German Practitioner's Mother Released from Labour Camp in Beijing

On December 26th 2004, Mrs Xu Youling, a Beijing Falun Gong practitioner who has been illegally subjected to forced labour re-education for eighteen months in Beijing Xinan Female Forced Labour Camp, has been released after rescue efforts from people living outside of China.

Xu Youling is the mother of a Falun Gong practitioner from Germany. The German Falun Gong practitioners are grateful for the help given by the German Government and the International Organisation for Human Rights. They would like to thank all the people who signed a petition calling for the release of Mrs Xu, as well as those who expressed their support by other means.

Just like many other Falun Gong practitioners in China, Mrs Xu was arrested after exposing the persecution in Beijing. In early 2003, she was detained in the labour camp illegally because she gave out leaflets. After Germany's Falun Gong practitioners found out she was arrested in 2003, they immediately appealed to German people from all walks of life for support in securing her release. Many people stretched out their hands to help including the German Government, which expressed concerns about Xu Youling’s situation. In a letter to Falun Gong practitioners on 30th November 2004, the German Government said, “During his visit to China, the German Premier mentioned Mrs Xu’s case to the Chinese Government.”

Mrs Xu’s son, who is living in Germany, said, “Public attention and awareness is extremely important for exposing human rights violations. My mother is only the one of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who have been innocently arrested. Her release is a step towards justice. We appeal to all people to help end the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong.”