U.S. and Hong Kong (2002)

State Department Briefing Transcript

Deputy State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
1:15 P.M. EST

BRIEFER: Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

QUESTION: I'm trying to switch the topic to an Asian issue. You may have heard that the Hong Kong government is actually is currently putting on a trial for 16 Falun Gong members. From the footage and pictures we have got, at least for meditation appeal, occupying just a seven square meters could not cause the charge --

MR. REEKER: Do you have a question specifically?

QUESTION: Yeah. I mean, for this issue, US Government, do you have any specific reaction to --

MR. REEKER: As I have said virtually every day when you or your colleagues have come to ask about this, you know that the United States and China have an ongoing dialogue on Falun Gong. We'll continue to press the Chinese Government to respect the rights of Falun Gong practitioners peacefully to practice their beliefs.

QUESTION: Okay. But on this specific case, how does --

MR. REEKER: Which one is this, since several have --

QUESTION: This is the Hong Kong trial case, because in '97 when Hong Kong was returned to China, and China promised to keep the two systems in one country, and US has promised to watch out for that system to be --

MR. REEKER: Yes.

QUESTION: So how can US guarantee --

MR. REEKER: On that specific case, as far as I understand it, there's a trial of 16 Falun Gong practitioners, including four Swiss citizens. That case came to a close, I believe August 8, and the court is scheduled to hand down a verdict on August 15. So obviously that's still in the process since, by my watch, it's still the 13th, although I'm surprised we haven't moved on. (Laughter.)

We continue to stress the importance of Hong Kong striving to maintain its civil liberties and free society, human rights and the rule of law. These are necessary components that make Hong Kong a distinctive international city. Despite the ban on Falun Gong in mainland China, the Falun Gong in Hong Kong remains legally registered and generally free to conduct its activities in Hong Kong.

For more information on Hong Kong, I would direct you to the April State Department report, which is on our website, which reviewed the situation in Hong Kong. That was most recently in April.

QUESTION: Okay.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

(The briefing was concluded at 2:10 p.m.)

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