Open Letter to the President of the P R China from Falun Gong practitioners in the U.K.
 
18 October 1999

Dear President Jiang:

We are Falun Gong practitioners in the UK. We would like to take the opportunity of your visit to the UK to appeal to you to stop the persecution in China of innocent Falun Gong practitioners. We hope that you and other leaders of the People's Republic of China will, in the interest of the millions of lives affected by the recent suppression, listen to the truth presented by Falun Gong practitioners, and lift the ban introduced on 22 July 1999.

Since its introduction by Mr Li Hongzhi in May 1992, Falun Gong has benefited 100 million people all over China and around the world. It has enabled people to enjoy better health, purer mind and uplifted spirit. Falun Gong does not get involved in politics and is beneficial to both the practising individuals and the country as a whole.

Concerned about the large number of practitioners, the police and other authorities in China have been suppressing Falun Gong for many years, with widespread telephone tapping, searching of homes, banning of publications and sacking from jobs. This culminated in the beating and arrests of dozens of practitioners in Tianjin, which sparked off a rally of 10,000 practitioners in Beijing in April. Since then, the suppression has been intensified. On 20 July 1999, the police in China carried out large-scale arrests of thousands of innocent Falun Gong practitioners, who were tortured, starved of food and water, sacked from jobs, expelled from Universities and forced to stop practising Falun Gong. The arrests and abuses have continued to this day. One of the victims of this brutal treatment in the hands of the police is Ms Zhao Jinhua, 42, who were tortured for 10 days until she died of extensive injuries on 7 October 1999.

Since July, the official media in China have saturated the airwaves and the press with fabricated information and
orchestrated denunciation of Falun Gong in a style that was commonly used in the "cultural revolution". The police also
issued an arrest warrant for the founder of Falun Gong, Mr Li Hongzhi, and made requests to the Interpol for his extradition.

The brutal treatment of Falun Gong practitioners is a clear violation of the constitution of the P. R. China and international
human rights treaties which China has signed. We sincerely hope that you would ensure that the Chinese Government correct its mistakes in the treatment of Falun Gong and, in particular, release all innocent Falun Gong practitioners as soon as possible and allow them to practise in a peaceful environment; withdraw the arrest warrant for Mr Li Hongzhi; and
resolve the current situation through peaceful dialogue.

We hope you have a fruitful visit to the UK.

Yours sincerely,

Falun Gong practitioners in the UK