January 20, 2003
Mr. U Win Aung
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Union of Myanmar
Dear The Honorable Minister:
Re: Urgent Request to Release Chinese Falun Gong Practitioner Mr Chan Wing Yuen
We are writing to you most urgently to appeal the unlawful trial, sentencing and imprisonment of Mr. Chan Wing Yuen. We believe this case represents a grave injustice to human rights and human dignity, of which you may not be aware. Please allow us to inform you of the matter.
Mr Chan Wing Yuen is 70-years-old and a resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He traveled to Myanmar in December 2001. On December 12, 2001, Jiang Zemin, leader of the People's Rupublic of China paid a visit to Rangoon, the capital of Myanmar. Mr. Chan used this opportunity to peacefully appeal to the Chinese leader to end the brutal persecution against Falun Gong in China. He unfolded a small banner showing the three words of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" alongside a street leading to the Airport. For his peaceful action, Mr Chan was arrested by local police officers. Then on January 31, 2002, he was secretly sentenced to 7 years in prison. He was afforded no legal representation, and neither were his family members present at the trial.
After he was arrested, at the behest and presence of officials from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, Myanmar police officers attempted to coerce Mr. Chan into writing a statement to renounce his belief in Falun Gong, in exchange for his freedom. Mr. Chan refused.
We were shocked by the heavy jail term handed down by Myanmar authorities against a 70-years old senior citizen for a peaceful action that did not cause any disruption to public order. The Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance shown on the banner could not have possibly offended anyone. He did not commit any crime.
We have seen too many human rights violations and atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners. These violations are the real crimes. The Chinese Regime has a history of extending its persecution of Falun Gong outside China's borders. We do not believe Myanmar acted independently in this affair. In exchange for favorable diplomatic relations with China, independent nations are bullied into doing things against Falun Gong and against their own nation's constitution.
Falun Gong is based on the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. It is welcomed in over 60 countries around the world, and has been honored with more than 800 awards and recognitions in Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America.
In July 1999, Jiang launched a brutal persecution and slanderous campaign against Falun Gong. As of today, 557 Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death under police custody in China. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600. In just two months, we have received 43 individual reports of Falun Gong practitioners being beaten, tortured, and killed by Chinese authorities. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced without a fair trial to forced labour camps.
China's illegal persecution of Falun Gong is condemned and opposed by world government leaders, the United Nations, and human right organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, to name a few.
We call upon you and the government of Myanmar to release Mr. Chan immediately and allow him return to Hong Kong safely. The entire world is watching this issue very closely.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this very important matter. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely
Falun Dafa Association of Canada
For more information on Falun Gong, please visit:
http://www.faluninfo.net
http://www.clearwisdow.net
CC:
The Honorable U KHIN LATT
Minister's Office
The Honorable Minister
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The Union of Myanmar
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