11 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested Saturday by French police for wearing clothing with the words "Falun Gong" on it. Many attribute these arrests to pressure from Chinese authorities to keep Falun Gong hidden from visiting Chinese groups.
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NEWS -- Jan. 29, 2004 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net
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11 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested Saturday by French police for wearing clothing with the words "Falun Gong" on it. Many attribute these arrests to pressure from Chinese authorities to keep Falun Gong hidden from visiting Chinese groups. |
NEW YORK (FDI) -- Citizens of the U.S., U.K., Denmark and France were among at least 11 arrested in Paris this past Saturday for wearing clothing with the words "Falun Gong" on it. These arrests appear to have been an attempt to keep the presence of Falun Gong invisible from the many Chinese groups that took part in a Chinese New Year's Day parade.
U.S. citizens Dr. Sunny Lu and Dr. Viviana Galli were in Paris for an extended layover en route to a conference in Stockholm, Sweden. While walking down the Champs d'Elysees, ten policemen surrounded the two women and told them they were under arrest. "I asked what we could possibly be arrested for, and a policeman responded 'Wearing yellow. The color yellow is illegal today.'" says Dr. Lu.
Dr. Lu says she was wearing a yellow sweatshirt -- a color often associated with the meditation practice Falun Gong -- that had on it the words "China: Stop Persecuting Falun Gong."
Dr. Galli said she then asked, "Why are you arresting me?" Dr. Galli was dressed all in black. The policeman pointed to her blue scarf. On it were printed the words "Falun Dafa," another common name for Falun Gong.
Both women were loaded into a van, where they were detained for three and one-half hours before being taken to a police station far away from the center of the city. At the police station their passports were inspected, their bags searched, and then they were released. They almost missed their plane to Stockholm, where they will attend a conference on genocide.
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Among those arrested was also UK citizen Ms. Xiaoyan Fullerton. Ms. Fullerton says she was standing on Avenue Friedland, which is next to Champs d'Elysees, waiting for a friend. "When I saw my friend, he was driving slowly towards me. Suddenly, two police cars sandwiched his car; the police told him to get out, pushed him onto the pavement and handcuffed him without saying anything. I was shocked to see this," Ms. Fullerton says.
Ms. Fullerton was then searched and arrested without a reason given by the French police. She was wearing a scarf with "Falun Dafa" written on it.
"These arrests are precisely the way in which Jiang Zemin has urged governments all around the world to act: to silence and suppress Falun Gong," says Falun Dafa Information Center spokeswoman, Ms. Gail Rachlin. "But the decision to do so has put French authorities in very disgraceful company."
Ms. Rachlin adds, "We know France is a free and open society that upholds human rights, so we trust that this decision will be quickly reversed and a public apology will be issued by French authorities."
Others arrested that day include residents from Germany and Sweden.
French Police Extend Jiang's Information Blockade
The arrests took place in the context of a controversial parade, a state visit this past Monday by the President of China, Hu Jintao, and a French administration, which, according to some news reports, is eager to curry favor with the regime in Beijing.
The Chinese New Year's Parade was sponsored jointly by the Paris and Beijing Town Halls. The parade was open for participation to all kinds of associations, but not Falun Gong.
The Falun Gong Association of France was turned down from participating in the New Year's parade even though, according to the Association's President Alain Tong, their request was handed in to authorities on time and dozens of other associations were invited to take part. "We were excluded because of the pressure from (military chief) Jiang Zemin's regime -- not Hu Jintao's -- because he is afraid that his criminal acts against Falun Gong will be publicly revealed," Tong told CNS News. "I believe they pressured the French organizers to exclude Falun Gong."
The experiences of Ms. Huifang Roper, a French citizen and Falun Gong practitioner arrested that day for wearing a yellow scarf, provide an interesting commentary on Alain Tong's remarks.
Many groups had been brought from China to take part in the parade, including dancers, acrobats, and a large dragon-dance troupe. Ms Roper says she had taken up a spot in the first row of spectators and when a group of Chinese dancers passed by she wanted to show them that Falun Gong practitioners were in Paris. She says she put her scarf on, and then waved it at the group passing. Two of the dancers saw her, and began talking to one another.
At this moment, Ms. Roper says, a Chinese woman who was monitoring the parade route immediately called out to French policemen. A policeman came over, looked at the scarf, asked what was written on it, found nothing wrong, and turned away. The Chinese woman then asked the policeman to take Huifang's scarf and said "Falun Dafa is illegal," at which point a number of policemen took Ms. Roper away. She was detained for several hours, and then released.
"Whenever state-sponsored groups travel outside China," explains Dr. Shiyu Zhou, a Rutgers University professor, "there is one official assigned to keep watch over them, to make sure, among other possibilities, the group has no contact with Falun Gong. This woman, whether she was a Chinese Embassy employee or a member of the Public Security Bureau brought from China for this purpose, was apparently fulfilling this role."
A key part of Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong is a blockade on all independent information about Falun Gong. Under Jiang's direction, the state-run media in China has gone to great lengths to demonize Falun Gong -- an image that is shattered by the knowledge that Falun Gong is legal everywhere except China (and there the ban contravenes the Chinese Constitution), and practiced in sixty countries around the world.
"In the arrest of Huifang Roper and the other practitioners on Saturday, the French police were cooperating with Jiang's persecution, working to make sure that the visitors from China did not catch even a fleeting glimpse of how Falun Gong is freely practiced in Paris and around the world," says Ms. Rachlin.
