The trial for the appeal was initially slated for the Supreme Court, but the judge thinks it may involve the Basic Law and has transferred it to the Appeals Court. It is estimated the trial will last three days. Spokesperson Xu Jun of the Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association said, "The ruling in West District Court on August 15, 2002 was unfair. The Basic Ordinance for vendors was misused to restrict the right to petition, which is no different than losing the freedom to petition. It apparently violated the Basic Law."

In September 2001, as Chicago Falun Gong practitioners were conducting a peaceful appeal, they were assaulted and one practitioner was violently beaten. The Chinese criminal threatened the practitioner, "If you report this, I will kill you."

"I am disturbed however, upon learning that the unprovoked beating of Chicagoan Bill Lin Fang and the terrorising of practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have been treated as mere misdemeanours and not as genuine hate crimes."

"The freedom of thought, of expression and of belief is something to be cherished, and it cannot be replaced by any kind of material benefit. We hope that European countries can remain clearheaded when facing the pressure from the Chinese Government and be firm in their stance against the violation of human rights in China."