Fontenay-sous-Bois, France: Seminar Held on China's Human Rights Situation

(Clearwisdom.net) On the evening of June 5, 2008, in Fontenay-sous-Bois, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, a seminar on China's human rights situation was held. A number of Green Party members and French representatives of Chinese organizations, as well as interested individuals, attended and spoke. French Falun Dafa Association Chairman Mr. Tang Hanlong was also invited to speak about Falun Gong and what Falun Gong practitioners in China have suffered under brutal persecution since 1999.

The seminar was sponsored by Laurence Abeille, Green Party senator for the Paris region and Deputy Mayor of the city of Fontenay-sous-Bois. Invited speakers included Mr. Tang Hanlong, Chairman of the French Falun Dafa Association, Mr. Wu Baozhang, a senior reporter and former director of the Chinese Ministry of Radio France Internationale, and Mr. Wu Jiang, Chairman of the French China Democratic Party.

The seminar was hosted by Sergio Coronado from the Green Party's International Affairs Committee. At the meeting, Mr. Wu Baozhang, based on his experience as a journalist working in China and for Radio France Internationale, discussed how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never stopped its repression and killing of the Chinese people; the CCP perpetuates its authoritarian power at the expense of the common people. He believes that in order to make true progress, China must completely abandon the communist system.

Mr. Tang Hanlong introduced Falun Gong and exposed the CCP's brutal nine-year persecution of the practice. In 1999, the Jiang Zemin and Luo Gang faction launched the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and manipulated the CCP media to spread rumors throughout China to frame Falun Gong and create a pretext for repression. The CCP even spreads lies overseas in an attempt to vilify Falun Gong worldwide.

Many of the participants could not understand why the CCP would persecute Falun Gong and were shocked by the atrocities. One older woman wanted to learn Falun Gong after listening to Tang Hanglong's speech.

Jean Desessard, a Green Party member of Parliament, talked about the common bonds between Chinese and French people. He encouraged the participants to talk more about China's human rights issues, particularly the persecution of Falun Gong, as there are still many people who are not aware of the situation.

Several seminar participants who have visited China talked about the sense of repression they felt there. The CCP dispatched spies to monitor foreign visitors. Because of the constant surveillance, they felt that Chinese people didn't say much about China's politics, because they worried that they would be reported by others and then persecuted.

After the seminar, several participants said that they would tell others about China's human rights situation. Many felt that it would be beneficial to organize similar seminars.

Deputy Mayor Ms. Laurence Abeille has co-sponsored a proposal in the City Council to collect signatures throughout the city urging the Chinese government to improve its human rights situation.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/6/25/180914.html

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