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NEWS -- Jan. 29, 2004
Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." Practiced in over 50 countries world-wide, Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong in China, China's then-Communist leader, Jiang Zemin, outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report). Since that time, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 870 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/
(Clearwisdom.net) The persecution against Falun Gong initiated by Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin out of jealousy and paranoia has continued for more than four years. In these bloody four-plus years, there have been at least 870 verified cases of Falun Gong practitioners dying as a result of the persecution. Meanwhile, the Jiang regime has extended the slander and persecution of Falun Gong to outside of China. In recent days, the Jiang regime has caused incidents in France against the peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, in the process trampling freedom, equality and fellowship--ideals that are treasured by the French and Chinese people alike.
On January 24 and 26, ahead of Chinese Chairman Hu Jintao's visit to France, several dozen Falun Gong practitioners from England, Germany, France, Taiwan, and Norway were distributing truth-clarifying leaflets or simply wearing yellow scarves with the words "Falun Gong" on them on the streets of Paris. They were taken to the police station, had their passports inspected and their literature taken away, and released after being detained for four hours. Some practitioners were taken away without doing anything, without even any clothing or apparel that indicated they were associated with Falun Gong. French police even conducted a forceful search of a female German practitioner. The French public was aghast upon hearing news of what happened. When some practitioners were being released, the police filled in "no reason" for the "reason for detention" entry on their logs. Some policemen admitted that their actions were quite inappropriate. Several policemen said helplessly, "This was an order from above, they have to think about the French economy."
This unusual behavior by the French police was clearly carried out under the coercion of the Jiang regime. A member of the community in Chinatown said, "As far back as a few months ago, the Chinese Embassy have been continually telling the French government, police, and local Chinese that Falun Gong practitioners would make trouble during the Chinese New Year's Parade and Hu Jintao's visit." The local Chinese were indeed targeted by the Jiang regime's slander. However, the Falun Gong practitioners' activities have always been peaceful, a fact that's widely acknowledged, and would never be "making trouble." On the contrary, it's the Jiang regime, who is responsible for the bloody persecution of Falun Gong, that is making trouble on French soil, a place that cherishes freedom, equality and fellowship.
Before this incident, the Jiang regime has repeatedly coerced democratic governments into obstructing Falun Gong practitioners' legal, peaceful activities. In April 2002, when dictator Jiang Zemin visited Germany, in order to avoid seeing practitioners, he fed large quantities of lies slandering Falun Gong to the German police. This caused a part of the Berlin police to react poorly when they saw Falun Gong practitioners wearing yellow scarves. They forbade practitioners wearing yellow scarves from being along the path of Jiang's motorcade, among other inappropriate acts. Afterwards, the practitioners met several times with the Berlin Ministry of Internal Affairs, laying out the persecution that Falun Gong practitioners have suffered in China, as well as Falun Gong's guiding principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and peaceful nature. After verification with multiple parties and investigations, the Berlin government issued a formal written apology to Falun Gong practitioners in December 2002, promising that similar episodes would not occur again.
In June 2002, when Jiang Zemin was to visit Iceland, the Icelandic government refused entry to Falun Gong practitioners based on a list of names that was apparently provided by the Jiang regime. This touched off a firestorm, leading Iceland's leading newspaper to carry four full-page ads apologizing to Falun Gong practitioners, with the Chinese words "We're sorry" as the title, and with the English title of "Apologies to the Falun Gong practitioners." The advertisement was sponsored by more than four hundred fifty people, including members of the Icelandic Parliament and prominent figures, sending shockwaves throughout the country. Icelandic citizens held three consecutive days of large-scale protests, indicating that the government's policy of refusing entry to Falun Gong protesters brought shame to the Icelandic people. Under pressure exerted by the public, the Iceland government relented and allowed entry to the Falun Gong practitioners.
The latest incident in France is a replay of the Jiang regime's reprehensible behavior in Germany and Iceland. They are using economic interests to entice and threaten democratic governments. Of course, the relevant members of the Chinese government delegation must also bear responsibility for this act that sold out conscience for personal gain. Their actions are helping Jiang's dictatorship to persecute good people. France is a democratic country, and the actions on the part of a few French officials are going against the trust placed in them by the French people. These are also stains in their personal conduct.
However, the Jiang regime's actions could not stop the Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal. According to the AFP, more than 650 Falun Gong practitioners and human rights activists from all over Europe gathered in Paris on January 25 to protest the persecution against Falun Gong. A spokesperson from the Paris police said that the protestors came from countries including Austria, England, Germany, Russia, Australia, and others. They held signs such as "Falun Gong is peaceful" and "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice". They paraded in downtown Paris and were quite orderly, as expected.
The goal of Jiang's regime is not just to defame Falun Gong practitioners. They intend to cause conflict between Falun Gong practitioners and other officials inside the Chinese government, hoping for those officials to become accomplices in their persecution and share in their criminal activities. However, their efforts are in vain. The Falun Gong practitioners are only protesting against those under Jiang's control who initiated and carried out the persecution, and treat Jiang Zemin and the current Chinese leadership differently. When Wen Jiabao visited the U.S. at the end of last year, the Falun Gong practitioners displayed banners stating: "Welcoming Wen Jiabao's Visit to the U.S." and "Severely Punish Jiang Zemin." Falun Gong Founder Mr. Li Hongzhi said in an interview with NTDTV regarding this issue, "What we're simply doing is opposing the persecution, and the main thing is, we're targeting the chief instigators of the persecution." This time when Hu Jintao is visiting France, Falun Gong practitioners only want to bring Jiang to justice, with no such plan for Hu Jintao--the distinction is quite clear. Jiang Zemin and his accomplices can no longer hide behind the government to escape punishment. So far, they have been named in lawsuits in six different countries with the charge of genocide. At the same time, fifteen Chinese officials, including Jiang Zemin, is on the Canadian police's watch list. If any of them enter Canada, they will be the subject of a criminal investigation. What awaits Jiang and his accomplices is justice dealt out by the law.
