August 13, 2002

The Honourable William Graham,
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
(Address)

Subject: Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong

Mr. Minister:

As Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, I was approached by and met with a couple of concerned Canadian Citizens, Mr. Xun Li and Ms. Hui Yang, regarding the trial of Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong.

As you can see from the attached documents, the concern is over 16 Falun Gong practitioners who have been undergoing trial for the past few months. According to the group, the verdict in this trial is expected tomorrow, Wednesday August 14 at 9:30pm Canada time, which would be Thursday, August 15 at 9:30am Hong Kong time.

The group requested that I bring this matter to your attention in the shotest possible delay to see if Canada could, in any way, positively influence the fianl decision. I trust that your department will best be able to deal with this important matter.

I thank you Mr. Minister for your kind attention, understanding and collaboration.

Yours Sincerely,

(Signature of Bernard Patry)

Dr. Bernard Patry, MP
Chair - Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade