14 August 2002

We call on all Hong Kong residents, all people who do business with Hong Kong, and all those who care about the future of human beings to cast their sight on this trial--because it is a test trial of Hong Kong's heritage of freedom, the fairness of its judicial system, and the truth of the "one country, two systems" policy.

Many of us may still remember the hunger strike held by about 100 Canadian Falun Gong practitioners on Parliament Hill earlier this year.

That was to bring attention to the urgent crisis in Changchun, China, where 5,000 practitioners were abducted and dozens were murdered within weeks after Chinese President Jiang Zemin issued orders to "kill [Falun Gong practitioners] without pardon."

We were touched and encouraged by the understanding and support we received from Canadian officials such as Mr. Anders, Mr. Robinson and many others, and Mr. David Kilgour, the Secretary of State for Asia Pacific, who came to our appeal site and invited our practitioners to his office to discuss the urgent issue. Your support has been appreciated and remembered by many.

On the same day of March 14 and for the exact same reason, 16 Falun Gong practitioners, including 4 Swiss, held the same kind of peaceful appeal activity, "sit-in" and "hunger strike," in front of the Chinese Liason office in Hong Kong. Shortly after the appeal began, however, a Liaison Office official made a series of five phone calls to the Police, applying pressure to stop the appeal. Practitioners were soon surrounded by a barrage of police officers. Force and violence were used to arrest them, including strangling and applying painful pressure to sensitive acupuncture points. Nine practitioners were injured.

Photos and video footage clearly show that the practitioners appealed peacefully, posed no threat, and left plenty of room for pedestrian traffic. It was the Hong Kong police who obstructed the entire pavement and conducted an unlawful and violent arrest.

Under the climate of growing pressure from Jiang's regime, the police put the practitioners on trial to face charges of obstruction and assaulting police. During the trial, the prosecutor could not produce a single third-party witness. What is more disturbing is that the court proceedings and statements of the presiding magistrate also reveal clear signs of bias against the peaceful appealers, betraying Hong Kong's rule of law and democratic process.

If you remember why and how we conducted our appeal on Parliament Hill on March 14, you will understand that the 16 practitioners in Hong Kong were doing the noblest thing human beings could do to show care and concern for fellow human beings and safeguard justice and truth.

The nature of the trial is not civil or even political in the normal sense; it is in reality a prosecution of good people's effort to stop the killing of innocent people. It is the opposite of the position of good people around the world.

What is on trial now is not only Falun Gong practitioners, but also the future of Hong Kong

Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong was illegal right from the start. It brutally violates China's own constitution as well as international treaties. It is in fact attacking not only Falun Gong; it is grossly trampling on humankind's sense of justice, morality, and conscience.

The truth is that the arrest and trial should never have taken place--they violate both Hong Kong and international laws, they breach the freedoms of expression and assembly that Hong Kong residents and visitors have historically enjoyed, and they challenge the integrity of Hong Kong's justice system. They are blatant examples of the pressure that Jiang Zemin applies to governments around the world in his attempt to defame Falun Gong and thereby justify his cruel persecution.

In humankind's history, when innocent people of good conscience are persecuted by political powers, the consequence has often been disaster befalling a nation, a region, or even the whole world. It is hoped that Hong Kong will not follow such a course. Upholding the rule of law and protecting Falun Gong practitioners from political persecution are, in fact, protecting the interests common to all Hong Kong people.

The right and wrong involved are very clear to all people of good sense and good conscience.

In remaining silent to the Jiang regime's trampling of Hong Kong's freedoms and justice for their purpose of persecuting Falun Gong, the ultimate victim will be the entire Hong Kong society.

For the future of Hong Kong and its people, we call upon Hong Kong authorities to immediately dismiss the false charges and offer an open apology to the practitioners involved.

We call on all people and governments to act properly and decently on this issue.

Thank you.