Letter from European Falun Dafa Association to the Japanese Foreign Minister

Mrs. Yoko Kaneko is married to Mr Atsushi Kaneko, a 46-year-old Japanese businessman. She was sentenced to one and a half years in a labour re-education camp by Beijing police on June 24 for distributing Falun Gong-related materials on Beijing's streets in May. The sentence is a serious violation of Mrs Kaneko’s fundamental rights of freedom of speech and belief which is enshrined in the Chinese constitution and international human rights covenants which China has signed.

Falun Gong presents 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 three years, intimidation, torture, prison sentences are commonplace for hundreds and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China. We know of at least 459 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.

International support and intervention have played major parts in the successful high-profile campaigns for the release of many Falun Gong practitioners incarcerated in China, including Canadian Professor Zhang Kunlun, Australian artist Mrs Zhang Cuiying and Irish postgraduate student Zhao Ming.

We call on you to raise the case of Mrs. Yoko Kaneko with the Beijing authority during your visit to China. Your help would be invaluable to the campaign for her personal freedom and adds to the international standing of Japan as a liberal and democratic society.