Australian Falun Dafa Association Writes to Prime Minister of Cambodia on Behalf of Practitioners

HE Samdech Hun Sen

Prime Minister

The Royal Government of Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

18 August 2002

Dear Prime Minister

Following reports of the deportation of two Chinese asylum seekers, Li Guo Jun, 46, and Zhang Xinyi, 39, on 9 August 2002 we respectfully ask for your urgent attention. We understand they were arrested on 2 August 2002 by Cambodian police under pressure from the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh and are now held in detention in Changsha City, in China's Hunan Province.

This Chinese couple were Falun Gong practitioners and persons of concern under the protection of the UNHCR in Cambodia. Their deportation is a clear violation of Cambodia's international obligation of non-refoulement under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi settled in Phnom Penh in 1999 following the persecution campaign against Falun Gong launched by Chinese President Jiang Zemin. After receipt of a package of Falun Gong materials in June 2002 they were dismissed from their teaching jobs in a Chinese school and had their passports confiscated when seeking renewals. They are now subject to indefinite incarceration and torture in China because of their spiritual beliefs.

We hope you can in some way make redress to correct this injustice and truly understand the situation. Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi practice Falun Gong, which is also known as Falun Dafa. They, like millions of us in over 50 countries around the world have found great benefit in this traditional Chinese meditation and exercise practice with teachings based on the principles of Truthfulness -- Compassion -- Forbearance that was taught privately over thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr Li Hongzhi.

In China, people found Falun Gong to be so good for their health, morality and happiness that it quickly became the most popular qigong practice in history with government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing it. Unfortunately, the response of Jiang Zemin to something so popular and outside the direct control of the Communist Party was to outlaw the peaceful practice in July 1999. Instead of seeing the benefit to society of having so many Chinese people trying to be honest and good, he began an irrational campaign of slander, propaganda and fear which has led to the detention of over 100,000 Chinese citizens, the sending of over 20,000 to forced labor camps without trial and the recorded deaths of 450 people in police custody. Government officials within China have reported that the actual death toll is over 1,600.

We understand the Policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia include the respect of human rights, neutrality and non-alliance and properly enforcing the law to make Cambodia safe for all, including visitors and foreign workers. We urge the Cambodian government to fulfill its responsibility in this matter and do all that you can to safeguard the rights of those holding UN refugee status.

As Australians practicing Falun Dafa, we try to live with truthfulness and honesty, kindness and compassion, tolerance and forbearance in our daily lives. We hope that the relationship between Australia and Cambodia that has developed in recent years will continue and that we may be welcome in your country to share our understanding and experiences of Falun Dafa so the good people of Cambodia may also enjoy such a wonderful practice.

Yours Sincerely

Falun Dafa Association NSW (Australia)