Joe Higgins T.D.
Member of Parliament, the Republic of Ireland
Socialist Party

14th August 2002

The Honourable Tung Chee Hwa
Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR

Re: Trial of Falun Dafa Practitioners

Dear Honourable Tung Chee Hwa,

I am writing to you to express concern about the recent trial of 16 Falun Dafa practitioners who were arrested and charged with obstructing a path while meditating peacefully in front of the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

The heavy-handed manner in which the Hong Kong police arrested and removed these peaceful practitioners, including using strangle holds on a 60 year old woman, is a cause of great concern.

I am also concerned that the Falun Dafa practitioners receive a fair trial. Zhao Ming, a Chinese student now living in Ireland who was released from a labour camp in China due to the publicity given to his case here, was asked to give evidence in the trial stating the vicious torture he had suffered in the labour camp. When he went to the Chinese embassy to get the visa for Hong Kong they immediately recognized him and would not even issue him an application form. Moreover, the fact that two senior council were chosen to represent the prosecution's case, the main argument of which is obstruction of a footpath, is unusual to say the least.

I am urging you to take all necessary measures to ensure that the charges against the 16 Falun Dafa practitioners are dropped and that Falun Dafa practitioners in Hong Kong are allowed to live free from all intimidation and persecution. I will continue to raise the issue of the treatment of Falun Dafa practitioners in China both at the level of the Irish Parliament and the European Union.

Yours sincerely,

Joe Higgins T.D.