Worldwide Letters of Justice to Cambodia

We respectfully ask for your urgent attention. On 2 August 2002, two Chinese asylum seekers, Li Guo Jun, 46, and Zhang Xinyi, 39, were arrested by Cambodian police and then deported by Cambodian authorities on 9 August and are now held in detention in Changsha City, in China's Hunan Province.

The Chinese couple were Falun Gong practitioners and persons of concern under the protection of the UNHCR in Cambodia. Their deportation is a clear violation of Cambodia's international obligation of non-refoulement under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi had settled in Phnom Penh in 1999 following the persecution campaign against Falun Gong launched by Chinese President Jiang Zemin. They had been teaching in a Chinese school and apparently had no trouble with the local or Chinese authorities. Following receipt of a package of Falun Gong books in June 2002 they were dismissed from their jobs and had their passports confiscated when seeking renewals. Since deportation, they are now subject to indefinite incarceration and torture in China should they refuse to renounce their spiritual beliefs.

We hope you can consider the plight of this couple in a true and clear context. They, like millions of us in over 50 countries around the world have found great benefit in the traditional Chinese practice of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. It is a practice of exercises and meditation with teachings based on the principles of Truthfulness -- Compassion -- Forbearance that was taught privately over thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr Li Hongzhi.

In China, people found Falun Gong to be so good for their health, morality and happiness that it quickly became the most popular qigong practice in history with government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing it. Unfortunately, the response of Jiang Zemin to something so popular and outside the control of the Communist Party was to outlaw the peaceful practice in July 1999. Since then his irrational campaign of slander, propaganda and fear has led to the detention of over 100,000 Chinese citizens, the sentencing of more than 20,000 to forced labour camps without trial and the recorded deaths of 450 people in police custody. Government officials within China have reported that the actual death toll is over 1,600.

We understand Cambodia has a close relationship with China. But we also understand the Policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia include the respect of human rights, neutrality and non-alliance and properly enforcing the law to make Cambodia safe for all, including diplomats, investors, tourists and foreign workers. We trust that those Policies include rights and concern being extended to Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi. We urge you to help Cambodia see its responsibility in this matter and do all that you can to safeguard the rights of those holding UN refugee status.

Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance - these words carry a depth only limited by our understanding of the meaning and purpose of human life. If you find these words are merely words, we hope you can receive this message and act in good conscience on behalf of Cambodia's UN obligations. If you feel these words are more than words, then we trust you will find in your heart the correct action as you will know that how we act in this life has vast implications for our Self.

Yours Sincerely
Falun Dafa Association NSW (Australia)

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Letter Asks Cambodian Government to Protect Those Who Are Suffering, Maintain Righteousness and Justice, Even Under Pressure

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a resident of Ohio, USA. Recently from Agence France-Presse (AFP) news, I was astonished to learn that Cambodian police, under pressure from the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh, deported to China a Chinese couple (Li, Guojun and his wife Zhang, Xinyi) who were living and working in Phnom Penh with U.N. Refugee Certificates, simply because they are Falun Gong practitioners. According to the sources inside China, the couple is being held in a detention centre in Changsha City, the capital city of Hunan Province in China, because of their belief in Falun Gong.

I cannot understand why Cambodia, a nation that has experienced the cruelty of a communist regime, can hand over two innocent people who pursue freedom of belief to another communist regime which tortures and murders people with independent thoughts and belief. Also, I cannot understand how a nation whose population is 95% Buddhist can hand over two people who believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" to the regime of Jiang Zemin, where nothing but violence is worshipped.

It is important to note that these two Chinese people had already obtained U.N. Refugee Certificates. Do you know how Falun Gong practitioners have been treated by Jiang's regime in the past three years? They are routinely subject to forced brainwashing, arbitrary detention, torture and murder. Up to now, more than 1,600 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death according the sources inside China. Do you know what the couple will face after being sent to China? They are already in police custody now. What will happen to them if they refuse to renounce their practice of Falun Gong?

History is a mirror. The suffering of the Cambodian people under the rule of the Khmer Rouge regime should make everyone in the world think: How can we keep this kind of catastrophe from happening again in the world? What should be our response if a mass human rights violation is happening in another country? I believe the answer should be: speak out for and protect those who are suffering; maintain righteousness and justice even under pressure. Helping others is helping yourselves. Doing good things creates a good future for a nation, but helping evil people persecute practitioners of a righteous practice could push a nation into a dangerous situation.

I sincerely hope that the Cambodian government can find a way to remedy this wrong deed. It is not only important for the fate of the Chinese couple, but also for the future of Cambodia.