The Prime Minister

24/5/02

Dear Mrs Zhang Cuiying,

Thank your for your letter and for the booklet and the CD on your artistic work. It is with special attention that I have read the account that you have given of your own experiences and of the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Human rights are a serious concern to us all. They have an eminent place in the political dialogue with the Chinese authorities, that the European Union is conducting in all its contacts.

During my discussions in Beijing, I have insisted that this dialogue should now lead to concrete results and that it can only be meaningful if a real and favourable change can be noticed on the field.

It is a matter that I will continue to monitor and follow up closely, together with our partners from the European Union and other Western nations.

Yours sincerely,

Guy Verhofstadt