Radio Free Asia: Jiang Renzheng's Case is a Hot Topic During the Sino-Deutsch Human Rights Symposium

During the annual Sino-Deutsch Human Rights and Legal Issues Symposium, Jiang Renzheng, a Falun Gong practitioner who was arrested in March after being deported to China by the German Government, became a key issue. The following is edited from an audio report by Radio Free Asia German correspondent Tian Yi.

Mr. Jiang Renzheng started practising Falun Gong while he was in Germany. He was arrested and further sentenced to a labour camp soon after his deportation from Germany in March. This incident has promptly generated grave concern from the German society. Recently, it has also become an important topic during the Sino-Deutsch Human Rights and Legal Issues Symposium. On this subject, Ms. Weisbec, who has been paying close attention to and actively participating in Jiang’s rescue, was interviewed.

According to Ms. Weisbec, since Jiang’s arrest the German Ministry of Foreign Affair’s has been in constant contact with the Chinese authorities, seeking explanation. The Chinese Government, however, has provided no comment so far. In response to a Falun Gong practitioner’s letter, the Ministry reassured that the German government would do everything it could to help free Jiang. The Ministry also promised the Chairperson of the German Falun Dafa Association to raise this case as the focus of the annual human rights dialogue.

Ms. Weisbec continued to explain that the Symposium was held on the 3rd of June in Beijing. Apparently, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Human Rights Commissioner, Mr. Tom Koenig, had requested China to release Jiang Renzheng. As such, further developments would be closely followed.

According to Ms. Weisbec, the Chinese Government employed despicable schemes to cover up the truth. After 8th April, when Jiang was arrested and sentenced, Benxi City National Security Bureau police showed up at the house of Jiang’s parents with a pre-drafted statement for them to sign. The statement included two declarations. First, Jiang’s parents voluntarily handed over to the National Security Bureau Jiang’s private correspondence and photos from abroad. The other declaration was that Jiang’s parents agreed to send Jiang to a forced labour camp for brainwashing and conversion.

Ms. Weisbec looked forward to the second leg of the Symposium, which is to be held Hamburg, Germany. Falun Gong practitioners from Hamburg and other cities in Germany, together with other human rights groups, will hold campaigns on this subject to protest and appeal.