(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings, all Hong Kong residents!

Hong Kong and Taiwan are closely related. So through this letter, we want to share with you our great concern for the future of Hong Kong.

Speak up for people's freedoms in Hong Kong; "The Pearl of the Orient" should not be disgraced

Hong Kong has been changing ever since 1997, when it returned to China. However, Hong Kong is not turning into a more prosperous place with more freedoms. Hong Kong used to have an image that the people of Hong Kong are very proud of: that it is a place with a high degree of democracy, under the rule of law. However, this image has been fading. This is a cruel fact that the people of Hong Kong do not want to see, yet one that they have to face. After Hong Kong returned to China, the people of Hong Kong hoped to live under the protection of the policy of "One Country, Two Systems" to maintain the high level of autonomy they have enjoyed. However, in less than five years, Hong Kong is instead "making progress" in the direction of Mainland China's highly centralized system. We hope that the people of Hong Kong can show their concern by standing up for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. Please do not sit by to witness the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong. Please speak up for your legitimate rights and freedoms! If you sit by and remain indifferent today, tomorrow you yourself might become the victim of the "public prosecutor." The corrosion creeping into the public prosecuting system will definitely influence your freedom and your life. This is not an empty or false alarm.

The judicial system should not be abused to deprive the Hong Kong people's human rights established in the Basic Law

Recently, the Hong Kong Police Department charged sixteen Falun Gong practitioners with "obstruction of streets" and "assaulting police." At the beginning of March of this year, Jiang Zemin issued a vicious secret directive stating, "Police can open fire on Falun Gong practitioners that are posting flyers." In response, these sixteen Hong Kong practitioners held a peaceful appeal in front of the Central Government Liaison Office on behalf of the millions of practitioners in Mainland China who have suffered inhumane tortures, who have been tortured to death, who have been jailed and detained, who have become homeless, and whose families are torn apart. However, the Hong Kong police made false accusations against the practitioners' lawful and peaceful appeal. According to videos and photos taken at the scene of the incident, the charges of "obstruction of streets" and "assaulting police" are purely false accusations. The true reason for the trial is because the Hong Kong police and the Hong Kong judicial system have been under heavy pressure from the Chinese Government's Liaison Office. Throughout the trial and during the process of examining the evidence, it was very obvious that the Hong Kong court has been partial to the prosecutor. Actually, the real issue under examination during this trial is whether the Hong Kong judicial system is fair or not! Whether the court can give a fair judgment to the Hong Kong practitioners shows whether the judicial system can implement the law based on the law and whether it can protect the human rights of the people of Hong Kong. If the court decides to illegally sentence the Falun Gong practitioners when there is clearly not enough evidence to do so, the public prosecutor will not only deprive Falun Gong practitioners of the freedom of speech, the freedom of belief, and the freedom of assembly, but it will also shatter the Hong Kong government's over half century history of "Rule of Law." [Note: this letter was written before the unfair and biased "guilty" verdict was rendered.]

The Taiwanese government and Taiwanese people have recognized the power of Truth-Compassion-Tolerance - the principles of Falun Dafa - and the positive impact of these principles on social morality

Falun Gong has been warmly welcomed by over fifty countries around the world and has been recognized by the international society. Prior to Jiang's illegal suppression of Falun Gong, there was no need for peaceful appeals. Falun Gong teaches people to follow the principles of Truth-Compassion-Tolerance, and to improve one's xinxing [mind-heart nature]. It has brought health and harmony to millions of people around the world. It has no political agenda and does not fight against any government. Before Jiang's persecution, Falun Gong was even officially recognized by the Chinese government, and received numerous honors. After the persecution began in China, Falun Gong received over seven hundred proclamations from different governments around the world. In Taiwan, the President, the Premier, and the Mayor of Taipei City have all publicly supported Falun Gong practitioners. The number of Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan has been increasing rapidly, as the Taiwanese people saw that Falun Gong practitioners are peaceful and compassionate people.

The judicial system should not be abused by those politicians who have ulterior motives to persecute kind-hearted people

Let's come back to the Hong Kong trial. The Jiang clique's coercion is eroding the traditional values of liberty and the judicial system's impartiality in Hong Kong. Political coercion is eroding the policy of "One Country, Two Systems." Upholding justice, safeguarding morality, punishing the bad and helping the good are the general principles of an objective judicial system. These should not be replaced by Jiang's despotic power. Jiang's suppression of Falun Gong was illegal from the beginning, violating China's own constitutional law and international conventions. We hope that the Hong Kong government will be more rational and more fair-minded in dealing with the persecution of Falun Gong. Please do not help Jiang commit human rights violations. Please do not make this incident the first example of violating human rights in Hong Kong. Otherwise, the people of Hong Kong will have to pay a high price for this. We, the people of Taiwan, hope that the Hong Kong government will safeguard democracy, the rule of law, and the conscience of the Hong Kong people. We hope the Hong Kong government will clear-headedly recognize Falun Gong's good reputation around the world and will acknowledge the practitioners' peaceful and compassionate hearts. Please do not let Jiang's anti-human-rights and anti-freedom acts happen on Hong Kong soil.

We sincerely call upon the people of Hong Kong to take the following actions:

1. Please seriously appeal to the Chinese government leaders not to pressure the Hong Kong people, and not to bully the judicial system into damaging human rights in Hong Kong!
2. Please use all peaceful and rational ways to call upon the Hong Kong judicial system to stop the politically motivated trial of the Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners!
3. Please rationally safeguard the freedom of belief, the freedom of appeal, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of speech, all legitimate rights under the protection of the Basic Law, for the people of Hong Kong and for the Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners!

Please clear-headedly and rationally stand with the peaceful and compassionate Falun Gong practitioners! It will be a blessing for Hong Kong if the Hong Kong people and government can make the right decision to uphold justice, carry out the policy of "rule of law," and safeguard the human rights of the Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners and of the entire Hong Kong people. The future of the Hong Kong people depends upon whether the Hong Kong government can choose to safeguard freedom and justice. It also depends on whether or not the Hong Kong people themselves pay special attention to human rights issues and whether they really cherish freedom!

Drafted by your Taiwanese friends who are concerned for the future of the Hong Kong people.

August 12, 2002

Posting date: 8/24/2002
Original article date: 8/12/2002
Category: Open Forum
Translated on 8/17/2002
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/8/14/34792.html

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