As Canadian citizens committed to human rights, and to the equal treatment and protection of women internationally, our organization is concerned about reports that detained followers of the Falun Gong movement have been tortured or ill-treated in various places of detention in the People's Republic of China. According to Amnesty International (Public document, AI Index: ASA 17/54/99, October 22,1999), especially since it has been reported that many Falun Gong practitioners are middle-aged or elderly people, with a large proportion of women among them. The following allegations of torture and ill-treatment have been made:

Ms. Zhao Jinhua, female, a 42 year-old farmer from Zhaojia village, Zhangxing county, Shandong province, is reported to have died on October 7, 1999 in a police station of Zhangxing county. A Falun Gong practitioner since 1995, Zhao Jinhua had been taken away by Zhangxing county police on September 27, 1999, while she was working in the fields.

Ms. Zhang XiaoHong, a 38 year-old woman from Dalian, was arrested on August 30, 1999, when she was practicing Falun Gong exercises in Youjia Village of Shahekou District, and allegedly mistreated while in detention.

Ms. Sun Lanfang, a 28 year-old woman from Dalian, detained in September at the Yaojia Detention Center, is reported to have been tortured, because she practiced Falun Gong exercises in her cell.

Ms. Zhang Chunqing, a 58 year-old woman from Dalian, was arrested on September 3,1999 for practicing Falun Gong exercises in a public park and detained for 15 days at the Yaojia Detention Center for "disturbing public order". While held there, she was reportedly mistreated.

Ms. Sa Yusong, a 36 year-old woman held at the Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian in September 1999, was reportedly mistreated while held in detention.

Ms. Yi Xingqin, a 34 year-old woman detained in Dalian on August 30, 1999, was reportedly mistreated while in detention in September.

Ms. Zhu Hang, Associate Professor at the Department of Humanity and Social Sciences of Dalian University of Science and Technology, was arrested when practicing the FLG exercises in a park on August 30, 1999, charged with "disrupting social order with feudal superstition" and detained at the Yaojia Detention Center, where she was allegedly mistreated.

Ms. Li Juhua, a Falun Gong practitioner at the Meicheng Town practice site of Anhua County, was allegedly taken away on July 25, by the local Joint Defense Team and raped by members of the team, suffering severe mental trauma as a result.

Ms. Gao Shanshan, a 16 year-old girl from Qiqihar, in Heilongjiang province, was reportedly detained in Beijing on September 24, 1999, after being denounced to the police for possessing a Falun Gong book.

We join with Amnesty International in urging you to launch, without delay, impartial investigations into the reports of torture and ill-treatment cited above and other reports or complaints of torture, to punish those found responsible for torturing or ill-treating detainees, and to take measures to ensure that people who remain in detention are protected from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

I also respectfully request that you inform our organization of the results of the investigations, at the following address:

gentium@istar.ca (e-mail)

(613) 567-3287 (FAX)

Sincerely,

Alma Estable

Vice-President

Latin American Women's Congress/Congres de femmes d'amerique latine

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada