered strong support to the campaign, which has also received support from many Members of Parliament, Members of the Scottish Parliament, and local council leaders, including Jean Corston MP and the Leader of the Edinburgh City Council in Scotland.

Mr Iain Luke MP tabled the Early Day Motion on 24 October as a step to urge the Chinese authority to issue a passport to the baby girl. The Motion also "calls upon Her Majesty's Government to do all in its power to ensure that the Government of the People's Republic of China upholds the human rights of all Chinese citizens, and all minority groups within Chinese society including those who choose to become Falun Gong practitioners"

Reported from the UK
15th November 2001