(Clearwisdom.net) On August 18, the Belgian newspaper De Morgen published an article authored by reporter Filip Rogiers. The report said that Prime Minister Yves Leterme will discuss human rights issues, including the persecution of Falun Gong, during his upcoming visit to Beijing.

The report said that many political leaders avoided the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and Prime Minister Leterme did the same, as a number of European leaders wanted to express their protest against the suppression of Tibetans. Though Leterme and Foreign Affairs Minister Karel De Gucht said that they would attend the closing ceremony, the prime minister emphasized that his visit is personal and informal and not political.

The report said that Prime Minister Leterme will meet his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao and he was expected to discuss the situation in Georgia, sport achievements and human rights. Belgium is taking the presidency of the UN Security Council. Peter Poulussen, spokesman for the Prime Minister, said: "The meeting will also discuss human rights issues and the Prime Minister has promised to raise concern of the persecution of Falun Gong to Beijing."

The Prime Minister recently met representatives of Falun Gong, which is a spiritual movement suppressed in China.

According to a report of BELGA, on August 14, more than 1.3 million signatures in support of independent investigation of the persecution of Falun Gong were delivered to the Prime Minister's office.

The signatures were the result of a petition initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) and more than 7,000 Belgian citizens signed the petition. The Prime Minister's Political and Foreign Affairs Council Vincent Houssiau and News Spokesman Dominique Dehaene received the signatures and discussed the persecution with CIPFG and Falun Gong representatives and with Patrik Vankrunkelsven, a ranking member of the Belgian Senate.