Taiwan: President Chen Shui-bian Meets With Falun Gong Practitioners to Discuss the Hong Kong Deportation Incident

At 4 p.m. on July 12th, Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian met with several representatives of Falun Gong, including Taiwan Falun Dafa Association president Ching-hsi Chang, Taiwan University professor Chu-cheng Ming, human rights lawyer Theresa Chu, and Sound of Hope reporter Shu-hui Liao. The meeting was held to discuss an incident which happened in late June, when about 500 Taiwanese practitioners were man-handled and deported by the Hong Kong authorities after they flew to Hong Kong to participate in human rights activities there. Theresa Chu and Shu-Hui Liao were both among those who were deported.

President Chen said that the world can only have real peace when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) collapses. The President commented that the path to human rights is very difficult and expressed his admiration for the persistent spirit of Falun Gong practitioners. He also stressed that human rights should be recognised by every government and he would continue to support Falun Gong practitioners' efforts.

The President said that the reason the Chinese Communist Party is so afraid of the practice is that the CCP leaders lack confidence. Falun Gong is completely innocent. He emphasised that the practitioners' efforts to obtain human rights and freedom of belief are noble causes and should be continued.

During the meeting, professor Ming gave the president a briefing on the grand tide of quitting the CCP and its affiliated organisations. "To date, more than 23 million Chinese people have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organisations, and this number is increasing at a speed of 30 to 40 thousand a day." Ming said.

Reportedly, President Chen has compared the flourishing of Falun Gong in Taiwan and the persecution in China on many occasions while meeting with visiting foreign officials.

Before the meeting, on July 1st, Ms. Chu told the press that she was preparing to appeal to the UN Human Rights Commission. "We have appealed to the Taiwan Legislative Yuan, the Administration Branch and party leaders. If we don't receive a concrete response, we will appeal to the UN Human Rights Commission," she stated.