Dr Chee Soon Juan has been invited by the Liberal Democrats in Britain to attend its 5-day party conference from 22-26 September 2002.
During his visit, Dr Chee will meet with leaders of the party including Party Leader Charles Kennedy, party President Lord Navnit Dholakia, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Members of European Parliament Graham Watson, Director of Campaigns and Elections Lord Chris Rennard, and Westminster Foundation for Democracy Vice-Chairman Michael Moore.
The SDP secretary-general will also participate in a panel discussion Human rights in Southeast Asia, organized by the Liberal International British Group.
The Liberal Democrats have also nominated Dr Chee for the Prize for Freedom 2003, an award given annually by the Liberal International (LI). LI is a world wide federation of liberal democratic parties (www.liberal-international.org).
In their nomination letter to Dr Chee the Liberal Democrats, which is also a member of LI, said: We have followed your determined campaign for democracy in Singapore for a long time. Your ongoing commitment to human rights, and to an open and democratic society in Singapore, has shown true selflessness and dedication, especially in light of the resulting intimidation and harassment.
We would therefore like to seek some recognition of your commitment, by nominating you for the Liberal International Prize for Freedom 2003. The prize is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the cause of democracy and human rights.
Previous recipients have included Mary Robinson, Corazon Aquino, Vaclav Havel, Aung San Suu Kyi, Martin Lee, and Chen Shui Bian (for a complete list, see http://www.liberal-international.org/freedomprize/recipients.html).