Wall Street Journal: Rights Group to Criticize Hong Kong Over Treatment of Falun Gong [group] (excerpt)

April 16, 2001

HONG KONG -- A local human rights group criticized the Hong Kong government on Monday for its treatment of the spiritual [group] Falun Gong, saying it amounts to censorship.

"Falun Gong in Hong Kong can't criticize the Chinese government or engage in politically sensitive activities," said Human Rights Monitor director Law Yuk-kai. "We are concerned about the possibility that their future activities may be barred from public venues, although that hasn't happened yet."

The group's opinion is to be submitted on Thursday in a position paper to a U.N. committee in Geneva before the panel's hearing later this month.

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In its statement to the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Human Rights Monitor group urges the committee to call upon the Hong Kong government to respect freedom of expression and to ensure that all relevant government departments remain free of political biases against Falun Gong and refrain from exercising political censorship.

"What Falun Gong followers have been doing is nothing but peaceful exercise of their freedoms of association, assembly, and expression, and to uphold and practice their beliefs in Hong Kong," the statement said.

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