On 30 January 2001 Ms. Glenda Jackson, a Member of the UK Parliament, asked Mr. John Battle, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, "when concerns about the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners were last raised with the Chinese Government; and what actions Her Majesty's Government plans to continue to make in this matter".
Mr. John Battle replied:
"We have serious concerns about the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China and take every opportunity to raise these directly with the Chinese authorities. A list of individual cases of concern, including Falun Gong practitioners, was passed to the Chinese authorities during a call by the British Ambassador on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 19 January. Falun Gong was also discussed in detail during the last round of the UK/China human rights dialogue in London between 16-18 October. I personally raised Falun Gong with Chinese Ambassador Ma Zhengang on 20 June 2000 and 30 November.
We intend to raise the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners during the forthcoming sixth round of the UK/China human rights dialogue in Beijing between 12-14 February."
This reply shows that the British Government takes the Falun Gong issue very seriously and does not accept the Chinese Government's version of events.
