(Clearwisdom.net) On December 10, 2005, International Human Rights Day, United Kingdom Falun Gong practitioners participated in a rally outside the Chinese Embassy in London to protest the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) unceasing persecution of Chinese people's human rights.
A number of VIPs attended the rally to express their support and give speeches, including Dr. Charles Tannock MEP, the vice president of the human rights subcommittee of the European Parliament and the spokesman for the foreign affairs of the UK Conservative Party; John Grogan MP; Lord Thurlow, a former senior UK diplomat; English playwright Mrs. Tinch Minter. A Falun Gong practitioner who experienced the persecution in China also gave a speech. Vice president of the Greater London Parliament Mr. Brian Coleman was not available to attend the rally in person, but sent his speech and asked a practitioner to deliver the speech for him.
  Dr. Charles Tannock MEP |
  John Grogan MP |
  English playwright Mrs. Tinch Minter |
The speakers unanimously condemned the terrible human rights situation in China. They recognized that the fundamental factor undermining the development of human rights in China is the evil CCP dictatorship. Lord Thurlow stated in his speech, "The United Nations itself has recently issued a report of its sub-commission on human rights, that emphasizes the gross violations that amount to terrorism by the Chinese Communist Government against its own people. The Special Rapporteur on torture problems calls it 'terrorism from above.' The main focus in China is the violent assault on practitioners of Falun Gong for the last six years, assessed at 100 million in number in 1999. The UN Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery flatly denies CCP attempts to justify its persecution by accusing Falun Gong. On the contrary, the Working Group states that the only deaths have been at the hands of the Chinese authorities themselves - nearly 3,000 deaths have been verified in detail and over 4,400 cases of torture. This is only the tip of a concealed iceberg of a vastly greater death roll and daily torture on a wide scale in the slave labor camps."
Lord Thurlow also pointed out, "Recently there has been an addition to the extensive list of officially encouraged torture methods in the form of deliberately organized rape." This appalling case of the rape of two women Falun Gong practitioners happened on November 25, 2005 while the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture was in China for investigations Police from Dongchengfang Town Police Station, Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province, took into custody two Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Liu Jizhi (51 years old) and Ms. Han Yuzhi (42 years old). At Dongchengfang Town Police Station, a policeman named He Xuejian raped Ms. Liu Jizhi and Ms. Han Yuzhi during so-called "official interrogation" in front of another policeman. This event is definitely not an isolated case. The CCP supports and incites officials to commit such crimes, even rewarding them. Under the officially mandated persecution of Falun Gong, cases of rape and sexual abuse repeatedly occur.
  Falun Gong practitioners protest the persecution outside the Chinese Embassy |
Dr. Charles Tannock MEP, the vice president of the human rights subcommittee of the European Parliament, was interviewed by NTDTV after his speech. Dr. Tannock indicated in the interview that, "China at present has stronger and stronger economic and political links with the European Union. I think we should further concern ourselves about the human rights condition in China. Chinese people deserve to have the same rights as people anywhere else in the world have, the fundamental human rights, the right of freedom of speech, the right of freedom of assembly, the right of freedom of religion. Hopefully sooner rather than later, they have the right of choosing a government themselves rather than to have to live under the one party of communist dictatorship."
Regarding the withdrawals from the CCP of more than 6 million Chinese people, Dr. Tannock said, "The Chinese Communist Party is just a vehicle for maintaining power for a few people. I was told the promise the Chinese Communist Party had made that by 2007 and 2008 there will be full democracy in Hong Kong with an elected governor, but now Beijing is trying to take that right away from the Hong Kong people. I am hopeful that sooner or later the Chinese communist party regime will give way to democracy, and China will have a government that respects the fundamental human rights of all people."
Mr. John Grogan, the UK Labor Party MP for Selby, also accepted an interview. He said, "Today is International Human Rights Day. China has a great historical culture, but many people in the British Parliament are worried about the human rights record of China. We have just seen the report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, stating that torture is still widespread in China. I think that it is the duty for everyone in Britain, whether the MPs or businessmen, to raise this issue of human rights in China. I think it is a very important phenomenon that over 6 million Chinese people are withdrawing from the CCP. This indicates that many Chinese people hope to seek other political organizations outside the Chinese Communist Party to represent their views. People in western countries are already familiar with many parties' coexistence in a democratic society. I would like to see that day come soon in China."
  Mourning practitioners persecuted to death in Mainland China |
After the rally, people marched from the Chinese Embassy to Chinatown, to expose the CCP's persecution of human rights and to publicize the global trend of people quitting the CCP. Practitioners held banners reading, "Falun Dafa is good," "The world needs Truthfulness Compassion and Forbearance," "Stop the unceasing 6-year long persecution of Falun Gong," and "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang, and Liu Jing to justice." Other banners exposed the CCP's crimes of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners.
Christmas shoppers crowded London's streets. As the march passed by, many people stopped to watch and view our banners, then accepted or asked for leaflets. Going through Chinatown, most of the Chinese people were willing to take our flyers, and some staff members of Chinese shops came out to watch. After viewing several banners, an elderly Chinese man smiled and said, "Very good, very good."
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Category: Rallies & Protests
