CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

34 Parkdale Road, Toronto, Ontario. M6R 1E2

Phone & Fax: 416-588-4966

The Right Honourable Jean Chretien

Prime Minister of Canada

PMO, Langevin Building

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario. K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing to you today, on the eve of the visit by Li Peng, Premier of the People's Republic of China, because we are deeply concerned that the Government of Canada seems to have turned its back on thousands of Chinese dissidents and human rights activists, Tibetan nuns and priests, Christian worshipers and many others who have been unjustly detained and often tortured in Chinese prisons.

Canada seems to have forgotten about the June, 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square and the subsequent crackdown on free speech in China which has become worse in recent years. Our government seems to pursue trade deals at any cost and avoid asking Chinese leaders tough questions which they might regard as critical. As we see it--and hear it through the media--you and Foreign Minister Ouellet have been all but mute on a wide range of well-documented Chinese human rights abuses.

We refer, in particular, to your visit to China last year with the provincial Premiers. Human rights concerns were raised so briefly and subtly that the Premier of Nova Scotia wasn't even aware that the subject had been addressed. Frankly, the message to the Chinese leaders appeared to be that Canada won't question specific human rights abuses because we care about money, not people's lives.

Compare our government's record with the conversation two weeks ago between President Thomas Klestil of Austria and President Jiang Zemin of China, as reported by Austrian radio and the BBC. President Klestil questioned Jiang at length about Chinese and Tibetan prisoners of conscience, Tibetan desires for independence and Chinese nuclear tests. He asserted that the universality of human rights means that "stating one's own point of view on this matter cannot be understood as interfering in internal affairs."

Li Peng's Visit

As our government prepares for next week's visit by Premier Li Peng, the opportunity arises for Canada to go on record as an opponent of repression and a true supporter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Which brings us to our request.

Please make human rights a priority during discussions with Li Peng.

In particular, we ask you to protest, politely of course, that:

Wei Jingsheng, who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, has been "disappeared", without charge or trial, since April, 1994.

Ding Zilin, a courageous champion of the families of the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, has been illegally detained, along with her husband, since August 18 as Chinese authorities "cleaned up" for the United Nations Women's Conference.

Tibetan nuns and monks, many in their teens, have been imprisoned, tortured and, in some cases, killed for advocating Tibetan independence.

You might also talk about thousands of political prisoners, including hundreds from all over China who were detained during and after the massacre in Tiananmen Square; about tens of thousands of prisoners in forced labour camps who work twelve or more hours a day manufacturing products for export; about the forced relocation of a million people to make room for the Three Gorges Dam; about women who are kidnapped to be sold as wives or prostitutes, or suffer harassment and forced sterilizations in order to enforce China's "one child" policy; about--well, isn't that enough?

Are you conscious of the fact--would you agree?--that Canada is giving the Chinese government an easy ride on human rights issues, in comparison with Austria, for example, or the United States? That's certainly our impression. But now you have an opportunity to renew Canada's status as a leader in the promotion of human rights by making bold, public statements to Li Peng about his government's deplorable record.

Prime Minister, by taking firm action you will also renew our faith in your government's commitment to international justice. We will be watching and listening with great interest.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Craig Bensen Lin

Co-Chairs, China Human Rights Group

c.c. The Honourable Andre Ouellet, Minister of Foreign Affairs