Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners Mentioned on UK TV Show Special Broadcast from Shanghai

Question Time is the premier political debating programme broadcast on the UK’s BBC One TV station. On Thursday 10th March, the programme did a special broadcast live from Shanghai in China with a panel featuring former Hong Kong Governor and EU Commissioner Chris Patten and writer and broadcaster Isabel Hilton, as well as a Chinese Government representative. A studio audience made up of Shanghai residents and visitors put forward questions for discussion.

One Chinese man asked the question, “Do you endorse the description of the human rights situation in China made by the most recent U.S. annual human rights report.” The host of the show quoted the U.S. report, saying it “accused China of serious human rights violations including the killing and torture of dissidents” and that “the authorities are quick to suppress religious, political and social groups.”

The first speaker to address this issue was Isabel Hilton, who quickly agreed with the U.S. report, telling the Shanghai audience and millions of viewers that “there have been many deaths in custody of Falun Gong practitioners.” Ms. Hilton went on to list other human rights abuses happening in China and pointed out that it is not only the U. S. State Department that is critical of China’s human rights.

In response to this point, the host of the show quoted Amnesty International’s recent report on China’s human rights, which states that “a growing number of brave individuals in China…are facing arrest torture and even death,” for standing up for their basic freedoms. Ms. Hilton again agreed with the statement and pointed out that in China, several hundred people have died of abuse in custody over the last few years.