This incident in France is another case of persecution of Falun Gong by the Jiang regime, but it has provided a good opportunity for Falun Gong practitioners to clarify the truth to the French public and government officials. Those who have understood the truth will undoubtedly see the Jiang regime's despicable actions for what they are, and stand on the side of justice.
January 28, 2004
Ambassadeur de France au Canada
Monsieur Philippe Guelluy,
The Falun Dafa Association of Canada is writing to express our deep distress concerning a series of wrongful arrests and detentions of Falun Dafa practitioners in Paris over the last three or four days, including reports of rough treatment by police. We understand that these practitioners from several different countries did nothing illegal but were arrested simply for wearing Falun Dafa clothing or being with other Falun Dafa practitioners. We are stunned by this serious and flagrant violation of people's rights. We request that this unacceptable treatment be stopped immediately, and we ask for an explanation and apologies from the French authorities.
The practice of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a peaceful spiritual practice that consists of gentle, meditative exercises and a set of moral teachings centering on the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." It has received numerous commendations and support from around the world, including in Canada, for its benefits to people's physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing. We enclose a congratulatory letter to our Association from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, on the 9th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction to the public.
Tragically, as you are aware, practitioners of Falun Dafa have suffered a brutal persecution in China for over four years, forcibly instigated in 1999 by former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin in direct opposition to most of the other government leaders. Despite peaceful appeals and broad condemnation by governments and human rights organizations around the world, Jiang's dictatorship has persisted in escalating the persecution in China and has even extended it to other countries. Its associated massive propaganda campaign has been exported via Chinese embassies and consulates worldwide to turn public opinion and incite hatred against Falun Gong. Other contemptible tactics being used against the citizens and officials of other nations include threats, intimidation, blacklisting, and diplomatic and economic pressure.
In response, Falun Dafa practitioners have persevered in their peaceful appeals worldwide. To coincide with a visit to France by the new leader of China, President Hu Jintao, practitioners from different countries travelled to Paris on their own inititaive to appeal for an end to the persecution, as well as to participate in the Chinese new years celebration in Paris prior to his visit. Their unjust treatment by police was totally unexpected. In particular, we point out that during a similar visit to Ottawa, Canada by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in December 2003, nealry 200 Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully performed their exercises and displayed their banners at several locations visited by Premier Wen, including his hotel and Parliament Hill, without incident and with official permission from our local police. Practitioners' messages to Premier Wen were simply to extend their welcome to him, to tell him that Falun Dafa is good, and to ask that Jiang be brought to justice for his crimes. We attach a media report of these activities for your information.
According to an Ottawa Citizen and Vancouver Sun article on Jan. 21 2004, titled "Chinese officials on RCMP watchlist", it said, "The RCMP is keeping a watchlist of 15 high-ranking Chinese officials, accused of torturing and oppressing members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. If any of the officials sets foot in Canada, the RCMP will "look into" their alleged criminal actions, Constable Nathalie Deschenes said.¡±, "Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, applicants cannot be admitted to Canada if there are reasonable grounds to believe they have perpetrated a crime against humanity." "The list of accused includes Jiang Zemin, the 72-year-old former president of China and now chairman of the country's Central Military Commission, and Liu Qi, the mayor of Beijing." We enclose the article.
As Canadians we greatly value our connection with the people of France and are grateful that both our peoples are fortunate to live in just and democratic societies that cherish and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, we were gravely shocked and disheartened to learn of the recent arrests of our fellow practitioners in Paris. They were innocent people detained without cause, and we are particularly dismayed by one of the reasons reportedly given by police, that wearing the colour yellow is illegal in France.
We have no ill feeling toward the French government, but we ask that you not forget the countless practitioners of Falun Gong who are suffering atrocities in labour camps, mental hospitals, and detention centres across China. We are concerned for France that these wrongful arrests have brought your country one step closer to the stark reality and practice of persecution and injustice in China. We urge you to take immediate measures to rectify this wrong and to prevent greater damage to the dignity and reputation of your country within the international community.
Thank you for your attention. We look forward to your dignified and upright response and action on this serious matter.
Sincerely yours,
Grace Wollensak
On behalf of Falun Dafa Association of Canada
Attachment 1: Brief Introduction of Falun Gong
Attachment 2: Summary of the persecution of Falun Gong in China
Attachment 3: Congratulatory Letter from the Governor General of Canada, on 8th Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction to the Public
Attachment 4: Report about Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao¡¯s visit to Canada
Attachment 5: Jiang Zemin and Cohorts on Canada¡¯s RCMP Watchlist For Persecuting Falun Gong
M Bert rand Delanoe
Mayor of Paris
Hotel de Ville
75196 Paris RP
Dear M Delanoe
Paris should not have yielded to Beijing!
I was saddened to learn that you yielded to pressure for the dictators of China and stopped the French Falun Gong practitioners from participating in the Chinese New Year parade in Paris.
France should have stayed true to European democratic and egalitarian principles by standing up to the pressure from China. China suppresses its own people and now France is allowing China to suppress the citizens of France from expressing their beliefs!
I can imagine that the dictators of China would not have been happy to have Falun Gong at the same ceremony. It happens everywhere in the world, The regime tries to exert pressure. If the democratic governments are not willing to stand up to evil wherever it exists, no one else will!
The image that the Chinese wish to present is one of a beautiful cultural show, friendship between nations ... but yet there is also a hidden dark side as many have been excluded from the festivities.
For example, the French Falun Gong Association requested to take part in the parade with performances of the Lion Dance, Chinese drummers, traditional dancing as well as presenting decorated floats. Such a presentation has already won the First Community Prize at the world renowned Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade. However, the Chinese Embassy threatened to cancel all of the festivities if the City of Paris allowed Falun Gong to participate. With less than a week to the event, the City Hall refused the application and, at first, vaguely implied that the registration date had not been met. The truth is that the documents were sent on time, back in October.
