The Chinese Embassy in Hungary sent a letter to a member of parliament pressuring her to stop supporting a persecuted group in China.
Bernadett Szel said she had what she called the “most absurd moment of [her] political career,” when she received a letter from the Chinese Embassy in Budapest on Aug. 19.
In it, the Embassy said it deplored and strongly opposed her signing a joint statement in support of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that’s persecuted in China.
The statement that she signed in support of Falun Gong, was also signed by over 600 lawmakers worldwide. It called for an end to the “systematic and brutal campaign to ‘eradicate’ the spiritual discipline of Falun Gong” in China. Over 30 U.S. lawmakers also penned individual letters of support.