Letter from the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs

Dear Mr. [name withheld]:

Thank you for your letter from [name withheld] to Prime Minister Wim Kok, in which you express your concern about the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

The Dutch government is concerned about the human right situation in China and tries to ensure that matters such as death penalty, freedom of religion and assembly, and the treatment of individual Falun Gong practitioners are always on the agenda of the human rights dialogue between the European Union and China, which takes every six months.

The last human rights dialogue was in late October. The EU expressed its grave concern about reports that the treatment of individual Falun Gong practitioners has worsened in recent months. It also stressed that the events of 11 September and the ensuring global struggle against terrorism have not changed the European Union's basic position on the protection of the human rights of dissident group or religious and ethnic minorities, in China or elsewhere.

Please rest assured that Dutch government will continue its efforts to improve the human rights situation in China, including the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners, and will raise the issue as appropriate, in its bilateral relations as well as in the European Union and United Nations.

Yours sincerely

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Jozias van Aartsen (signature)