(Minghui.org) The European Union (EU) held the 39th Human Rights Dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on June 16, 2024 in Chongqing. The public statement published by the EU on June 17 expressed persistent concern over the deprivation of fundamental human rights in China, including the suppression of freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
Screenshot of the EU’s public statement about its 39th Human Rights Dialogue with China
In particular, the EU expressed the concerns on the suppression of human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists in China. It urges the CCP to investigate and stop human rights violations, including cases of unlawful detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and ill-treatment. It called upon the CCP to immediately release individuals illegally detained in China, including Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Xu Na and Mr. Ding Yuande.
Beijing Artist Sentenced to Eight Years, Whereabouts Unknown
Ms. Xu Na
Ms. Xu Na, a 56-year-old artist in Beijing, was arrested on July 19, 2020 for sending street photos of Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic to an overseas media entity. She was sentenced to an eight year prison term by the Dongcheng District Court on January 14, 2022, one month before the Beijing Winter Olympics. Her appeal was rejected by the Beijing Second Intermediate Court on May 18, 2023.
Ms. Xu was transferred from the Dongcheng District Detention Center to the Tianhe Prison Dispatch Center on September 20, 2023, and then to the third ward in Beijing Women’s Prison around November 2023. She was soon removed from the third ward and her current whereabouts aren’t clear.
Shandong Tea Farmer Sentenced to Three Years, Son Calls for His Release in Germany
Mr. Ding Yuande and his wife Ms. Ma Ruimei
Mr. Ding Yuande, a tea farmer in Rizhao City, Shandong Province, was arrested at his tea plantation early on the morning of May 12, 2023. The police issued a formal arrest warrant for him on July 20, 2023, and later submitted his case to the Wulian County Procuratorate. He was tried by the Wulian County Court on November 28 and sentenced to a three year prison term with a 15,000-yuan fine on December 15, 2023. The Rizhao City Intermediate Court rejected his appeal on January 29, 2024 without holding a hearing as requested. He was transferred from the Rizhao City Detention Center to the Shandong Province Prison on March 20, 2024.
Devastated by his persecution, Mr. Ding’s 82-year-old mother died on February 5, 2024, five days before the Chinese New Year. His wife, Ms. Ma Ruimei, also a Falun Gong practitioner, is currently under close surveillance.
Since Mr. Ding’s arrest, his son, Mr. Ding Lebin, who also practices Falun Gong and currently resides in Germany, has been working relentlessly to seek justice for him.
The resolution passed by the European Parliament on January 18, 2024, calls for an “immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Ding Yuande and all other arrested practitioners.”
The resolution also calls on the EU and its Member States to “publicly condemn organ transplant abuses in China, and use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and national human rights sanctions regimes against all perpetrators, their family members, as well as entities that have contributed to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and abroad. It also stresses that the sanctions should include visa refusals, freezing of assets, expulsion from EU territories, criminal prosecution, or the initiation of international criminal charges.”
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