MP and Canadians Back from China Express Concern over Police Violence for Their Appeal for Falun Gong

News Release For Immediate Release: November 29, 2001

"They did not break any laws. What they did was within the Chinese constitution, and within the International Treaties that China has signed."

Ottawa-- Mr. Scott Reid, M.P., together with Mr. Zenon Dolnyckyj and Joel Chipkar held a press conference today at Parliament Hill to condemn the president of China's regime's violence against the 35 westerners who legally appealed in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on November 20, 2001.

"I went to Tiananmen Square so I could speak to all of China. I want all Chinese people to have a chance to know Falun Gong is good and to not be deceived to aid in crimes against humanity by the Chinese president's propaganda." Said Mr. Dolnyckyj.

"They did not break any laws. What they did was within the Chinese constitution, and within the International Treaties that China has signed. If a Canadian traveled to Nazi Germany in 1940 to peacefully appeal for the rights and lives of the Jewish people he would be considered a hero today by his country and the world." said Mr. Chipkar.

"However, for my legal appeal, Chinese police broke my nose, detained and interrogated me and beat and molested other practitioners in custody. It is the Chinese authority who broke the law and violated its own constitutions and the international treaties it had signed when they stopped our legal appeal and beat a Canadian and other foreigners. If they treat westerners this way how do they treat their own people in labor camps?" Dolnyckyj said.

Zenon's experiences raise grave concerns about China's state terrorism, which has been carefully camouflaged by hastily crafted "laws" that sanction the persecution of innocent people.

"China has to accept a movement such as Falun Gong for variety of reasons. First of all, millions of Chinese people support and participate in it. They are not going to change their ways just because of the Chinese government's actions. Also because the Chinese constitution requires it and because International conventions China has signed require it, China is bound by its own laws to respect the rights of practitioners of Falun Gong. And it has an obligation to respect foreigners who come to China to engage in peaceful activity there...I want to emphasize that we have a duty as Canadians to carry on in a same way as these courageous individuals.", said Mr. Reid.

By comparing the response of our own foreign affairs spokesperson to the reaction of Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Reid commented that "Our own government ..., on this occasion, is not perhaps as strong as it ought to be".

Film footage of the practitioners' peaceful appeal in Tiananmen Square shot by Mr. Chipkar with a hidden camera was distributed.