A Letter to Chinese Ambassador from A Labour Member for the North West Region of England

Gary Titley MEP

Labour Member for the North West Region of England

Brussels Office: ASP 13 G 309, European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, B-1047 Brussels

Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

Mr Mingjiang

Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Belgium

Head of Chinese Mission to the European Communities

Av.de Tervuren 443-445

1150 Brussels

20 November 2001

Dear Mr Mingjiang,

I am writing to you concerning today's arrest of thirty three western Falun Gong practitioners at Tiananmen Square. It would seem from the reports that we have received in the European Parliament, that the demonstrators were peacefully stating that "Falun Dafa is good", when Chinese authorities swiftly transferred them to the local police station.

This situation is particularly worrying since to protest at Tiananmen Square is one of the sole and principal ways in which the voices Chinese practitioners of Falun Dafa can be heard. It is important that human rights - such as freedom of belief and freedom of speech - are upheld in China. It would also appear that the arrest of these peaceful demonstrators constitutes a violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which China is a signatory.

I hope that you will take some of these concerns into account and I look forward to hearing any comments that you might have.

Yours sincerely,

Gary Titley MEP

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The Labour Team for the North West Arlene McCarthy MEP Tel: [phone] Brian Simpson MEP

Tel: [phone] Gary Titley MEP Tel: [phone] Terry Wynn MEP Tel: [phone]