WRITTEN QUESTION E-0803/03

by Marco Pannella (NI), Marco Cappato (NI), Gianfranco Dell'Alba (NI),Benedetto Della Vedova (NI) and Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(17 March 2003)

Subject: Persecution by the Chinese authorities of Falun Gong adherents, with particular reference to the arrest of Mrs Liu Jie and to her subsequent death following 11 days in detention

Since 1999:

- the Chinese President Jiang Zemin has initiated the persecution of over 100 million Falun Gong adherents, according to reliable public information provided by the Falun Dafa Information Centre, Amnesty International and other major national and international NGOs;

- the Falun Dafa Information Centre has investigated and confirmed the deaths (caused by the authorities) of 578 Falun Gong followers;

- there have, according to government sources, been 1 600 deaths, whereas other experts speak of much higher figures, and many of those deaths have been caused by forms of torture such as forced feeding, the use of lethal drugs and savage beatings;

- hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong adherents have been imprisoned and over 100 000 have been sent without trial to forced-labour camps.

Considering that:

- on 6 February 2003, whilst she was distributing new year's greetings cards bearing the words Truth, Charity, Tolerance (Falun Dafa's founding principles) in the city of Shuangcheng in Heilongjiang region, Mrs Liu Jie, a 37-year-old adherent, was arrested together with her husband and was taken away by the police, who also removed her vehicle;

- on 17 February 2003 the police notified family members of Mrs Liu's death, despite the fact that she had been in perfect health at the time of being taken into custody 11 days earlier.

In view of the above facts, would the Commission say:

- what information it has regarding the general situation surrounding the persecution of Falun Gong adherents in China since 1999 and, in particular, the case of Mrs Liu Jie and her husband?

- what action it has taken (or is intending to take) with a view to calling upon the Chinese authorities to release all Falun Gong followers immediately and unconditionally and to repeal all criminal and administrative laws which undermine religious freedom in the People's Republic of China?

Answer given by M. Patten On behlaf of the Commission

(8 April 2003)

The Commission wishes to thank the Honourable Members for the relevant information concerning Mrs Liu Jie and her husband's situation. It is regularly informed of the Falun Gong developments via reports issued by as many non-governmental organisations as observers there.

The Commission follows the evolution of the human rights situation in China very strictly. It believes that the bilateral dialogue introduced in 1996 constitutes a framework particularly appropriate in underlining the Union's concerns in this area.

At this juncture, the Union has regularly expressed the importance it attaches to the respect for freedom of expression and association which make up one of the essential topics of dialogue and insisted that all measures set out to hinder this should be abolished.

A certain number of Falun Gong followers appear among those where the case has been, in this context, directly evoked by the Union.