Ireland: Foreign Minister Plans to Raise the Death of Gao Rongrong in the EU

Below is the text of a question to and response by the Irish Foreign Minister, Dermot Ahern, to a question asked regarding the death of Chinese Falun Gong practitioner Gao Rongrong.

Question:
Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recent shocking and tragic death of a person (details supplied); if the Irish Government can ask the Chinese Government to investigate this person’s death; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Response:
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern): I have learned with regret of the death of Ms Gao Rong Rong, a Falun Dafa practitioner, who, according to reports, died on 16 June 2005. I have asked my officials to request the EU Presidency to raise the case of Ms Gao Rong Rong and the circumstances of her death with the Chinese authorities at the next session of the EU-China human rights dialogue which is due to take place in September. The EU-China human rights dialogue, established in 1996, is the formal framework through which the EU raises its concerns about individual human rights cases, including those of Falun Dafa practitioners and more general issues, such as the protection of freedom of religion and expression, which have a particular impact on practitioners of Falun Dafa.

Details:

Ms. Gao Rongrong was arrested by authorities at 3am on March 6th, 2005 and transported to a brainwashing facility in Zhangshi Forced Labour Camp. After being forced to attend the brainwashing class, she was transferred to the infamous Masanjia labour camp.

There she was tortured and beaten with electric batons. On June 6th, Ms. Gao was transported to the university hospital in a coma. After examining an abnormality with her brain scan, doctors at the hospital concluded that she had been injected with harmful drugs.

Due to mistreatment, Gao Rongrong died on . Chinese officials forced her family to cremate her body immediately after her death.