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U.S. State Department’s Press Briefing
August 26, 1999
“The United States strongly believes that individual spiritual beliefs should be respected in accordance with international covenants that China has signed. It’s also our long-standing belief that no one should be persecuted for peaceful assembly, association or peaceful expression of their views. We therefore urge the Chinese government to live up to its obligations under international human rights instruments and protect freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
US House and Senate Pass Resolutions to Stop China’s Persecution of Falun Gong
On November 18, 1999, the United States House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution criticizing Chinese government’s crackdown on Falun Gong. On November 19, the United States Senates also passed a related resolution.
The following is the resolution H. CON. RES. 218 passed by the House.
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Government of the People’s Republic of China should stop its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Whereas Falun Gong is a peaceful and nonvio-lent form of personal belief and practice with millions of adherents in China and elsewhere;
Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China has forbidden Falun Gong practitioners to practice their beliefs;
Whereas this prohibition violates China’s own Constitution as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas thousands of ordinary citizens from all over China have been jailed for refusing to give up their practice of Falun Gong and for appealing to the government for protection of their constitutional rights;
Whereas there are many credible reports of torture and other cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment of detained Falun Gong practitioners;
Whereas the People’s Republic of China has enacted new criminal legislation that the govern-ment’s official newspaper hailed as a `powerful new weapon to smash evil cultist organizations, especially Falun Gong’;
Whereas some of the detained Falun Gong members have been charged with political offenses, such as violations of China’s vague `official state secrets’ law, and under the new legislation Falun Gong practitioners will be chargeable with such offenses as murder, fraud, and endangering national security;
Whereas other Falun Gong members have been sentenced to labor camps, apparently under administrative procedures allowing such sentences without trial;
Whereas Chinese authorities in recent months have reportedly confiscated, burned, or otherwise destroyed millions of Falun Gong books and tapes;
Whereas thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China have lost their jobs and students have been expelled from schools for refusing to give up their beliefs; and
Whereas the brutal crackdown by the Chinese Government on Falun Gong is in direct violation of the fundamental human rights to freedom of personal belief and practice, expression, and assembly: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
the Government of the People’s Republic of China should stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners; and
the Government of the United States should use every appropriate public and private forum, including but not limited to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, to urge the Government of the People’s Republic of China--
(A) to release from detention all Falun Gong practitioners and put an immediate end to the practices of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against them and other prisoners of conscience;
(B) to allow Falun Gong practitioners to pursue their personal beliefs in accordance with article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China; and
(C) to abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
President Clinton denounced China’s crackdown on Falun Gong
On December 6, 1999, in his speech to proclaim the Human Rights Day, Bill Of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week of 1999 in the U.S., President Clinton called the detention of Falun Gong practitioners, “a troubling example’’ of China’s stifling “those who test the limits of freedom.’’
U.S. to Sponsor Rights Measure Critical of China
Washington Post and AFP (Jan. 12, 2000)
“The Clinton administration said yesterday that it will sponsor a resolution critical of China’s human rights record at the next meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, scheduled for Geneva in March.”
“ ‘China’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate,’ said State Department spokesman James P. Rubin, citing Beijing’s crackdown on political dissent, the Falun Gong spiritual movement, unregistered churches and ethnic minorities, especially Tibetans. ” “Controls on the media and the Internet have also been tightened. ”
“ ‘We will obviously try to work closely with our colleagues in Europe who care about human rights and who understand the value of using an international forum like the commission to promote human rights. ’ Rubin said. ”
US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999
State Department Human Rights Report Highly Critical of China
New York Times, February 25, 2000 WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Using its toughest language since the pro-Democracy movement was crushed by Beijing more than a decade ago, the United States sharply criticized China today for what it called a marked deterioration in human rights.
The annual country reports on human rights released by the State Department dealt with more than 100 countries, but much of the focus was on China...
“The government's poor human rights record deteriorated markedly throughout the year, as the Government intensified efforts to suppress dissent, particularly organized dissent,” the report said.
After noting Beijing's actions against the Falun Gong and the China's Democracy Party last year, the report said: “The government continued to commit widespread and well documented human rights abuses in violation of internationally accepted norms. These abuses stemmed from the authorities' extremely limited tolerance of public dissent aimed at the government, fear of unrest, and the limited scope or inadequate implementation of laws protecting basic freedoms.”
