I Urge the Chinese Government to Respect Human Rights and Release My Nephew Cao Qun (Photo)
(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Zhang Youlai, citizen of Australia and permanent resident of
Singapore. Right now I am teaching at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Institute in Singapore. My nephew Cao Qun was 22 years old when his school expelled him for persisting in his faith and
practicing Falun Gong. Soon thereafter, he was illegally sentenced to two years of forced labor for
speaking out the truth about Falun Gong. He is currently detained in the Dalian Forced Labor Camp. Cao Qun began practicing Falun Gong when he was in high school. Falun Gong requires practitioners
to be good students and good workers. Cao Qun took his schoolwork very seriously. Later, he was
admitted to the renowned Liaoning Technical University. When I went to China for a visit, he talked
to me about everything that happened at school, which gave me the impression that he loved school,
his studies and the life there. While he was happily enjoying his studies, though, the Chinese dictator began his persecution
against Falun Gong. Cao Qun received pressure from the school. The officials asked him to write an
announcement, to give up cultivation of Falun Gong, and even ordered him not to leave the school
campus without permission. Once, he left the campus for several hours without asking for permission
and was handcuffed when he returned. This is a blatant trampling of the law and of basic human
rights! Because he firmly refused to give up his faith, he was forced to leave the school. The school
claimed he couldn't return unless he gives up cultivation of Falun Gong. A college student was
forced to leave his classmates, teachers and school just because he wants to persist in his faith. Because of pressure from the government, the educational institutions in China are deciding
whether a person can continue his studies based on his belief. This is a serious violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a blatant trampling of human rights and the United
Nations Charter on Education. Cao Qun stood up and clarified the truth to people after he was deprived of his freedom of belief
and his right to an education. In 2001, police arrested and detained him for clarifying the truth in
Dalian City. In the detention center, he was forced to put on an "earth ring," a brutal
torture tool that cuffs the hands and the feet together, for more than 20 days, simply because he
didn't cooperate with the evil and refused to give his name. He suffered all kinds of tortures
there. Eventually he was sentenced to two years of forced labor and is still being detained in the
Dalian Forced Labor Camp. He was deprived of his personal freedom after his right to education and
his freedom of belief were taken away. My grandfather is a professor, close to 80 years of age. He misses Cao Qun very much, but he does
not know even now that his grandson is in jail. The family hides the news, fearing the grandfather
won't be able to take it. When I went to China for a visit and saw how he missed his grandson but
didn't know the truth, I couldn't express my feelings. This is a disaster for China! This is a disaster for the human world! During the whole incident, I often wrote to the university, Dalian Forced Labor Camp and the
Dalian Judiciary Bureau and expressed my hope that they would respect freedom of belief, human
rights, and the right to education. I requested them to release Cao Qun and restore his freedom, but
I did not receive any response. I only heard news worse than before. So all I can do is seek international understanding and support. I wrote to the Australian government, the Singapore government, the United Nations and some other
related international organizations. I expressed my hope that they would pay attention to this issue
and immediately help to stop this ludicrous evil persecution in China. I urged the Chinese
government, as a co-signer of United Nations Agreements of Human Rights, to immediately release him
and give Cao Qun back his freedom of belief and right to an education. In the response letter from the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cutural
Organization), it was clearly pointed out that: " The Chinese government's treatment of Cao Qun violated rights officially agreed to by the
United Nations, including [1].* the right to an education, [1]* the right to share in scientific
advancement, [2]* the right to participate freely in cultural life, [2]* the right to information,
including freedom of opinion and expression,[3]* the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion, [4]* the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media
regardless of national borders, [3]* the right to protection of moral and materials interests
resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production, [2]* the right to freedom of
assembly and association for the purposes of activities connected with education, science, culture
and information [5].*" They told me this incident has attracted their attention and is being investigated. Here, I again strongly urge the Chinese government to: Follow the UN Charter on education, abide by the UN Agreements on Human Rights, which China has
signed, and immediately release Cao Qun who unjustifiably was sent to jail; immediately release
other Falun Gong practitioners who were unreasonably deprived of their right to an education and of
their right to live a free life. I will continue to call on the international community and seek support until my request is
fulfilled. * [1] Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [2] Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [3] Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [4] Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [5] Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Address of Dalian Forced Labor Camp: Liaoning Province, Dalian City, Ganjingzi District,
Jichangqian Street, Nanshan Village, Dalian Forced Labor Camp. Zip code: 116033. February 16, 2003
Cao Qun
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2003/2/16/44653.html
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