Letter from the Falun Gong Association (UK) to the Prime Minister of Cambodia

The reported deportation of a Chinese couple with official UN refugee status to China by the Cambodian police under pressure from the Chinese Embassy is shocking, and represents a direct violation of their rights as UN Refugees and a breach of the obligation of the Cambodian government as a UN member to protect refugees.

Li, Guojun and his wife Zhang Xinyi are Falun Gong practitioners and escaped from China to Phnom Penh after Chinese President Jiang Zemin launched the persecution campaign against Falun Gong in July, 1999.

They settled in Phnom Penh in 1999 and got jobs teaching Chinese in a local Chinese school. In May 2002, a friend from abroad sent the couple a package containing Falun Gong books and materials. Upon discovering the package, the Chinese school in Phnom Penh fired them from their jobs.

In June, the couple applied for an extension for their Chinese passports at the Chinese Embassy, and were refused. Finally in July, they applied and obtained official U.N. Refugee Certificates.

On August 2, however, the couple was arrested by the Cambodian police who were reportedly pressured and directed by the Chinese Embassy to send them back to Changsha City, which they did on August 9. They now face the threat of infinite detention and torture.

Falun Gong is a health-inducing set of exercises based on ancient insights into the human mind, body and spirit. It is entirely peaceful and promotes the traditional values Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. The five sets of exercises of Falun Gong are tranquil and meditative. Its benefits include health, happiness and meaningful living.

You may be aware of the inhumane treatment being constantly levelled at Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese authorities. To justify their brutal crackdown, the Chinese government launched an intensive defamation campaign against Falun Gong. During the past 30 months, intimidation, torture, prison sentences are commonplace for hundreds and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China. We know of at least 450 deaths resulting from torture and ill-treatment in police custody. Please take serious note of the fact that despite the persecution not a single act of retaliation has been reported.

Since the crackdown in July, 1999, Falun Gong has gained world-wide support from many governments and international organisations. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 15 Feb. 2001 calling on the regime in China to respect the human rights of the practitioners. About 100 UK MPs, MEPs and Peers as well as the UK Foreign Secretary have expressed support for the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners. Amnesty International has produced several reports detailing many atrocities suffered by Falun Gong practitioners. The US Congress passed a resolution unanimously in July 2002 criticising the suppression.

We call upon the Cambodian government to uphold the rights of refugees fleeing the inhuman persecution by the Jiang regime in China and honour its obligation to protect refugees as a member of the UN.