[The State Department Report has a long section on the persecution of Falun Gong in China, which cannot be fully quoted here. For details, please refer to http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/ 1999_hrp_report/china.html.]
European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in China
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Article 11(1) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 177 of the EC Treaty, which establish the promotion of human rights as an objective of the CFSP,
- having regard to its resolution of 12 June 1997 on a long-term policy for China-Europe relations[1] and its resolution of 8 October 1998 on the European Union and Hong Kong: beyond 1997[2],
- having regard to its previous resolutions on the violations of human and minority rights and religious freedom in China,
- having regard to the conclusions of the EU-China Summit held in Beijing on 21 December 1999,
A. whereas the human rights situation in China has continued to deteriorate with an increasingly high number of executions, further suppression of organized political dissent, intensification of controls on unregistered churches and interference in the process of appointment of Roman Catholic bishops, the official banning of the Falun Gong movement and harassment of ethnic minority groups, especially Tibetans, Mongolians and Uighurs,
B. Whereas China has made no progress in ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights nor the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
C. whereas, with regard to Hong Kong, the undertakings relating to freedom of expression, political freedom and the rule of law, given by China in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the handover of power, are being infringed, for instance through the request to the NPC Standing Committee to reinterpret parts of the Basic Law after the judgment of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal,
D. whereas the flight of Tibet’s Karmapa Lama to Dharmshala is indicative of religious repression,
E. whereas Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo and Vice-Minister Long Yongtu will visit Brussels on 25 January 2000 to discuss China’s accession to the WTQ with EU representatives,
F. whereas the 56th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights is scheduled for 20 March 2000 in Geneva,
1. Urges the Chinese Government to respond to international calls for improvement in the human rights situation and to guarantee democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of the media and political and religious freedom in China, in particular in Hong Kong and Macao, as well as in Tibet;
2. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to continue to exert pressure on China to improve her human rights record in accordance with international standards and to make clear to the Chinese Government that progress in EU-China relations, including China’s WTO accession, is linked to such an improvement;
3. Urges the Commission, the Council and the Member States to raise specifically the issue of religious persecution, since there is an increasing trend towards violations of freedom of religion;
4. Calls on the Council to join efforts with the USA and co-sponsor a resolution on China at the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Commission and to work actively, through high-level diplomatic lobbying, to encourage the other members in the Human Rights Commission to do likewise, while discouraging countries represented in Geneva from voting for a no-action motion on China, which would prevent the Human Rights Commission from even discussing the situation in that country;
5. Urges the Chinese Government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
6. Calls on the Council to inform Parliament and its Committee on Foreign Affairs on the strategy pursued and the results obtained by the EU at the UN Human Rights Commission;
7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Member countries of the UN Human Rights Commission and the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
Letter from Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
September 3, 1999
“The Government of Canada regrets the detention of Falun Gong members and the banning of the organization. We are very concerned about this suppression of the basic rights of freedom of expression and spiritual practice and call on the Chinese government to respect these essential human rights.”
International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development
FALUN GONG PERSECUTION MUST STOP
Montreal, July 29, 1999
The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development strongly condemns the Chinese government’s persecution and nationwide ban on the practice of Falun Gong aimed at suppressing the group.
“The large-scale arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the arbitrary detention of its leaders contravene international law, including the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China recently signed,” Warren Allmand, President of the International Centre, said today in a statement. “China is not only making a mockery of its international obligations but it also violates its own constitution which guarantees the rights to freedom of belief, assembly and association,” he said.
... ...
In a letter sent today to Mr. Axworthy, Mr. Allmand stressed there is little evidence that bilateral dialogue is helping the human rights situation in China. “In the last year, we have seen the sham trials of labour and human rights activists, the imposition of long prison sentences against them, the continuing crackdown against dissidents and a lack of progress on the Tibetan question.”
The International Centre reiterated its call that Canada should conduct a substantive and public assessment of this bilateral human rights policy and to suspend further sessions of the Joint Committee.
IV. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
(Editor’s Note: Human Rights in China (HRIC) is the largest independent organization focused on monitoring and promoting human rights in the People’s Republic of China. Founded in 1989 by a group of Chinese scientists and scholars, HRIC maintains offices in New York and Hong Kong.)
