The European Parliament comprises over 600 members (MEPs) elected from 15 countries of the European Union. In December and late November, 33 UK members of the European Parliament signed a letter to Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji calling for the stop of persecution of Zhao Ming and other Falun Gong practitioners for their peacefully held belief.

Four additional UK MEPs offered other forms of support, e.g., writing to the Chinese Embassy in London or expressing support to practitioners by letter, email or telephone. Many MEPs send their good wishes or asked what further efforts could be made to stop the persecution. Two MEPs also wrote to Zhao Ming in the labour camp directly to offer their support and solidarity. Neil MacCormick is a Scottish member of the European Parliament and also a professor. In his letter to Zhao Ming on 1 December 2000, Professor MacCormick said "I was very sorry to learn of your detention by the authorities in the People's Republic of China, as a punishment for being a Falun Gong practitioner. It is distressing beyond words that thousands of people like you are being held in custody and sometimes tortured, because of their peaceful spiritual and exercise practices....

"May I assure you of my support and solidarity with you and other Falun Gong practitioners and determination to continue to work for freedom of belief in China."

On 30 November, an English MEP, Mr Phillip Whitehead, wrote to Zhao Ming at Tuanhe labour camp, "... It is unbelievable that people are still imprisoned and often tortured for doing what you do and believe in, which would normally be perceived to be spiritual and peaceful. The Chinese Government signed up to the international agreements guaranteeing freedom of religion and belief, but are clearly not honouring their commitment.

"The debate on China's human rights in the European Parliament has been intense recently and the Parliament and the Commission continue to seek solutions to this horrific abuse of human rights.

"I have written to the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China and can assure you that the European Parliament will do everything possible to work towards freedom of belief in China."

The text of the letter to Premier Zhu, which was drafted by the Amnesty International and signed by 33 UK MEPs is as follows:

Premier of the People's Republic of China

Zhu Rongji Zongli

9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie

Beijingshi 100032

People's Republic of China

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

A matter of very serious concern has come to my attention and this is why I write to you now.

I have heard that Zhao Ming, a 30-year-old post graduate student of computer science at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, was arrested during a return visit to China and sent to the main labour camp in Daxing County, Beijing. I am told this happened because he is a practitioner of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong. I have also heard reports that Zhao Ming is being tortured in this labour camp to make him renounce Falun Gong. Reports of arrests of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China are also of great concern.

It seems that these people are being detained solely because of their expression of their peaceful beliefs. Many detainees have reportedly been tortured and in some cases deaths are said to have occurred because of torture and ill-treatment by police. China signed up to the UN Convention Against Torture in 1988 and is therefore obliged to investigate all allegations of torture and bring those responsible to justice.

I strongly urge you Mr. Prime Minister, to ensure that independent investigations are carried out into these allegations of torture of Zhao Ming and other Falun Gong practitioners. I also urge you to ensure that no one is persecuted by state authorities for the expression of their peacefully held beliefs.

Yours sincerely,

Signature __________________

Name: __________________

Date: __________________

Category: Voices of Support Worldwide