Friends of Falun Gong Europe Appeal for an End to the Persecution of Falun Gong and the Release of Student Zhao Ming

The following speech was made by the Friends of Falun Gong Europe opposite the Chinese embassy on 16 January 2002 on the occasion of the Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiajuan’s visit to London, UK:

For the past two and half years, the Chinese government has been carrying out a policy of severe persecution against Falun gong practitioners in China. This policy has included torture, imprisonment and in many cases, murder. In the last 3 weeks alone, 20 more practitioners have been tortured to death while in custody.

Friends of Falun Gong Europe wishes to register its disgust at the continued oppression being carried out by the Jiang Zemin regime against a large number of its own citizens. It is especially poignant at this time of the year, when the advent of a new year should bring hope of a new departure in policy by China, and in view of recent accession of China into the World Trade Organization.

Sadly no improvement has been detected. Indeed the torture and killings have combined at an even greater pace than before.

These terrible acts of state terrorism cannot be accepted in today’s age of tolerance. China must be persuaded to allow its citizens the right to freedom of belief. Falun Gong practitioners demand no more than this. They demand no political power, and Jiang Zemin must be made to realize that to allow Falun Gong practitioners to practise freely would only enhance the Chinese nation as a whole.

We therefore reiterate the following demands of the Chinese government:

1) To release all Falun Gong practitioners still imprisoned and to stop the persecution immediately.
2) To engage in peaceful, meaningful dialogue with Falun Gong practitioners
3) To release immediately, Zhao Ming, a student of Trinity College in Dublin and a Falun Gong practitioner currently illegally imprisoned in China.


Friends of Falun Gong Europe

16 January 2002