An Austrian Citizen Writes to the Chinese Ambassador in Vienna

Ambassador Mr. Lu Yonghua
Embassy of People's Republic of China in Austria
Metternichgasse 4
1030 Wien

Vienna, August 16th 2004

Dear Chinese Ambassador Mr. Lu Yonghua,

I am a friend of Wang Yong, the Chinese citizen whose passport was not renewed by the Chinese Embassy in Vienna. In this letter, I would like to give the Ambassador my view on this issue.

I heard that the major reason for not renewing the passport was because of an accusation that Wang Yong is against the Chinese Government. I know Wang Yong well, and I can honestly tell you that he is definitely not against the Chinese Government. What he is doing is just appealing to the Chinese Government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and for bringing the responsible criminals within the Chinese Government to justice. I think that everyone can agree that a few Communist Party members is not the same as the Chinese Government as a whole, and even less can a few people represent China as a whole. If a few individuals within the Chinese Government violate the Chinese Constitution and international agreements on human rights, they are responsible for that many innocent people’s death; if they use the Party for their own gains and lie to other people within the government and to the Chinese populace, Chinese Law should bring them to justice.

The responsible people within the Chinese Government created, with their own personal motives, many lies about Falun Gong in order to get acceptance for launching a terrible and brutal persecution against millions of good, law-abiding Chinese citizens, a persecution that includes brain-washing, torture and killing. More and more Chinese citizens (including policemen) are now learning the facts about Falun Gong, i.e. that Falun Gong is a peaceful and traditional cultivation method based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and not at all a political movement.

Unfortunately, by not renewing Yong´s passport because of the stated reasons, you are in fact taking part in this persecution and this is even more the case when the Embassy does not give a written statement of the decision.

With the facts presented, I think that no Chinese official with good judgement and a sense of conscience will choose to take part in serious human rights violations anymore. China is a great country with a great cultural, philosophical and religious history, which I personally adore very much. The persecution, initiated by a few people utilising the power of a government, gives modern China a bad image, to say the very least.

I hope that the Ambassador can make a conscientious decision regarding this issue.

Yours Sincerely,

A Vienna resident.