Note: This letter was sent to all mayors of German cities and towns, all governors and ministers, and all Party presidents in each state that Jiang Zemin plans to visit. It was written by a group of former colleagues of Mrs. Xiong Wei, who have joined together in an attempt to secure her release from a Chinese labor camp.

á

Berlin, March 30, 2002

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Prior to the arrival of Chinese president Jiang Zemin in your city, we would like to tell you a little bit about China. We found your address on the Internet and are therefore writing to you.

One would assume it would be an honor to receive a state visit from a president of a foreign country. That's how we would think if the German president were to visit us in China. But this visit by the Chinese president in Germany is a different story.

Perhaps you may have heard through the media about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Falun Gong is a meditation system based on Buddhist principles and is founded on Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Under Jiang Zemin's orders, since July 1999 the following has occurred:

Recently we have received more news from China, to wit:

1. On March 7, 2002, Jiang Zemin issued an order to "shoot on sight" those Falun Gong practitioners who are found to be carrying or distributing flyers or displaying Falun Gong-supportive banners on any wall. So far we know of two cases where practitioners have sustained gunshot wounds.

2. Between March 5 and 23, in the City of Changchun alone, 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been rounded up by the Chinese regime.

3. AFP (Agence France Presse) reported on March 25, 2002, that among those 5,000 arrested practitioners in Changchun, within a span of three weeks, over one hundred of them had been tortured to death or have died from other consequences of the persecution. Human Rights organizations are following these events closely (please see enclosure).

When you have had a chance to read through the enclosed press releases, you might then understand why Jiang Zemin is venting his anger against the Falun Gong practitioners. This Falun Gong persecution in China, based on lies and defamatory propaganda, cannot be sustained if the Chinese populace learns the truth about this persecution, as has been noted in these press releases. That is precisely what Jiang Zemin fears most -- exposure.

You might recall the 1989 massacre and the tanks at Tiananmen Square in Beijing during the student uprisings. We are convinced that, had the politicians, the media and the citizenry outside of China, known that the Chinese government was shooting human beings, many people would have appealed and protested this action and this 1989 massacre could have been avoided. Now Jiang Zemin has taken the first step toward another massacre. We only hope fervently that his steps toward it will not lead to the actual massacre.

During these last 2-1/2 years, in his role as dictator and commander-in-chief, Jiang Zemin has also given these following orders during the persecution:

1. "Beating [a practitioner to death] counts as suicide"

2. "Immediate cremation of a Falun Gong torture victim; never mind the cause of death."

3. "Ruin Falun Gong practitioners financially; destroy their spirit; annihilate their bodies."

It is because of these orders that the police forces in China are acting without restraint against Falun Gong practitioners and do not hesitate to beat them to death or torture them with all imaginable means and methods. The more cruel the police officers' methods are, the faster they will be promoted and their higher their bonus will be. So far, 390 cases of death have come to light, although the real number is estimated to be closer to 1,700.

In spite of the gruesome persecution over the past 2-1/2 years, Falun Gong practitioners steadfastly adhere to their main Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. They do not strike back, do not respond with anger, even when they are insulted or beaten. Instead, they introduce the truth about Falun Gong to the same police officers and prisoners who persecute them and let them know about the defaming propaganda at the hands of the Chinese regime. Some police officers and prisoners also wish to learn Falun Gong.

Because of all these events and news about torture and deaths in Forced Labor Camps, we are quite concerned about our former colleague at the Technische Universitaet Berlin, Mrs. Xiong Wei. She was a student there for six years. After that she worked for one year in the Buderus AG office in Beijing. She was arrested in Beijing on January 5, 2002 and sent to a Forced Labor Camp because she had distributed pro-Falun Gong materials. For the past three months she has been denied any visits, not even from her relatives. We don't know whether or not she is still alive or where she is currently incarcerated. More information may be gained from the enclosures.

We hope that you might intervene for and bring about the release of Mrs. Xiong. We are convinced that your intervention will be effective. Several Falun Gong practitioners who had lived abroad were released through the efforts of governments, NGOs and human rights organizations outside of China. A release would mean that these people have escaped the death threat of a dictatorial system.

Kind regards,

á

"Help for Xiong Wei" Team

(Original text in German)