Austrian Foreign Minister Sends Letter of Support

Many Austrians recently have expressed their concern about human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners in China by signing a petition. The petition was circulated by the Austrian Falun Gong Association and then mailed to the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

As a result of this effort, the Austrian Falun Gong Association has received a letter in May from the Austrian Foreign Minister, Dr. Benita-Ferrero-Waldner in which she says, "The Foreign Ministry takes the concerns of all these people very seriously and especially shares the concerns about the persecution of Falun Gong members. All fellow employees of the Foreign Ministry on all levels are actively supporting and working for the protection of the Falun Gong members' human rights. Time constraints prevent me to respond to each similar-sounding, individual letter. I therefore ask you to please convey the contents of my letter to the members of your association and to all other interested persons."

She emphasizes further that, "Austria is actively involved with the European Union in an advisory capacity regarding this matter. We follow closely and with great care the developing human rights situation in China. I can therefore further assure you that Austria will in the future play a leading role in the formulation of a human rights policy at the European Union regarding China, so that we can mutually give weight to an improvement to the situation in China in general and also for the Falun Gong members."