8TH APRIL 2002

Dear President Rau

We would like to express our strongest opposition to the forthcoming official visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Germany.

As you are aware, China has conducted a policy of severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China over the last 3 years, in which nearly 400 practitioners have been tortured to death, and many more thousands have been arrested and imprisoned without trial, subjected to mental and physical torture, or have been condemned to long sentences in labour camps and mental hospitals. Since March 5th, Jiang Zemin has also ordered "Kill Without Mercy" policy towards Falun Gong practitioners, by which the police have been empowered to shoot dead any person found circulating Falun Gong material and 5000 practitioners have been arrested in Changchun city alone since then. Every day someone has been killed there.

President Jiang has embarked upon this brutal policy, which contravenes not only the International Convention on Human Rights, but also China's own constitution, which guarantees the freedom of expression and belief, at the same time as China has of acceded to the World Trade Organisation, a move which increases China's ability to trade on a large scale with the rest of the world.

It is totally unacceptable that the international community should welcome China into the economic security and prosperity of the WTO while China continues to engage in acts of state terrorism against its own citizens.

We believe that all civilised Western nations should unite in condemnation of Jiang Zemin's policy of persecution and should show him in no uncertain terms that he must end this policy immediately. China's appalling record on human rights and its history of intolerance towards many religious groups is well documented. However many nations choose to overlook this record in the hope of securing lucrative contracts with Chinese companies, not wishing to jeopardise their own economic progress.

We believe that Germany should not have accepted Jiang Zemin on an official visit at this time. The West must take the lead in sending positive signals to the Chinese to improve their human rights record without delay, and to end their brutal policy of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and release all those currently imprisoned in Chinese jails immediately.

We hope that you will include in your meetings a serious dialogue on China's persecution of Falun Gong and in the name of humanity will not allow them to continue the persecution unchallenged.

Yours sincerely

John Dee (Vice-Chairman)

Co-Signed or Supported by

Lord Avebury
Lord Moyne
Dr Lynne Jones MP

Richard Harries (Bishop of Oxford)
Michael Hill (Bishop of Buckingham)
Lord Habgood
Lord Desai
Lord Joffe CBE
Lord Hylton
Baroness Prashar Runnymede
Baroness Thomas of Walliswood
Lord Kilmour of Craigmillar
John Wilkinson
John Randall
Sir Nicholas Lyell
Dr Stephen Ladyman
Elfyn Llwyd
Michael Ancram
John Greenway
Geoffrey Robinson
Sir Peter Lloyd
Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
Baroness Ludford
Ian Hudghton
Roger Helmer
Catherine Stihler
Dr Charles Tannock
Prof. David Cooper
Dr Declan Lyons