The following are excerpts of letters of support read by government officials and their associates on National Falun Gong Day (December 2, 2001) in Fribourg, Switzerland.

Ms. Madeleine Genoud, deputy, PCS Fribourg (30 November 2001)

"First and foremost I defend each individual's right to freedom of expression -- whether it takes the form of words or physical movement. Consequently, I oppose the repression exercised in China on persons who express themselves through this form of Qi Gong.

"In order to clarify the matter and prevent any assimilation of the practice of Qi Gong with a cult, it should be recalled that -- as in the case of yoga, tai ji, aikido and judo, etc. -- these techniques lead to good health and self-control and take a holistic view of the individual as a physical-mental-spiritual being.

"For this reason I support the Swiss Falun Gong Association which defends principles that are vital for mankind -- truthfulness, compassion and forbearance."

International Peace Bureau: Colin Archer, Secretary-General (29 November 2001)

"Good luck with your special event. In this period of great tension and violence, any effort to promote truth, compassion and tolerance is most welcome. Together, the peace movements of the world can make a difference."

Thomas Buchi, deputy, Radical Party, Geneva

"The rediscovery of these three inviolable, universal driving forces -- truthfulness, compassion and forbearance -- is a stroke of inestimable good fortune for our world, particularly in this troubled period of history, when individual self-questioning takes on renewed importance.

"The practice of Falun Gong: The law of spinning energy has become a veritable social phenomenon in the East.

"This series of movements, with their profound roots and their power, bring incalculable benefits to the individual.

"This is a very high-level method that simultaneously transforms the spirit, the body and the heart.

"It is a way that leads to harmony and it is an unprecedented opportunity for each and everyone that this practice is today spreading in the West."

National Counsellor Remo Gysin of the Socialist Party, Basel-Stadt, is unfortunately unable to be present at our celebration. He has asked me to pass on the following message in his name.

"On behalf of the parliamentary foreign affairs group of the Socialist Party of Switzerland, Mr. Remo Gysin confirms his party's continuing commitment to the defence of human rights, whether relating to the problem of Tibet or the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Freedom of belief is a fundamental human right. Particularly now that China has become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in the wake of the intensification of persecution in that country on the pretext of combating terrorism, it has become a matter of even greater urgency to resume the human rights dialogue. Every time a delegation of the State Council travels to China, the Socialist Party delivers a memorandum to it concerning human rights violations in China."