On 18 and 19 of December, more than 50 Falun Dafa practitioners from France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, and Hong Kong gathered in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France. They practised the Falun Gong exercises and together called upon the European Parliament to publicly denounce the enactment of Article 23 in Hong Kong.
Some practitioners went into the European Parliament building to clarify the truth about how Falun Gong has been persecuted by the Jiang regime, and its sinister intention of extending the persecution to Hong Kong through the enactment of this law. Falun Gong practitioners were also observers during the debate and the vote of the resolution.
On 19, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference outside the European Parliament building. A Falun Gong practitioner from Germany hosted the conference; she read a statement from the European Falun Dafa Association that declared an opposition to the enactment of Article 23. Roger Helmer MEP also spoke at the conference. In his speech, he mentioned;”I am very concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners that is taking place in the PRC and obviously therefore I share the concern expressed in this demonstration today at the risk that the proposed article 23 legislation in Hong Kong may leads to repression in Hong Kong itself. It is certainly very clear that Falun Gong practitioners have been very badly treated by the PRC government in Mainland China and of course we are all very concerned that there is a danger that that sort of abusive and repressive behaviour may be extended to Hong Kong.. I would call upon [the] Hong Kong government to ensure that freedom of expression, freedom of religious belief and religious practice is maintained in Hong Kong. And perhaps the most importantly I think I’d like to take this opportunity to call on the government of the PRC to desist from the persecution of minorities and all Falun Gong practitioners in China.”
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Another speaker at the conference was Zhao Ming from Ireland. He described his experience of being persecuted in labour camps in Mainland China. In his speech, he said, “I come here to tell people what is happening in Mainland China. And if this law is enacted in Hong Kong, what will happen there.”
A Hong Kong citizen described her experience of being captured and sued by the Hong Kong police under the guise of “blocking the street” when she participated in a peaceful appeal in front of the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong. Through her experience, she explained that under pressure from Beijing, the Hong Kong police had already arrested citizens unfairly. Ms. Wang commented that if Article 23 was passed, then the situation for Hong Kong citizens could degenerate further. Three European practitioners, from Denmark, Switzerland and The Netherlands also recalled the persecution that their family members have experienced. Some Chinese and western media interviewed practitioners.
Before the urgent resolution was voted on, a number of MEPs held a debate. The MEPs analysed and denounced the enactment of the Article 23 proposal. They called for provisions to be made against subversion and secession from a different aspect. They also concluded that the enactment of Article 23 would result in Falun Gong being banned in Hong Kong.
Translated from Chinese at;
http://yuanming.net/articles/200212/15503.html
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