Sentencing of Falun Gong members reveals the true face of China’s “rule by law”
Press Statement 27 December 1999
Human Rights in China (HRIC) strongly condemns the secret show trials and severe sentencing to up to eighteen years imprisonment of four key members of the Falun Gong spiritual group on December 26. Two of the sentences, for 18 years in one case and 16 years in another, were the harshest sentences handed down to peaceful demonstrators in the last ten years, and are reminiscent of the lengthy and arduous prison terms meted out to at least seven members of the China Democracy Party (CDP) earlier this year (HRIC press statement).
... ...
“The sentencing of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners reveals the true face of China’s ‘rule by law,’” said Xiao Qiang, HRIC executive director. “This is representative of the systematic way in which the Chinese government not only violates universally recognized human rights standards that are enshrined in its own Constitution, but compounds the outrage by manipulating the law to rationalize its violations. Under the CCP, the law is designed not to preserve and protect the rights of the Chinese people, but to preserve and protect the power of the ruling elite.”
These, and other “legal” aspects of the campaign against the Falun Gong, provide a telling manifestation of what the Chinese leadership, despite its highly public show of “legal reform,” really means by “ruling the country according to law.” The December 26 trials and verdicts are the latest indication that those who see such “rule by law” as a bridge toward an impartial and independent rule of law are viewing Chinese reality through rose-colored glasses.
HRIC urges the Chinese government to show a true commitment to international human rights standards with the immediate and unconditional release of Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Li Jiewu and Yao Jie, as well as all other detained Falun Gong practitioners. HRIC believes that the ban on the Falun Gong should be lifted, and will be raising this case with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. HRIC will additionally be asking the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, who visited China in 1994, to take up this issue with the Chinese government as a matter of urgency.
Crackdown on Falun Gong demonstrates clear violations of human rights
Press Release of 23 July 1999
Human Rights in China (HRIC) strongly condemns the current crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners, including the detention of more than 100 group leaders and thousands of followers, apparently solely for engaging in peaceful protests and exercising their rights to freedom of association and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. In some of China’s major cities, large numbers of followers have been detained in stadiums and other locations, and in certain cases police have been seen to use excessive force in arresting people engaging in non-violent demonstrations. HRIC believes that the order to ban the group is a violation of the right to freedom of association, which is enshrined in China’s constitution, as well as in international human rights instruments.
“The scope and intensity of the campaign against Falun Gong attest to a new high tide of repression in China.” said Xiao Qiang, HRIC executive director. “This clearly demonstrates that China’s human rights abuses directly infringe upon the everyday lives of its vast population. China’s human rights abuses are not only a matter concerning political dissidents. By banning this group and suppressing its practitioners, the Chinese government is merely increasing tensions in society. Real stability can only be constructed when people’s human rights are respected and protected.”
... ...
HRIC urges the Chinese government to respect international human rights standards and to abide by the provisions of the Chinese constitution. HRIC believes the ban on the Falun Gong group should be lifted, and demands the release of all practitioners detained. HRIC will be raising this case with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and will be asking the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, who visited China in 1994, to take up this issue with the Chinese authorities as a matter of urgency.
Falun Gong Movement Detentions: Alienating and Potentially Destabilizing
23 July 1999
The arbitrary detention and continuing crackdown against followers of the Falun Gong movement in China are a new example of the authorities’ tactics of harassing detaining or criminalizing citizens who are peacefully exercising basic human rights. This crack down flies in the face of the Chinese government’s commitments to increase social freedom and marks the beginning of yet another circle of stifled dissent and repression.
... ...
The Ministry of Public Security simultaneously decreed the following activities illegal and liable to prosecution: distributing or promoting Falun Gong materials or gathering to carry out meditation exercises to promote Falun Gong anywhere at any time; silent sitin’s, gatherings marches or demonstrations to protect or promote Falun Gong; fabricating or spreading rumors to incite social disorder, organizing or directing activities to protest relevant government decisions.
This directive includes blanket criminalization of the exercise of basic freedoms enshrined in the Chinese constitution and in international human rights treaties.
Open Letter to the President of the People’s Republic of China
27 September 1999, on the 50th Anniversary of China
(Note: the following is excerpted from the full letter)
The past few months, however, have seen a major leap backwards, with the most serious and wide-ranging crackdown on peaceful dissent carried out by the authorities since 1989. At the same time, despite growing references to “rule by law” in official statements, there is no evidence that effective measures have been taken to stop entrenched practices in the law enforcement and justice system, which violate Chinese law and lead to human rights violations.
