Dear D,

Thank you for calling to my office. It was very interesting to meet you and Jiang and to directly hear of your experience as a Falun Gong practitioner.

I have contacted our Foreign Affairs Minister to highlight your campaign and I will keep you informed of his response.

I am enclosing a copy of a parliamentary reply I received from the Minister in March of this year which may be of use of you.

In the meantime, if you would like to speak to me further, please do contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Deirdre Clune, T.D. (Note: T.D. Irish language for Parliament Member)

Fine Gael Spokesperson on

Environmental and Consumer Protection

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Question No. 98

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to reports that Falun Gong practitioners are being suppressed in China; and if he will take a statement on the matter.

* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 6th March, 2001.

REPLY

Ireland, together with our EU partners, is concerned at the measures taken by the Chinese Government against Falun Gong practitioner. We have conveyed our concern to the Chinese authorities and called on them to respect the human rights of individuals. We have urged them to act in accordance with the principles contained in the UN Covenants signed by China, in particular those relating to the freedom of expression, assembly and association. We have also expressed concern about the number of arrests and the heavy sentences imposed on some members of the Falun gong movement, most recently in the course of the EU-China Human Rights dialogue, 22-23 February.

At the General Affairs Council of 22-23 January, a number of decisions were taken concerning the EU-China Human Rights dialogue. This dialogue is our preferred channel for working to improve the human rights situation in areas of concern and I see it remaining so in the period ahead.

It has been decided to intensify the dialogue, focus it better and assess it on a continuous basis. The specific areas in which the EU will be seeking progress through the dialogue include respect for the exercise of the freedom of expression, religion and belief, both public and private, and respect for the fundamental rights of all prisoners, including those arrested for membership of the political opposition, unofficial religious movements or other movements, such as Falun Gong.

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