Ceilia's Newsletter no. 11 (http://www.cecilia.nu/brevooo917.html)

The other major event of the week was the Falun Gong exhibition at the parliamentary buildings in Brussels. It was I who had invited them but with due permission from Parliament. Falun Gong is not an organization but rather a kind of meditation movement that is like a philosophical variation of Tai Chi. China labels them as a dangerous sect but they have no religious or political ambitions what so ever. Practitioners had come from the whole of Europe to show who they were, what they do and to make the world aware of the harassment and persecution they have been made to endure in China. Although Falun Gong is forbidden there, it is practised by millions of people. As expected the Chinese authorities were quick to react. They phoned me and expressed their dissatisfaction. They then sent a letter in which they stated that it was disgraceful that politicians in Europe allow themselves to be "taken in by such an evil and dangerous sect as Falun Gong " and that we should know better than to meddle with China's internal affairs. The authoritarian communist regime in China is really showing its true colours – not a word was mentioned about the thousands of arrests, disappearances, and cases of torture and murder which have afflicted totally peaceful practitioners of Falun Gong. The systematic oppression they have been exposed to is well documented and has been condemned by several states, The United Nations and Amnesty International.