The French Flaun Gong Association was also not given authorizations for other activities during the festivity it had applied for, such as performing traditional Falun Gong exercises, and handing out information. They were sent from one department to another; Police Department, City Hall, Ministry of Foreign Affairs ... Other non-official voices, which the Chinese authorities have repressed, have also met with similar obstacles.
Will France, a land of freedom, allow a foreign regime to dictate rules on its own territory? Today, the Chinese regime exerts the pressure and interference in democratic countries. The more one yields to this pressure (in order to gain political and commercial benefits), the more the regime will impose its human rights abuses on his country.
Falun Gong, a traditional school of exercise and meditation, clearly belongs to Chinese culture. Apart from the tragic repression currently taking place in China, we wish to share the beauty and harmony of this culture, which is one of the treasures of China. And to wish everyone a happy new year filled with compassion and peacefulness. It's also an occasion to show to our Chinese brothers and sisters and the French public the peace and benevolence of Falun Gong in contrast to the demonisation by the Chinese state propaganda.
This ban on the participation of Falun Gong is all the more shocking as it strikes at a peaceful group which is respectful of the Law. Falun Gong is practised in over 60 countries and it has been exemplarily peaceful and has been awarded prizes and honours for its positive contribution to society. In China, despite the fact that Falun Gong practitioners face violent persecution and defamation, they have remained resolute and non-violent. The practice was introduced by Mr Li Hongzhi in 1992 and at the beginning it was supported by the Chinese authorities. The practice quickly spread by word of mouth with 100 million Chinese people practising it. This alarmed the former president Jiang Zemin who in July 1999 concocted the conspiracy plan to justify his order to ban the practice. He tried to discredit Falun Gong in the eyes of the Chinese people and the international community using smear tactics, while imposed extreme censorship by forbidding practitioners from speaking out. Falun Gong practice is free, entirely voluntary and open, with no political agenda. It focuses on self-development by applying traditional values of truth-compassion-tolerance. To a Western person, it's like an art of living, a philosophy of life. Practitioners are full and responsible members of society!
Where are you, who shouted at the top of your voice against the massacre of the students on Tiananmen Square in 1989? Today, Falun Gong is the target of one of the most vicious persecutions in the world since 1945. In China, millions of innocent people are being defamed, hundreds of thousands are arbitrarily detained There is torture, rape and brainwashing. Someone dies every day ... Such human rights abuses should not be tolerated anywhere. The Chinese regime's attempt to export its persecution of Falun Gong to Paris must be resisted.
I hope that the Mayor of Paris will apologise to the French Falun Gong practitioners for the shabby way in which they have been treated.
Yours sincerely
Marco Cappato
MEP
(clearwisdom.net)
Ten lawyers attending the Stockholm conference on Genocide cosigned an open letter to the French government to express their strong concern after hearing about the detention of Falun Gong practitioners in Paris.
An Open Letter to the Government of France:
We, human rights attorneys from the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain, are deeply disturbed to hear that scores of practitioners of Falun Gong spiritual movement were detained yesterday by the police in Paris. It appears that these individuals were singled out for detention simply because they were wearing yellow scarves or yellow shirts, indicating that they were practitioners of Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual meditation exercise now banned in China. We understand that the individuals who were detained were peaceful and had not harmed or threatened anyone. This incident occurred during the official state visit to France by Hu Jintao, Secretary General of the Communist Party and President of the People's Republic of China. We regret that the French government failed to demonstrate its support for human rights in China and to urge that the Chinese government respect freedoms of conscience, expression, and association. The French government, through these acts of repression, has not only sent the wrong message to the Chinese government, it regrettably appears to have violated basic principles of civil and human rights. The French government's action raises disturbing questions about whether France is willing to restrict hard-won freedoms solely to appease the Communist Chinese state.
While together here at an international conference on genocide in Stockholm, Sweden, in affiliation with the Stockholm International Forum, we would like to call on the government of France to immediately initiate an investigation of this incident, and to ensure that essential human rights to freedom of association and freedom of belief are fully respected. France has been known as a democratic country with a long-standing history of liberty and freedom. What occurred yesterday brings doubt to the free world that France intends to respect that history.
Stockholm, January 28, 2004
Signed by:
Lana Han
Georges Henri Beauthier
Theresa Chu
Carlos Iglesias
Joshua Sondheimer
Mikala Hallund
Terri Marsh
Erkki Kannisto
Clive M. Ansley
Plaintiffs A-F v. Jiang
Brief of Amici Curiae International Law Professors in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and Urging Reversal
On January 26, 2004, Professor Jordan Paust of University of Houston Law Center filed Brief of Amici Curiae International Law Professor in support of plaintiffs-appellants in Plaintiffs A-F v. Jiang, with the US 7th Ciruit Court in the ground-breaking lawsuit against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and the Falun Gong Control Office of China Communist Party. Terri Marsh, Counsel of Record for plaintiffs-appellants, filed the principal brief on Jan. 20, 2004 asking the 7th Circuit Court to reverse the decision of the U.S. District Court and allow the case to go forward.
By January 29, 2004, more amici briefs will be filed by leading human rights and international law experts in support of the plaintiffs-appellants. They include 1) Morton Sklar on behalf of the World Organization for Human Rights, USA (formerly World Organization Against Torture, USA) and other human rights organizations such as World Service Authority and The Global Coalition To Bring Jiang To Justice; and 2) the Center for Justice and Accountability, a leading organization that works to deter torture and other severe human rights abuses around the world by helping survivors hold the perpetrators accountable.
In connection with the filing of these amici briefs, David Gallup, President and General Counsel of World Service Authority has written to support Falun Gong's legal action to hold perpetrators accountable for the persecution in China. The following is a summary of Mr. Gallup's statement.
Defendant Jiang is subject to civil tort jurisdiction in the United States (US) for reported human rights violations against members of the Falun Gong group.
1. The Executive Branch of the Government of the US (and its suggestion of immunity) does not have binding powers in this case.
2. Defendant Jiang does not enjoy "foreign sovereign immunity" in this case due to gross violations of human rights and to his abuse of power. Defendant Jiang has committed gross violations of human rights that effectively waive his "sovereign immunity" in this case. Defendant Jiang has abused his power while President of the PRC and so does not enjoy "sovereign immunity" in this case.
3. A denial to hear this case, on the part of the US, violates the Geneva Convention.
4. This case obligates action by the US under international treaty law and customary international law including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 and UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (EDRB), 1953. Further, China has also ratified these international treaties.
1) Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), 1984 Ratified by the PRC on 3 November 1988.
2) Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPG), 1948 Ratified by the PRC on 18 April 1983.
3) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), 1966 Signed by the PRC 5 October 1998.
Considering that the US is a member-state and a permanent Security Council member of the United Nations (UN) further obligates the US to uphold these treaties. This requirement is outlined in the Charter of the UN under Articles 55 and 56 which state that governmental Representatives are bound to "promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion" and "All Member-States pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in cooperation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55." Referring back to Part Three, the US has the obligation to discourage the wanton violations of the UN Charter, as established by Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
US President George W. Bush has acknowledged the situation of the Falun Gong practitioners in an excerpt from his speech to the American Jewish Congress on Thursday 3 May 2001, "And most recently adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have been singled out for arrest and abuse." Furthermore in a letter, dated 13 March 2002, addressed to US Congressman Benjamin Gilman, President Bush wrote "my Administration and the American people remain firmly committed to the defense of human rights around the world, including the freedoms of religion and conscience ... We have repeatedly stressed to the Chinese Government that there is no justification for its brutal repression of Falun Gong." Thus, the case against Defendant Jiang is parallel to the policy desires of President Bush, especially because this case deals directly with a former public official's alleged human rights abuses against a group exercising its right to freedom of expression and conscience.
Considering the above-mentioned statements by the head of the US Executive branch, the alleged gross human rights abuses in violation of international treaty law and customary international law, and the alleged abuse of power as President of the PRC, Defendant Jiang is subject to civil tort jurisdiction in the US.
World Service Authority, a global non-profit organization founded in 1954, educates about, promotes and implements human rights, world citizenship and world law. It works to advance the understanding of and respect for universal human rights, as have been reaffirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the myriad of other international treaties and Conventions on human rights. It works to advance the understanding that peace is a consequence of law and that world peace will follow from the affirmation of world law legislated, adjudicated and enforced by global governmental institutions such as a world parliament, a world court of human rights, a world peace force and a world executive council.
For further information, please contact David Gallup, World Service Authority, 1012 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 2005, Tel: (202)638-2662 www.worldservice.org
Last Updated: Wednesday, 28 January, 2004, 12:08 GMT
Four members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have filed a lawsuit in Paris against visiting Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng.
The members said Mr Sun was responsible for "crimes of torture" against the group, which is banned in China.
Mr Sun is accompanying President Hu Jintao on a state visit to France.
The plaintiffs called for him to be detained before he leaves on Thursday, saying he was guilty of "incitement to massacre and persecution".
The four, three women and a man, said they had suffered detentions and torture in connection with their practice of Falun Gong. Three of the group are Chinese, and one of them - a woman - is French.
They said Mr Sun had called through the media for the "elimination" of Falun Gong practitioners, and demanded that he be taken in for questioning.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3437041.stm
(Clearwisdom.net Jan.8, 2004) Li Jun, male, 33 years old, lived at 58 Yingshang Road, Hefei City, Anhui province. He worked at Hefei Bayi Gears Factory, and later at another Hefei factory. He was illegally detained for fifteen days in 2000 for practicing the Falun Gong exercises outside with other practitioners on Jan. 1. Because he refused to sign a "Guarantee Statement" renouncing his belief, his factory dismissed him. In 2001, he was caught making copies of truth clarification materials, arrested by Shuanggan Police Office and held again for fifteen days. In 2002, he was sent to a labor camp for distributing truth-clarifying VCD's, but as he was protesting with a hunger strike, the labor camp refused to accept him.
On October 31, 2002 the Hefei truth-clarifying material site was destroyed by Hefei Yaohai Police. Li Jun was arrested, illegally tried and held at Hefei 2nd Prison. In August 2003, he was sentenced by Yaohai District Court to seven years imprisonment. He did not accept the sentence, and appealed. On October 31, his family members received notice of Li Jun's sudden death, but they were not allowed to see the body. With several police guards on site, his body was cremated on November 4.
Li Jun had sent a letter to his mother (also a practitioner) after he had received the sentence, in which he said he would do better to resist the unjust persecution and maintain his firm belief in Falun Dafa.
According to investigations, the "610 Office" and police subjected Li Jun to forced brainwashing. Judging by the strict blockade on all information regarding Li's death and cremation, it is apparent that Li Jun was tortured to death.
We solemnly remind those "610 Office"* members and corrupt policemen who persecute Falun Dafa practitioners under the Jiang regime's orders that your future is in grave jeopardy. Good and evil will be certainly meet with just retribution. Stop the persecution and do the right thing for the sake of your redemption, your family, and your future.
Yaohai police station telephone number: 86-551-4212385
Head of the "610 Office" in Hefei City: Pao XX, 86-551-2618916 (office), 86-13965099 (cellular phone)
* (An agency specifically created to persecute Falun gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems)
(Clearwisdom.net) At the Dalian Labor Camp in Liaoning Province, Falun Gong practitioners are brutally tortured. However, because information from inside is tightly blocked, outsiders barely know anything about the true situation.
