The Special Investigation Council of Congress in New Zealand recently completed its investigation and announced it's finding: During the September 1999 APEC meeting which Jiang Zemin attended, the police treatment of demonstrators was inappropriate.

On Dec. 13, The New Zealand Herald, the English-language newspaper with the highest circulation in New Zealand, published an article describing the Council's finding, called "Right to Protest Freely Was Trampled".

The special investigation council was formed by a group of concerned congressmen after the unpleasant events at the APEC conference. They reached their conclusion after more than a year's investigation: During the period of Jiang Zemin's visit the APEC, the police violated the basic rights of citizens..

To review the events of last September: Around 200 Falun Dafa practitioners from New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan came to Oakland City Hall and Ellerslie Conference Center, displaying banners calling for a peaceful dialogue, the release of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners in China, and the repeal of the arrest warranty for Master Li. Before Jiang Zemin's appearances, the Chinese security personnel would pressure the New Zealand police to clear away the demonstrators, saying "Jiang will not be present otherwise" as a threat. So the New Zealand police pushed the practitioners into corners and used large trucks to obstruct the view of the banners, and they also asked practitioners to take away the banners. The practitioners, with great compassion and forbearance, cooperated with the police; many policemen were moved by the practitioners' demeanor and started to help to the practitioners. They helped practitioners to hand out materials explaining the truth of Dafa to President Clinton's entourage.

However, the policemen's initial behavior towards the demonstrators the protest people and organizations in response to Jiang Zemin's pressure made the onlookers feel indignant and angered. The large amount of letters received by the congressman protesting the police action prompted congressmen to take action. Thus, they established a special investigation council to investigate the police and the previous Minister's doings.

The results of the committee's deliberations clearly uphold the principle that the government and all it's agencies must uphold the Bill of Rights. Protecting citizen's rights takes precedence over the whims of foreign visitors. It is not the place of the government to insulate foreign visitors from disagreeing views that are peacefully expressed. Citizens' rights of free expression must be protected.

Some Chinese government officials claim that Falun Dafa practitioners distributing the materials explaining the true facts of Falun Dafa has damaged China's image. Rather, it is the vicious suppression of Falun Gong and dishonest attempts to hide and to justify this suppression that is hurting China's image abroad. When the Chinese government attempts to coerce other governments into following it's misguided policies of ignoring citizens' rights, the resulting outrage can only make the world see how wrong China's policies are in this matter.

Practitioners in New Zealand

Dec. 15, 2000