(Clearwisdom.net) On April 15, 2008, the Belgian Flemish Parliament organized a hearing regarding China's human rights and the Olympic Games in the Brussels Parliament Building. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to attend.

The hearins was organized by the Flemish Parliament's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Flemish Greens and other Flemish interested parties put forward two motions requesting the Flemish Parliament, the Belgium Olympic Committee, and the athletes to take action and express their concerns about China's human rights violations. The hearing was chaired by the Chairman of the Flemish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Flemish Cultural and Sports Minister. Falun Gong practitioners; representatives of the Friends of Tibet, and Belgium IOC members were invited to speak and answer questions. The report of the hearing will serve as the main reference for Parliament Members to vote on the two motions.

Flemish Cultural and Sports Minister (Bert Anciaux)

The Flemish Cultural and Sports Minister spoke first. He said that none of the Flemish government officials would attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. "Of course, the Olympic Games is a very important occasion. It is an opportunity for us to try to improve China's current status and urge the Chinese government to pay more attention to the Chinese people's civil rights and the situation in Tibet."

Falun Gong practitioner Nicholas

Falun Gong practitioner Nicholas described the persecution of Falun Gong in China, especially with the advent of the Olympic Games. He called on all countries, whether large or small, to make an effort. "The persecution is all too real: the CCP has been arresting large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners, and we cannot overlook its practice of removing organs from living practitioners for profit. With the imminent approach of the Olympic Games, in the past few months the numbers of Falun Gong practitioners being arrested by the CCP has increased sharply. Whatever your status, you should do something to establish your own position. For instance, between the Flemish and Chinese there are many economic exchanges, so we tell them that Falun Gong practitioners are widely used as slave labor. Many European companies have contracts with Chinese companies, but they do not know that these Chinese companies will outsource production to the forced labor camps, prisons etc."

Nicholas added, "If we really want to help the Chinese people, if we really want them to enjoy full freedom and the fraternity of the Olympic Games, we should help them to speak out on the issue of human rights in China. Of course, we should have the right to express ourselves freely and should not be afraid to discuss the issue of human rights during the Olympic Games. "