... ...
Among the latest victims of the crackdown are followers of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned by the government in July 1999. Thousands of its followers were arbitrarily detained and put under pressure to renounce their beliefs and denounce the group. While many of those initially detained were held for short periods, some were reportedly tortured or ill-treated in detention and arrests have continued since then. Hundreds, possibly many more, of the group’s followers remain in detention. According to recent reports, some are now being prosecuted, including editors and bookstore owners reportedly charged with printing or selling books about the Falun Gong which are now described as “illegal publications”. Members of Christian groups have also been arrested in several provinces in recent months and some were reportedly sentenced to long prison terms.
... ...
Amnesty International believes that entrenching basic rights for all will be the best guarantee of China’s future stability and development, enabling the energies and aspirations of all Chinese people to be fully harnessed.
On this historic occasion, we are calling on the government to take steps without delay to stop arbitrary detention, torture and executions and to take radical action to reform the law enforcement and justice system in China, showing the international community a real commitment to implement meaningful human rights reforms in China.
Yours faithfully,
Pierre Sane, Secretary General
Reports of Torture and Ill-treatment of Followers of Falun Gong
Public document, AI Index: ASA 17/54/99, 22
October 1999 (total of 18 pages)
“Amnesty International is deeply concerned by reports that detained followers of the Falun Gong have been tortured or ill-treated in various places detention in China. In early October 1999, one member of the group, a 42 year-old woman, was reportedly beaten to death in police custody in Shangdong province. Many followers of the group remain in detention across China and it is feared that followers be at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Many Falun Gong practitioners are middle-aged or elderly people, with a large proportion of women among them.”
Amnesty Says China’s Human Rights White Paper Is A Whitewash
(Agence France Presse Feb 18, 2000)
Amnesty International on Friday rejected China’s latest human rights report as a whitewash and accused Beijing of waging the largest crackdown on peaceful dis-sent for more than 10 years.
The London-based human rights group said the white paper released by China on Thursday contained empty guarantees and failed to address repressive legislation and rampant abuse of power.
“Constitutional rights have been severely proscribed by newer laws or are simply not delivered in practice,” said an Amnesty statement faxed to AFP.
Amnesty rejected the Chinese government’s long-held view that it must put the priority of feeding and improving the lot of its 1.3 billion people ahead of Western interpretations of human rights.
“This is a weak and unconvincing explanation for Beijing’s failure to act decisively against torture, to allow thousands to be detained, to carry out unfair trials and to deny constitutional rights to critics and perceived opponents of the regime,” said the statement.
... ...
Rights groups say several thousand Falun Gong have been rounded up across China this month. China admitted to detaining 35,000 between July and November last year, and sentenced group leaders to up to 18 years in jail.
... ...
“The ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent -- the most
serious and widespread in China since 1989 -- is alienating and potentially
destabilizing China. “So indeed are corruption and abuse of power, issues
that find no mention in the White Paper.”
United Nations Must Censure China for Rights Violations
(New York, December 27, 1999) -- Human Rights Watch today
condemned the harsh sentences handed down to four leaders of the Falun
Gong movement on December 27, 1999, and called for the release of more
than one hundred others who have been formally charged but not yet put
on trial for their involvement with Falun Gong. Following a summary trial
on Sunday in Beijing, Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu, and Yao Jie were
given sentences ranging from seven to eighteen years in prison.
“These Falun Gong members should never have been arrested, much less given heavy sentences,” said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “If freedom of association and assembly mean anything in China, then Falun Gong members should be free to recruit others, to practice their exercises and meditation in public, and to protest their own persecution.”
Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations to publicly censure the Chinese government at the next meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva for the suppression of Falun Gong, imprisonment of pro-democracy activists, widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and other violations of international human rights standards.
China Uses “Rule of Law” to Justify Falun Gong Crackdown
Press Release, November 1999
Human Rights Watch called on the international community to step up pressure on Beijing for an end to the crackdown, and also urged Mary Robinson, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, to again intervene with the highest level officials in Beijing.
