Press Conference Speech from European Friends of Falun Gong

(Clearwisdom.net) The following speech was made by the Vice-Chairman of European Friends of Falun Gong - a non-profit organization of people who support Falun Gong practitioners' freedom of belief - during a press conference in London on Saturday January 15th. A written version of the speech was then taken to the Chinese Embassy, where the staff refused to open the door and accept the letter. For a full report on that event, please see http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/1/17/56648.html

15th January 2005

Dear Ambassador:

We are here today to make an impassioned appeal to the leader of the PRC, Hu Jintao, to end the severe persecution of the Falun Gong practitioners in China, which has been taking place for more than 5 years now.

During that time more than 1600 practitioners have been tortured to death while in police custody, and the brutal regime of former president Jiang Zemin has been responsible for the imprisonment of many thousands more practitioners, for doing no more than exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech and belief. So far the persecution has shown little sign of improving since the new government leader took over nearly two years ago. The continual persecution casts a shameful shadow over mankind, which we must do our utmost to expurgate.

China must be made to realize that Falun Gong and its supporters can only have a beneficial effect on the moral and social fabric of the country as a whole, with their principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and that they are not seeking any political gain out of their practice.

It is therefore vital that foreign governments, including that of the UK, continue to put pressure on the Chinese government to change its attitude towards Falun Gong.

We are aware that those governments must have fears that, to speak out against China could have a detrimental effect on the trade and economic links with China in the future, but those fears must be overcome by a sense of higher moral standing.

We appeal to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to lead the way in increasing the pressure on China to end the persecution. The long-term gains in terms of higher morality and a sense of justice must be allowed to prevail over short-term economic gain.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200501/24375.html