Amnesty International Report: Minister Receives 5000 Amnesty Postcards (photos)

Seán Love and released Chinese prisoner of conscience Zhao Ming yesterday met Minister Tom Kitt to hand over 5000 postcards signed by Amnesty members and 30,000 signatures collected by Zhao Ming. The postcards thanked the Taoiseach [Irish Prime Minister] and Foreign Affairs Minister for their efforts with the Chinese authorities on behalf of Ming, and also called for action to be taken on behalf of three other Falun Gong practitioners still being persecuted in China.

As Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for human rights, Mr Kitt welcomed the postcards, and thanked Amnesty and Ming for their acknowledgement of the good work done by the Irish government in securing Ming's release.

Feng Liu and Zhao Ming

The Minister said the Irish government would do its utmost to ensure that the cases of the three practitioners highlighted by Amnesty were "raised at the highest possible level with the Chinese authorities."

The cards addressed to Mr Brian Cowen TD called for an end to the persecution of two Chinese students, Fang Yang and Feng Liu as well as Ming's friend Chentao Lin. All three are practitioners of Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese exercise practice that aims to improve health and well-being.

Fang Yang

Fang Yang was 31 in April and is a student at Dun Laoghaire Senior College. She was arrested, detained and released when she went home for the Christmas holidays in 1999. When she tried to board a plane for Ireland in July 2002, her passport was confiscated and she was sent back to her hometown.

Feng Liu, also a student in Dun Laoghaire was detained when returning home to see his parents in June 2002. Just 23, he was recently re-arrested and has disappeared into detention.

Zhao Ming met Chentao Lin when he was Tuan He labour camp. Chentao Lin is still being held in the labour camp, where he has reportedly been so badly tortured that he has lost his sanity. He is married with a young daughter.

If you would like to take action on these cases, please write to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Brian Cowen TD, asking that the government do whatever they can to raise these cases with the Chinese government.

Postal address: Department of Foreign Affairs,
79- 80 St Stephens Green,
Dublin 2,
Email: [email protected]

Source: http://www.amnesty.ie/news/2003/postcard.shtml