“Cloaking this campaign in rhetoric about the ‘rule of
law’ doesn’t give any greater legitimacy to China’s crackdown on Falun
Gong. The official ban on Falun Gong should be lifted. The government’s
announcement that it was a ‘true cult’ and must be suppressed should be
rescinded. All Falun Gong members in detention, formally charged, or sentenced
to labor camps for peaceful activities should be immediately released.”
VII. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Case CHN 270799.1
Follow-up to case CHN 270799
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in China. ... ...
According to the information received, since the ban of the religious movement in July 1999, thousands of followers have been arrested and detained. Many have been charged and even sentenced with “endangering state security and leaking state secrets.”
The International Secretariat of OMCT has also received numerous reports of ill-treatment and alleged torture of these detainees who have been placed in labour camps, mental hospitals and detention centers across China. Reports of torture and severe beatings are numerous. In some cases, detainees on hunger strike have been force fed with highly concentrated salt water which has a suffocating effect. Further testimonies include followers being injected with unnecessary medicines with damaging side effects in mental hospitals.
... ...
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in China urging them to:
take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all persons held in detention, and order their immediate release;
order an immediate full and impartial investigation into the above allegations of torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary arrest in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of followers of Falun Gong;
guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards
Geneva, February 22, 2000
VIII. EU Urged to Sponsor China Resolution
EU MUST SPONSOR CHINA RESOLUTION
Joint Press Release From Amnesty International, Human Rights In China, Human Rights Watch, Int'l Federation of Human Rights, International Campaign for Tibet, Reporters Sans Frontières.
10 February 2000
As the 56th session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights approaches, we, the undersigned organizations, urge the European Union to fully acknowledge China's deteriorating human rights situation by co-sponsoring a resolution on China.
Since 1997, the European Union has abandoned support for a China resolution at the Commission in favor of relegating criticism of Beijing to behind-the-scenes discussion, in the framework of " constructive dialogue on human rights ". But the approach of dialogue alone has proved futile in stopping rights violations, let alone in fostering fundamental human rights progress.
The Chinese government is currently conducting the most ruthless repression of dissent since the 1989 crack-down. This is most vividly evidenced in the drive against the Falun Gong movement and the harsh sentencing of labor, political and spiritual activists and Tibetan religious leaders to prison terms of up to 18 years. Thus we are seriously questioning the substitution of quiet diplomacy for multilateral pressure as a way to effectively improve the human rights situation in the People's Republic of China.
In the history of the Commission, a China resolution has not yet been adopted. Thus its full potential has never been realized. Yet, even in its unfulfilled state, the resolution has provided a key focus for debate about the state of human rights in the PRC and has exerted an important form of pressure on Chinese authorities. The experience of the last several years demonstrates the Chinese government's extraordinary sensitivity to the prospect of debate on its human rights record in the U.N.'s highest human rights forum, since, among other things, it would mandate some specific monitoring of China's human rights situation. The past shows that the kind of pressure resulting from the tabling of a resolution on China has generally been a successful tactic for achieving concessions from Beijing, such as the occasional release of prisoners, promises to sign U.N. treaties, or steps toward legal reform. By the same token, when the prospect of a resolution was abandoned, these kinds of concessions dwindled.
Dialogue must not become an end in itself, and that is now happening with China. Continuation of the dialogue, with the prospect of predictable marginal concessions which have no bearing on the current crackdown, cannot be enough any longer. We strongly believe that multilateral pressure must now be part of the strategy to enforce respect for human rights in China. Dialogue without pressure in the face of persistent gross violations of human rights is simply appeasement and degrades the authority of international human rights standards.
The United States has already announced that it would support a resolution on China this year. In the interest of upholding the universality of human rights, it is of utmost importance that the issue of human rights in China be taken up as a multilateral effort, and not be reduced to a topic of US-China politics. In accordance with its own aims in relation to Common Foreign and Security Policy, namely to develop and strengthen democracy and rule of law as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms (art. 11 EU Treaty), the European Union has a significant role to play.
Although the main impetus for change will come from within China, we believe that international, multi-lateral pressure provides crucial leverage to those forces inside China that favor progress towards more respect for human rights. The European Union has asserted that the possibility of tabling a resolution would be re-examined every year, depending on the progress of the human rights situation in China. We firmly believe that there is sufficient indication that China has taken a radical step backwards in the realm of human rights. Thus we urge the European Union to support a China resolution at the 56th session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
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