Letter from the Office of British Ambassador in Beijing

31 October 2000

Dear Ms XX

Thank you for your letter of 2 October to Sir Anthony Galsworthy, British Ambassador in Beijing, concerning the treatment of adherents of the Falun Gong movement in China. I have been asked to reply.

We have been deeply concerned about the treatment of Falun Gong adherents since the movement was banned by the Chinese authorities in July 1999. We have taken every appropriate opportunity to address our concerns about the harassment of individual adherents and excessive sentences handed out to individual leaders. We did so recently during the fifth round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue held in London between 16-18 October. We expressed concern at excessive sentences against Falun Gong leaders, harassment of ordinary adherents and the treatment, including reports of beatings, of Falun Gong protesters in Tiananmen Square on 1 October. Such actions are incompatible with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in October 1998. We pressed the Chinese government to abide by these provisions.

We also raised the matter of the apparently harsh treatment of individual adherents of the movement, citing the examples of Li Chang and Wang Zhiwen, jailed in December 1999 for 18 and 16 years respectively. We press the Chinese to review each case and to consider clemency.

We have also been concerned at a number of cases of harassment of UK-based Falun Gong practitioners including through intimidation of relatives based in China. We view such incidents seriously. John Battle MP, FCO Minister of State, called in the Chinese Ambassador in London, Ma Zhengang, on 20 June and demanded that such activities cease. We also raised these concerns at the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue. The Chinese authorities could be in no doubt about the strength of our concerns on this matter.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Seaton

Head

China Hong Kong Department