May 7, 2002

DEFENDING China's human rights record, Vice-President Hu Jintao stated that religious freedom was guaranteed by law in China (C-M, May 3). This will come as a major surprise to Falun Gong members and Tibetans, both of whom are persecuted purely on that basis. There is more than enough independent evidence to support this, so why aren't these ridiculous statements by senior Chinese officials ever challenged?

-- Chris Roylance, Hawthorne.