Over 130 Female Practitioners Are Detained In The Female Division
The police force practitioners to do hard labor twelve to sixteen hours a day and forbid them from talking to each other. One practitioner had her term extended for forty days because she expressed her appreciation to another very determined practitioner. Whoever refuses to say, "Greetings captain" also is given an extended term. In addition, practitioners are forced to undergo body searches every time they come back from meeting with their family members on visiting day.
Police direct inmates to persecute those very determined practitioners. They send collaborators [former practitioners who have turned against Dafa under pressure] to monitor practitioners who wrote pledges promising to give up cultivation against their will. As for those practitioners who wrote pledges before but have now declared that they will practice again, the police specifically order one inmate to torture each of them. When practitioners first arrive in the labor camp, the guards give them several days to renounce their belief before beginning to brainwash and torture them. If they refuse to be "brainwashed," then they are forced to stand for extended periods of time without moving. Some were forced to stand for six days straight. Practitioners are stripped and forced to stand near an open window in very cold weather, and if this method still fails, then they order inmates to forcibly insert objects such as mop handles or burning chili peppers into female practitioners' vaginas. Here they direct inmates to serve as their hatchet men. Zhang Xiujuan serves as the head of the inmates used to torture Dafa practitioners.
Over Fifty Male Practitioners Are Detained At The Male Division
The vicious inmates are: Chen Long, Li Zihui and Lin Yongjin, etc.
The "610 Office"* Spy Zhou Fengwu Uses Every Means to Brainwash Practitioners
*"610 Office" (an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems)
Since 2003, Zhou Fengwu has spread rumors and threatened practitioners. He collected practitioners' phone numbers and harassed practitioners and their families constantly. He triggered conflicts among practitioners. He even made up a set of political theories and asked practitioners to study them. Fortunately, several practitioners saw his ridiculousness and became clear-headed.
(Clearwisdom.net
Jan.8, 2004) Chen Xiaojuan, female, 39 years old, is a Falun Dafa practitioner
from Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. In January 2001, she was illegally
sentenced to three years of imprisonment for distributing truth-clarifying
materials. She is currently imprisoned at Jiangxi Female Prison. Because Chen
Xiaojuan has refused to renounce her belief in Falun Dafa, the police have
threatened to send her to a labor camp after her prison term is up. She has been
protesting with a hunger strike for over ten days.
On December 19, 1999, Ms. Chen was arrested on her way to make a peaceful appeal in Beijing. She was imprisoned in Nanchang 1st Prison for about one month. On April 25, 2000, she again went to Beijing to make a peaceful appeal, but was arrested and illegally sent to Jiangxi Mental Hospital, where she was forced to take medication and injections in doses four times what is ordinarily prescribed to mental patients. The injections permanently damaged her eyesight, and she cannot even make out 10-inch characters.
On January 24, 2001, Ms. Chen was suspended in the air and brutally beaten by the local police for distributing truth clarification flyers. Later she was sent back to Nanchang City Second Detention Center, and sentenced to three years in prison. Chen Xiaojuan has been on hunger strike many times in protest of the illegal sentencing. Besides brutal beatings, she was deprived of sleep and forced to work overtime. She was not allowed visits from family members for three months. Because she was on hunger strike for more than 40 days, she was sent to Jiangxi Changzhen prison hospital, where she was brutally force fed, causing her to vomit a large amount of blood. The hospital says she is in critical condition, but the prison police made a public statement, "Chen Xiaojuan has not been 'transformed,' so we will not release her. We have the authority to send her to a labor camp even after her term is up."
On January 23, 2004, Chen Xiaojuan will have completed her sentence. It is reported that police plan to transfer her to a labor camp. Starting January 6, 2004, Chen Xiaojuan has been on hunger strike for over 10 days in protest. Her body is extremely weak from severe beatings and long hours of hard labor.
Several Falun Gong practitioners are still being detained in Xinjian County of Nanchang City.
(Clearwisdom.net) Many people in Wuhan City's Central China Normal University practice Falun Gong and have been persecuted very severely since July 20, 1999. Dafa practitioner Wang Haoyun was tortured to death in the school of arts and sciences filing room. So far we have information concerning four people who were sentenced to forced labor camps (Sun Gang from the continuing education school, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment, former Mechanical and electrical products factory head Wang Linfang was sentenced to one and a half year of imprisonment. Wu Xinguo, of the affiliated primary school was sentenced to one-year in prison. He wasn't released until he went on hunger strike for more than 70 days. Yu Wanlan from the filing room of the Science and Art's department was sentenced to three years). Fourteen other practitioners were thrown into detention centers, and about 23 more were forced into brainwashing centers. Three practitioners were dismissed from school. Sun Gang of the Continuing Education School and Wu Xinguo of the affiliated Primary School have been expelled from their former jobs. Many students had to face obstacles in their graduation, job distribution, and applications for graduate schools. An elderly receptionist was forced out of her job and had to stay at home. School officials also forced many elderly Dafa practitioners to express their attitude at meetings where Falun Gong was criticized.
