2024 年 5 月 15 日星期三,中國觀察和西藏觀察在英國下議院組織了一次聯合活動,重點討論中國的宗教自由。
會議的主持人和主席是菲奧娜·布魯斯(Fiona Bruce)國會議員閣下,宗教和信仰自由特使。
小組成員包括:達賴喇嘛尊者在英國的索南次仁弗拉西(Sonam Tsering Frasi),拉希瑪·馬哈茂特(Rahima Mahmut),世界維吾爾代表大會英國主席,張珍娜,法輪習功者,本尼迪克特·羅傑斯(Benedict Rogers),英國保守黨人權委員會副主席、香港觀察聯合創始人。討論會議很成功,與會者約40位嘉賓及媒體代表出席。
英國世界維吾爾代表大會執行主任拉希瑪·馬哈茂特發表了熱情洋溢的講話,演講主題是:「在我的祖國,宗教自由不存在」,她回顧了維吾爾人在祖國東突厥斯坦遭受了中國政府的迫害。
達賴喇嘛尊者駐英國代表索南·弗拉西指出:今天的會議非常及時,他指出:因為幾天後(5 月 17 日)藏人和支持者紀念中國綁架西藏十一世班禪喇嘛29周年。
法輪功學員張珍娜宣讀一份聲明,揭露了她母親的遭遇。作為一名在中國受迫害的法輪功學員的經歷。她的母親及其家人被拘留期間,遭到警察的電棍,無情的被迫害。她傳達的信息是:「希望英國政府能夠為正義發聲,中國政府結束對法輪功學員的迫害。」
本尼迪克特·羅傑斯在《香港觀察》中描述了基督徒遭受的迫害,中國大陸以及香港宗教和信仰自由受到中國政府的威脅與破壞,他還提到中共信仰的是戰爭,將加劇中國宗教普及永遠不會成功。
China Watch聯合創始人David Hardingham補充道:「四位演講者都有各自的事業,要是能多舉辦一些活動就好了,像今天這樣,各民族團體可以有效地合作,以提高認識,並最終給中共施加更大的壓力。」
中國觀察共同創建人黃華先生,向聽證會主持人提出兩個問題:1、英國政府真的關心中國人權嗎?2、中國有14億人口,其中漢人占91%,而少數民族僅僅只占9%,如果沒有漢人的支持,你們怎麼樣解決中國的少數民族問題?
會後,黃華先生和共同創建人之一David Hardingham與會議主持人進行了私下會談,討論進一步合作問題。
中國觀察共同創始人王冠儒,蔣玉山,耿鳳參加了此次會議。由於會議室座位有限,門外和走廊站滿了旁聽的客人。
英文版:
PERSECUTION OF TIBETANS, UYGHURS, CHRISTIANS, AND FALUN GONG
PRACTITIONERS RAISED AT EVENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, CO-ORGANISED
BY CHINA WATCH AND TIBET WATCH
On Wednesday the 15th of May 2024 China Watch and Tibet Watch organised a joint meeting in the House of Commons focusing on Freedom of Religion in China.
The host and chair of the meeting was the Rt Hon Fiona Bruce MP the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief.
The panellists were: Sonam Tsering Frasi, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the UK. Rahima Mahmut, UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress. Jenna Zhang, Falun Gong practitioner. Benedict Rogers, Co-founder, Hong Kong Watch. The meeting was well attended by around 40 guests and media representatives.
Rahima Mahmut the Executive Director of World Uyghur Congress UK, made a passionate speech recalling the persecution of Uyghurs in her homeland East Turkestan by the Chinese government. “Religious freedom is non-existent in my homeland” she said.
Sonam Frasi, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in UK pointed to the timeliness of today’s event as he noted that in a few days (on 17 May) Tibetans & supporters would be commemorating the 29th anniversary of China’s abduction of Tibet’s 11th Panchen Lama.
Jenna Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner read out a statement explaining her mother’s experience in China as a persecuted Falun Gong practitioner. Electric batons were used on her mother while in detention and the family were relentlessly persecuted by the police. Her message to the meeting was “We hope the U.K. government can speak up for justice and an end to Falun Gong persecution.”
Benedict Rogers, Co-founder of Hongkong Watch described the persecution of Christians in mainland China and the threats to religion and freedom of belief in Hong Kong. He referred to increasing Sinicization of religion in China and concluded that CCP ‘s war on faith will never succeed.
David Hardingham, co-founder of China Watch added “All four speakers are champions for liberty and freedom and for their respective causes. It would be good to have more events like this where the groups can collaborate effectively to bring more awareness and ultimately put more pressure on the CCP.”
Mr. Huang Hua, co-founder of China Watch, asked two questions to the hearing host: 1. Does the British government really care about human rights in China? 2. China has a population of 1.4 billion, of which Han people account for 91%, while ethnic minorities only account for 9%. Without the support of Han people, how will you solve China’s ethnic minority problems?
After the meeting, Mr. Huang Hua and one of the co-founders, David Hardingham, had a private meeting with the host of the meeting to discuss further cooperation issues.
The Co-founders of China Watch: Wang Guanru, Jiang Yushan, and Geng Feng all attended the meeting. Due to limited seating in the conference room, the door and corridors were filled with guests.