His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk
Office of the King
The Royal Palace
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Facsimile: (0015) (855 23) 426 802 18
August 2002
Your Royal Highness
We respectfully ask for your urgent attention. On 2 August 2002, two Chinese asylum seekers, Li Guo Jun, 46, and Zhang Xinyi, 39, were arrested by Cambodian police and then deported by Cambodian authorities on 9 August and are now held in detention in Changsha City, in China's Hunan Province.
The Chinese couple were Falun Gong practitioners and persons of concern under the protection of the UNHCR in Cambodia. Their deportation is a clear violation of Cambodia's international obligation of non-refoulement under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi had settled in Phnom Penh in 1999 following the persecution campaign against Falun Gong launched by Chinese President Jiang Zemin. They had been teaching in a Chinese school and apparently had no trouble with the local or Chinese authorities. Following receipt of a package of Falun Gong books in June 2002 they were dismissed from their jobs and had their passports confiscated when seeking renewals. Since deportation, they are now subject to indefinite incarceration and torture in China should they refuse to renounce their spiritual beliefs.
We hope you can consider the plight of this couple in a true and clear context. They, like millions of us in over 50 countries around the world have found great benefit in the traditional Chinese practice of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. It is a practice of exercises and meditation with teachings based on the principles of Truthfulness -- Compassion -- Forbearance that was taught privately over thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr Li Hongzhi.
In China, people found Falun Gong to be so good for their health, morality and happiness that it quickly became the most popular qigong practice in history with government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing it. Unfortunately, the response of Jiang Zemin to something so popular and outside the control of the Communist Party was to outlaw the peaceful practice in July 1999. Since then his irrational campaign of slander, propaganda and fear has led to the detention of over 100,000 Chinese citizens, the sentencing of more than 20,000 to forced labor camps without trial and the recorded deaths of 450 people in police custody. Government officials within China have reported that the actual death toll is over 1,600.
We understand Cambodia has a close relationship with China. But we also understand the Policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia include the respect of human rights, neutrality and non-alliance and properly enforcing the law to make Cambodia safe for all, including diplomats, investors, tourists and foreign workers. We trust that those Policies include rights and concern being extended to Li Guo Jun and Zhang Xinyi. We urge you to help Cambodia see its responsibility in this matter and do all that you can to safeguard the rights of those holding UN refugee status.
Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance - these words carry a depth only limited by our understanding of the meaning and purpose of human life. If you find these words are merely words, we hope you can receive this message and act in good conscience on behalf of Cambodia's UN obligations. If you feel these words are more than words, then we trust you will find in your heart the correct action as you will know that how we act in this life has vast implications for our Self.
Yours Sincerely
Falun Dafa Association NSW (Australia)
Category: Perspective
