European Parliament

The President

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Dear Mrs Zhang,

I thank you for your letter of 17 March 2002 concerning the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and for the collection of paintings and CD which you enclosed.

Your account and the newsletters which you sent provide more disturbing evidence of the situation in China and I would therefore repeat and underline the message that you received from my predecessor, Nicole Fontaine. The European Parliament is determined to fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world and will continue to urge China to respect the rights of the Falun Gong as well as those of other minority groups in that country.

As President, I will ensure that the promotion of human rights continues to represent the highest priority for the European Parliament.

Yours sincerely,

Pat COX