Hong Kong iMail: Bush raises concern on Falun Gong [Excerpt]

13 July 2001 / 03:34 AM

SINO-US relations took pride of place as President George W. Bush and Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa held a half-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the culmination of a whirlwind Washington visit requested by Hong Kong some weeks ago.

[...]

Mr Bush "mentioned Falun Gong specifically as something that had generated a great deal of concern among people in the US," the official said. But Mr Bush apparently went no further.

In response, Mr Tung told the US president "there was no likely change in the law which, he pointed out in some detail, permitted a wide variety of beliefs and religions to be practised. There was no particular comment about the future of the Falun Gong in general," he said.

[...]

"I made the point clearly to him that in our relations with China we would always raise human rights issues. He understood my point and gave me the position of his government," Mr Powell said.

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