Media Reports

The Hong Kong office of HRW as well as eight other local human rights groups
have called on authorities to scrap the law altogether. Rights activists say
the proposals as they stand now would, for example, be used to prosecute
spiritual or religious groups, such as Falun Gong (news – web sites), and
political dissidents whose activities have been outlawed in Beijing.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International is also urging Beijing to
release Yoko because she is “prisoner of conscience.”

The Roman Catholic Church and the spiritual group Falun Gong are joining
forces in Hong Kong to fight new anti-treason laws.
The recently-appointed Catholic Bishop for Hong Kong, Joseph Zen, has said
the regulations currently being drawn up threaten Falun Gong’s freedom to
practice in the territory.

She is a small, quiet woman from Australia and an internationally acclaimed
artist, whose paintbrush has caressed the face of Buddha and stroked the
hair of the goddess of mercy.

Many on the list are political activists and dissidents, including four
members of the China Democracy Party (CDP) and 14 members of Falun Gong, a
spiritual movement that is outlawed in China.

A group of Finnish Parliamentarians sent an appeal to the Chinese President
on Thursday calling on the country’s Government to end its suppression of
the Falun Gong movement, as well as other violations of human rights.

The Chinese government firmly denies that Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured. Ms. Yuzhi Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner who was incarcerated in Wanjia Forced Labour Camp and was rescued from the United Arab Emirates by the Canadian government, exposed the persecution facts to this Voice of America correspondent.

It said two of those detained for Internet-related offenses, both of
whom
were members of the outlawed Falun Gong movement, died in custody —
apparently as a result of police torture or ill-treatment.

The London-based human rights organization detailed the cases of at
least 33
people who have been detained or imprisoned for offences related to
their
use of the Internet.

They ranged from political activists and writers to members of
unofficial
organizations, including the Falun Gong spiritual movement, Amnesty
said.

US ambassador to China Clark Randt vowed Monday to
bring China to task over its dismal human rights record, despite a recent
warming trend between Beijing and Washington.

The US diplomat also demanded substantive results from a December 16
US-China dialogue on human rights in Beijing.