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Today’s Articles — August 10, 2001

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AFP: China Jails Six Falun Gong for up to Six Years

August 9, 2001

BEIJING, Aug 9, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Courts in the Chinese capital have sentenced six members of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement to up to six years in prison, state media said Thursday.

UK Parliament debates Human Rights in China

The UK' upper house of parliament, the House of Lords had a one and a half hour debate on the topic of "China: Human Rights" on 18 July 2001.

Lord Alton of Liverpool began the debate. He said: "China systematically uses re-education centres and imprisonment for religious believers and political reformers. These include political dissidents, such as members of the banned China Democratic Party, and anti-corruption and environmental campaigners. Suppression of the Internet, arrests, detentions, unfair trials and executions, the imprisonment of hundreds of Buddhist monks, Christians and members of Falun Gong, and the barbaric treatment of women and children through the one-child policy, must surely cause each one of us to question how we can persist with a policy of business, sport, and aid as usual. "

United States Report on Hong Kong, as of July 31, 2001 [Excerpt]

SUMMARY

Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty has remained one of the freest cities in Asia, with the Hong Kong Government committed to advancing Hong Kong' distinct way of life. With some notable exceptions that bear continued close attention, the Government of the People' Republic of China (PRC) has generally kept its commitments to respect Hong Kong' high degree of autonomy. In the period from April 1, 2000 to July 31, 2001, Hong Kong remained a free society that extended basic civil liberties to its citizens every day, defined its identity in terms of being an open international city, and largely continued to make its own decisions in pursuit of its own identity and economic interests. Nonetheless, there were some issues warranting attention, especially the Hong Kong Government' strong rhetoric toward and possible action against the spiritual group Falun Gong. It is worth noting, however, that the group, although outlawed in the mainland, remains legal in Hong Kong, thus providing a highly visible validation of Hong Kong' autonomy. Despite the PRC ban on Falun Gong in the mainland, which subjected thousands of practitioners to arrest and abuse, the movement continued to practice freely in Hong Kong and held numerous demonstrations and vigils outside Beijing' Liaison Office protesting the PRC Government' mistreatment of practitioners in the PRC.