Brussels, 8 June 2010
Dear Members of Government and Parliament,
SHEN YUN 2010 PERFORMANCES IN CHISINAU

It was profoundly disturbing to learn of the last moment rejection of the Shen Yun Performing Arts in Moldova on May 25 and 26 during their fourth European tour. My office was delighted to see the Shen Yun performances and was entranced by the skill exhibited by everyone involved. It was impossible not to be deeply touched by the moving scenes depicting the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners across China. Furthermore I held a Welcome Reception for the tour in the European Parliament in February .

It is through expressions such as those made by the Shen Yun Performing Arts company and its classically-trained crew that the rule-of-law community can demonstrate that we are united against totalitarianism and the persecution of faith communities anywhere. Shen Yun Performing Arts takes pride in including in its company artists who perform the meditative practice of Falun Gong. I believe these performances demonstrate bravery in the face of enormous and unjust persecution by the Chinese Communist Party. Those who have taken part in the Falun Gong peaceful way of life have been terribly persecuted, imprisoned, and abused since 1999. Because Shen Yun was rejected in three countries in Eastern Europe, your own
included, I would like to point out that Chinese party-state is very sensitive to the Falun Gong issue because practitioners across the world openly and bravely expose the true nature of the party and its misdeeds during a 60-year-long history. As you know, it is an appalling record of crimes and abuses that culminated over the past decade with the persecution and imprisonment of many prisoners of consciousness, including the killing of Falun Gong for their vital organs. I regret that the government of Moldova did not allow Shen Yun’s performances and gave in to pressure from the Chinese embassy, allowing it to encroach on your young democracy, which seeks to became a part of the European Union.
A vast majority of countries facing the same threats from the Chinese embassy disregarded them and hosted the Shen Yun shows with pride. Their economic and diplomatic relations did not suffer as a result; in fact, those countries gained respect in the international community and within the European Parliament. It saddens me that, by cancelling the shows, some governments do in fact accept the persecution. I hope that Europe and the rest of the world can match the courage of the Shen Yun Performing Arts and tell the Chinese regime once and for all that we will not accept its gross and repeated violations of human dignity across China. In closing, I encourage Moldova’s government, presidency and parliament to join the
larger international community, which condemns the persecution of Falun Gong, by inviting Shen Yun next year during their European tour.

EDWARD McMILLAN-SCOTT
VICE-PRESIDENT

Room ASP 13G 130, European Parliament, Brussels 1047 Email edward.mcmillan-scott@europarl.europa.eu
Tel (+32) 2 284 5959