A/58/296
Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and the Orthodox Church had launched a
campaign in Burgas to prevent the construction of a house of worship of Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Posters calling on people to oppose “parasitic sects” had allegedly been
displayed in the city.
28. The Special Rapporteur wishes to point out that the registration procedures
would be considered legitimate and consonant with international laws concerning
religious freedom only if they were specified by law, objective, reasonable and
transparent, and therefore did not have the aim or the result of creating
discrimination, and that any refusal of registration must be well-founded and be
subject to judicial review.
China
29. The Special Rapporteur addressed a communication to the Chinese
Government on 11 April 2003 concerning inter alia action taken against Falun Gong
members. Between June 2002 and February 2003, a number of Falun Gong members
had allegedly been arrested and sometimes tortured, or died while in detention or
shortly after their release. This is said to involve, in particular: Zhang Zhuo; Xiao
Peng; Li Xiaojing; Zhang Xiaochun; Wang Jinling; Wang Haoyun; Wu Mingfang;
Lingxia Wu; Xiao Chengrui; Chen Jianling; Song Huaping; Xiangyun Deng;
Xiaoyun Fu; Wei Chaozong; Chen Xunan; Pu Shigao; Bai Xiuhua; Wang Baoxian;
Liu Jiming; Xun Ruilin; Dong Jinlan; Deming Shen; Hongmin Li; Mi Zhongsheng;
Jiang; Jingyi Wang; Sun Jihong; Gaidi Zhu; Liao Zhaoqi; Xinzhi Gu; Liguo Jiang;
Ouyang Wei; Fengfang Yang; Yunping Bi; Zhixiang Luo; Zaixin Wei; Xiuqin Xing;
Laihe Wei; Guiqin Yang; Zhenhai Wang; Baochen Huang; Lianping Ye; Ms. Hou;
Fengwei Wang; Lin Guan; Hongye Hu; Yurong Zhou; Xingguo Song; Jianhua Liang;
Shufang Wang; Huajiang He; Cuizhen Zhang; Liu Qunying; Guanyun Yu; Jinshan
Liu; Fengxia Xiong; Zhang Quanfu; Wang Fengqin; Liu Shufen; Zhang Dezhen;
Guiying Meng; Yu Tianyong; Zhang Zhen; Lan Hu; Peng Fangjian; Liu Jie; Zhao
Xianzhong; Li Hongwei; and Ding Feng.
30. The Special Rapporteur also cited reports, concerning other Falun Gong
members, of the arrest of Charles Li, a United States citizen, and his three-year
prison sentence for attempting to interfere with radio and television programmes; of
the kidnapping of Nancy Chen, an Australian citizen, by Chinese national security
agents; of the sentencing of Yuhui Zhang to 10 years in prison for having written
and published articles on the situation of Falun Gong members in China; and of the
sentencing of 16 persons for having demonstrated in front of the Chinese
Government liaison office in Hong Kong.
31. Concerning the situation of Tibetans, the Special Rapporteur informed the
Chinese Government of information about the arrest of five Tibetans, on 17 October
2002, in the city of Ganzi: Shamba; Tsangpo; Namgyal; Kayo Dogha; Tsering
Dorjee; and Jampal.
32. Moreover, Tibetan officials from Lhasa were said to have been threatened with
losing their pensions and/or employment if they visited the sacred site of Mount
Kailash during the Buddhist festival of Sagadawa.
33. The Special Rapporteur also reverted to the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
(see paras. 19 and 20 of E/CN.4/2003/66), a professor of Tibetan religion who, in
December 2002, was reportedly sentenced to death for involvement in a series of
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