Brussels (EFGIC) - Following a three-day visit to Beijing, the Vice President of the European Parliament, Edward McMillan-Scott, called the Chinese Communist leadership a “brutal, arbitrary and paranoid system” at a press conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, and said that the EU would keep putting pressure on China to improve human rights and religious freedom.
After having met with various diplomats, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals including Falun Gong practitioners, who are ruthlessly persecuted by the CCP regime, McMillan-Scott concluded that, despite economic advancements, there hasn’t been any improvement for human rights and freedom in China.
Programme to encourage Democracy and Human Rights
McMillan-Scott announced the introduction by the European Commission of a programme to encourage and assist the process of democracy and human rights in countries including China, through cooperation with local groups.
"One of the elements of my visit to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is to try to establish whether there are ways that have not yet been tried of finding people within China, in particular, who have the capacity to act.
"We have an opportunity in the next couple of years to keep pushing. My presence here, I hope, will begin to give my thoughts and insights into what really goes on and sensitively to work out ways in which people in China can begin to have some hope that things will change," he said.
Europe's Call for Freedom of Chinese
Since the publication of “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” by the Chinese version of The Epoch Times over a year ago, more than 10 million Chinese publicly resigned from the CCP and its affiliations. This unprecedented event marks clearly how China chose to have a future without the CCP. As the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China has kept on escalating ever since it was launched in 1999 by Jiang Zemin, more and more people have seen through the viciousness and the lies of the CCP regime, and stand against the persecution of innocent fellow Chinese.
It is remarkable and admirable that Europe, despite tremendous economic and political pressure from the CCP, extends its help to the Chinese people through this democracy program. The European Falun Gong Information Centre calls out to the Chinese people, on the Mainland and abroad, to grasp this signal of support, and completely break free from the CCP’s brutal oppression.
Beijing meeting interpreter arrested, others still missing
The interpreter for a meeting with individuals in Beijing, a Western citizen, was arrested by CCP agents right after the meeting with McMillan-Scott and aggressively interrogated for 24 hours before being sent back to his country. The whereabouts of several other people involved in the meeting, including Niu Jinping and his daughter, both severely persecuted Falun Gong practitioners, remain unknown.
"We have enough reason to believe all of these people are in hands of the Chinese regime right now and face life danger" said EFGIC spokesperson Nicolas Schols. "We call upon the international community to investigate these arrests and help rescue our friends in Beijing, and demand the Chinese regime to proceed with their immediate release."
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of the Buddha School, consisting of meditation and exercises, with teachings that emphasise living by three principles: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Originating in China, Falun Gong is now practised in over 70 FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT THE EUROPEAN FALUN GONG INFORMATION CENTRE - Peter Jauhal + 44 (0) 7739 172 452 Nicolas Schols +32 47 98 75 734 Email: [email protected]
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