Association of World Citizens' Speech at U.N.

Representative to the United Nations, Geneva

Thank you Mr. Chairman,

My Name is May Bakhtiar and I speak on behalf of the Association of World Citizens. Our association has always been concerned with the question of religious intolerance in the World, particularly in China.

It was the Irish poet and social reformer A.E. (George Russel) who wrote in The Avatars that "there never yet was a fire which did not cast dark shadows of itself".

This is what we see currently in China with the Government's repressive policy against the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Falun Gong is a fire, a light, coming from the deep embers of Chinese culture, drawing on Taoist and Buddhist principles and on long-used techniques of exercises and Qigong.

This fire, under the ashes of modem history, is now lighting the lives of millions with its three chief virtues of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. But the brighter the light, the darker the shadows. The light of the Falun Gong has shown at least four areas of shadows and darkness in Chinese Government policy.

In our Written Statement NGO 47, available outside, we call upon the Chinese authorities to examine and modify a number of areas of legal and administrative practices which are in contradiction with internationally recognized human rights norms.

We have time to outline only four such areas of darkness which have been made manifest by the repression of Falun Gong practitioners but, of course, not only against Falun Gong practitioners. These are areas of' fundamental weaknesses in the Chinese legal system, weaknesses which open doors to abuses, to torture and to degrading acts.

1. The first area of darkness is the persistent use of administrative detention and the relegation of people to the "re-education through labor camps." The use of administrative detention is a fundamental denial of the right to a fair trial and to adequate defense. Persons placed in these labor camps by administrative decision often are not told of the reasons for their detention. No time is set for their release. Often family members are not informed where the person is held.

There are allegations of widespread torture and degrading punishment which was a major concern to the UN Committee against Torture in its May 2000 comments concerning China. The UN

Working group on Arbitrary Detention considers the re-education through labor as "inherently arbitrary."

2. The arrests of Falun Gong practitioners have highlighted the widespread use of torture not only in the re-education through labor camps but also in jails and prisons. Torture is used as a means of social control; it is used with the aim of striking terror into the hearts of the people. The recent Amnesty International report in China has been widely praised.

(Amnesty International Torture : A Growing Scourge in China- Time for Action, Feb. 2001, 59pp.)

3. The arrest and imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners has highlighted deliberate violence against women. There have been numerous cases of rape and degrading punishment. Their treatment is an indication of a wider and deeper contempt for women in Chinese society- a projection from the heart of darkness.

4. The banning of Falun Gong on 22 July 1999 and the passing of legislation to justify the ban only on October 30,1999 is an indication of the shadowy nature of legislation concerning religion and belief in China and the need for reform of all legislation concerning the freedom of association.

Our hope is that these areas of deep darkness in the Chinese legal system will be reformed in a spirit of justice and compassion.

Thank you.