30th April 2003

To the Chairman of French Falun Gong Association

Dear Sir,

I read your letter to the Austrian Embassy in Paris dated April 12th, in which you mentioned facts about Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China. In response to this, please let me make a declaration.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry is very clear about the seriousness of the situation of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and we share your concern on this matter.

At the level of the European Union, the Sino-European Human Rights Council regularly hold meetings to discuss the human rights situation in China. Here, the member countries of the EU discuss and devise a mutual approach. The details mentioned in your letter have often been discussed with China during the annual human rights meeting. As well as this, the EU has expressed its concern over this issue in the Declaration on World Human Rights at the last meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission.

The Austrian government has actively participated in this discussion, and is severely concerned with China's human rights situation; we are also actively cooperating with the EU to improve the general human rights situation, and in this way the situation of Falun Gong practitioners in China will be improved as well.

Please accept my great respect!

Georg Mautner--Markhof
Director
Department of Human Rights

Austrian Foreign Ministry

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200305/12653.html