The Party Committee of the University Department and Security Division bear the responsibility for these cases of persecution. Even though these two departments didn't directly beat and torture Dafa practitioners, the officials have cooperated maximally with the "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.] staff to seize and arrest faculty and staff of their own school. As a result, they have done many things to assist the evil in its persecution against Falun gong. We hereby publicize the following relevant people's phone numbers:
Central China Normal University fax: 86-27-67868800
Offices:
Communist Party Committee Office: 86-27-67868003
Communist Party Committee Deputy Secretary Office: 86-27-67868002
Communist Party Committee Office: 86-27-67868001 or 86-27-67865126 or 86-27-67865129
Communist Party Committee Organization Department: 86-27-67868011
Communist Party Committee Department Director's office: 86-27-67868012
Communist Party Committee Propaganda Office: 86-27-67868014
Communist Party Committee Board Office: 86-27-67868015
University President's Office: 86-27-6786803
University Vice President's Office: 86-27-67868038 or 86-27-67868036 or 86-27-67868041
University Administration Dean's Office: 86-27-67868032
University Administration Assistant Dean's Office: 86-27-67868033
University President Hotline: 86-27-67868030
University President's Office: 86-27-67868031
University Security Division Section Chief's office: 86-27-67868089
University Security Division Office: 86-27-67868090
University Security Division National Security Section: 86-27-67868091
University Security Division Public Security Division: 86-27-67868092
Clerical Staff Division Clerk's Office Wu Daofu: 86-27-67868285 (Office); 86-27-67865267 (Home)
Former Communist Party Secretary Yan Zhangwan: 86-27-67865868
Affiliated Primary School Secretary 's Office Yao Xiaoming: 86-27-67868185 (Office); 86-27-67867565 (Home);
Other individual's phone numbers:
He Xianglin: 86-27-67866086 (Home);
Wu Jinsheng: 86-27-67861889 (Home);
Yang Xinqi: 86-27-67866206 (Home);
Ma Min: 86-27-67862866
Cai Xu: 86-27-67865666
Zhai Tianshan: 86-27-67862981
Le Zhenglong: 86-27-67866286
Min Jinyuan: 86-27-67863458
Liu Wei: 86-27-67865621
(Clearwisdom.net)
July 27, 2003
A fellow practitioner wrote an article entitled, "Chinese TV Series 'Life is Innocent' Distorts the Facts-- This is What Life at the Beijing Female Labor Camp is Really Like." After reading the article, I was shocked at how, in order to defame Falun Gong and cover up the crimes committed in forced labor camps against Falun Gong practitioners, some state-run television stations broadcast the TV series "Life is Innocent", which is allegedly based on life in the Beijing Female Labor Camp. I could not help shedding tears.
Based on my personal experience at Chaoyang Detention Center, the Forced Labor Center, and Xinan Forced Labor Camp in Beijing City, I would like to expose the crimes I experienced and witnessed. I went through the four stages mentioned in the fellow practitioner's article. What she wrote was all true. I can even add more facts that I know.
My Personal Background
I started practicing Falun Gong in 1996 and came to France with my husband in December 1998. In December 1999, I went back to China to visit my parents. While there, I took the opportunity to let the public know that Falun Dafa is good at Tiananmen Square during the Chinese Lunar New Year of 2000. I was unlawfully arrested and detained at the Tiananmen Police Substation, along with at least 2,000 other practitioners. That evening, we were transferred to the Thirteenth Department of the Public Security Bureau in Beijing. Then I was transferred again to the Chaoyang Detention Center, where I was detained for a month until my working unit provided a guarantee for me. At the end of September 2000, some fellow practitioners and I gathered together to exchange experiences about our cultivation at a practitioner's home. The police suddenly arrived to search the practitioner's home. As the practitioner did not allow the police to enter, two security guards stayed outside, watching the door 24 hours a day, while plainclothes policemen and a police van waited by the entrance of the building. Finally, after five days of staying in the apartment, we decided we were unwilling to be controlled by their actions any longer and we went down the stairs, intending to leave. I was arrested and detained at the Chaoyang Detention Center for nearly a month.
On November 23, 2000, a policeman whose last name was Wei, from the Babaoshan Police Substation, came to my home and lied to me, saying that the Chaoyang Public Security Branch wanted to get some information from me, that they were waiting for me at the Babaoshan Police Substation, and that it would not take more than twenty minutes. Unexpectedly, a policeman whose last name is Guo, from the Hujialou Police Substation in Chaoyang District, took me to the Chaoyang Detention Center, where I was sentenced to a year of forced labor without any trial or charge. I was detained in Team Three of the Xinan Forced Labor Camp. During detention, due to my attachments and the persecution I suffered, I said things against Dafa, which I deeply regret. I was released on November 26, 2001, and on March 20, 2003, came to France again on a student visa.
In France, away from the vicious environment in China, I gradually awakened and regretted my previous actions. I met with fellow practitioners and came back to the cultivation path of Falun Dafa. Once again, the teachings from our compassionate Teacher, provided me with the chance to purify myself again, to expose the evil, and to clarify the truth of the persecution. As a witness to this vicious persecution, I have the responsibility to do what a Dafa disciple should do: to clarify the truth, expose the evil, and save sentient beings. The following is my account of the persecution I experienced in the labor camp.
The Confusion Created by the Xinan and Tuanhe Forced Labor Camps
I left the Xinan Forced Labor Camp at the end of November 2001, at the completion of my term. When I was still in the labor camp, I heard that the camp would move to the newly built Beijing Female Forced Labor Camp. I had heard that Jiang Zemin and the "610 Office" spent a huge amount of money creating a forced labor camp that specialized in forcing Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their belief in Falun Dafa. The fellow practitioner's article mentioned above describes how the dormitory buildings in the Beijing Female Forced Labor Camp look very pretty on the outside with beautiful flowers and grass growing in the big yard. Their surface attractiveness cannot hide the horror of the persecution that occurs inside the camp. It is even more brutal than what happens in a prison. The situation is the same in the Xinan Forced Labor Camp, where I was detained.
The Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp is also the same, according to some practitioners I know. The beautiful environment, which also hides the forced labor camp's brutal activities, is designed to confuse the practitioners.. In order to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their belief in Dafa, huge sums of money have been invested in renovating the forced labor camp. The authorities have made it look like a garden, with colorful murals painted on the walls. The iron fences, the electric wire mesh on the windows, the doors of the dormitories, and the monitors in the rooms have all been removed. There are flowers in every room. Every inmate is given a pet gold fish and a TV set in each room. The dining room provides a variety of food, and the menu is changed daily. In addition, the authorities organize all kinds of recreational activities, such as singing and dancing competitions. The authorities require us to sing a "transformation song" before each meal. However, all of this is just a fake "store front" to disguise the forced labor camp and put on a show to deceive people. This same false appearance of happiness is used to confuse and brainwash Dafa practitioners.
In each team of the forced labor camp, Dafa practitioners are fed countless lies such as "The policy of the government is to educate, move and save," "The forced labor camp is a special school instead of a prison." "Falun Gong practitioners are good people who only need to change and transform their thoughts." These deceptive strategies are part of the brainwashing process, which intends to confuse right and wrong, and is calculated to throw Falun Gong practitioners off guard. The ultimate purpose is to make them unconsciously accept brainwashing and give up their cultivation practice. This false appearance is coupled with threats and promises, while the victims are deprived of all personal freedom.
The evil makes use of the fake surface appearance to cover up the brutal nature of the persecution going on behind the scenes, so as to confuse Dafa practitioners, especially those who have attachments to such outward comfort. The authorities make use of human notions as a way to launch psychological attacks, and create illusions so that the human notions of those practitioners who do not have a deep understanding of the Falun Dafa principles, and have not let go of their degenerated concepts, form a huge psychological discrepancy. While such a deception outwardly looks normal and reasonable, it is actually the most despicable and vicious way to confuse practitioners who have been deprived of personal freedom. Such practitioners are then subjected to persecution and forced brainwashing.
Deprived of the ability to study the Falun Dafa teachings, some of us found we could not face the tribulations from the perspective of the Fa, and our own attachments made us unable to see the truth clearly. The majority of practitioners who have been brainwashed are deceived and bewildered by the illusions and lies. Cultivation is a serious issue. If we cannot view things happening around us from the perspective of the Fa, it becomes very easy to be confused, fall into the trap of degenerated concepts, and be taken advantage of by the evil. As a result, we might be brainwashed without realizing it. After getting released from the forced labor camp, such spiritual torture makes many practitioners unable to discern the nature of the evil persecution. It fundamentally destroys a person's righteous thoughts and righteous beliefs, taking them away from the virtue of Falun Dafa and down a path of self-destruction. For a practitioner who becomes confused by such illusions in the material world, the result can be horrible.
Often, practitioners who see this illusion are unable to determine its true nature. Such a practitioner might stand up for the evil and help cover up the truth of persecution. That is why many people who came out of the forced labor camps after being brainwashed told others, "It is pretty good in the forced labor camp." This is what the evil wants to achieve; the fundamental destruction of sentient beings.
Fabrication and deception have become the central core of the Jiang regime's system of false compassion. In order to confuse and deceive the Chinese people, the Jiang regime follows the propaganda tactic that, "When a lie is repeated ten times, it becomes the truth." The Jiang regime's practices are deceiving people all over the world as well. To help people see the truth and make their own judgment after they are aware of what is really going on, I feel it is my responsibility to expose what life is really like in the Xinan Forced Labor Camp and to rectify what is wrong.
I. Deceiving the International Media
Below is my personal experience from the Xinan Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. It shows how the media from the United States was deceived while doing a report on the forced labor camp. We heard that the media came for the sake of human rights organizations that heard Falun Gong practitioners were being tortured in the forced labor camps. The American media came to the Xinan Forced Labor Camp. (I cannot remember the exact date. To my memory, it was in the summer.) At the time, an American journalist filmed everything that the police staged: "The so-called happy life in the library."
The guards got some people to create this library near the auditorium, where nobody had ever been seen reading books. The police singled out several Falun Gong practitioners who were considered reliable and had a pleasant appearance. These people, including me, were brought to the library for about ten minutes before the American journalist came to interview us. While we sat there, waiting for the interview, the police instructed the interviewee to say only what they had scripted beforehand. What the American journalist filmed was pre-arranged and not the real situation at all. When the journalist finished filming, we were brought back to our rooms to continue with our labor.
Everyone who has experienced the real situation in a forced labor camp knows that what was depicted on the state-run TV series was completely fabricated and used as propaganda to deceive and fool the Chinese people.
II. Heavy Labor
As described in the fellow practitioner's article, the police guards often violated the regulations regarding working schedules in the forced labor camps. They make use of cheap labor in the forced labor camps to manufacture products for export. For instance, we were forced to make stuffed toy rabbits to fill an order for the Nestle Company, to work with fabric and strong smelling glue that filled the whole room and the fumes were not properly ventilated (we made all the products in our rooms), and to make cushions. All the above products were for export. When an order came, it was always a big quantity and had to be done within a few days. Everybody in the camp was assigned a certain quantity to complete in a certain time. The labor camp forced us to finish work rapidly by linking one person's output to the treatment of the entire group of detainees'. If one person could not finish the work, we were all forced to work until midnight, which was far beyond an average person's endurance. We had to sit on a little bench, working all the time, and were not allowed to move about or to talk to each other. Going to the bathroom was only permitted at set times for the whole group. No individual was allowed to go to the bathroom alone at any time. After a day's work, everybody was very tired and wished to sleep. Even so, the police always talked to us using a false compassionate tone. They told us their salaries were low, that funds from the government were not sufficient, that in order for us to eat better, we had to work hard to achieve self-sufficiency, etc. They exploited our labor without paying us at all.
If the authorities arrived unexpectedly to inspect the camp, they would ask us to hide what we were working on, to sit comfortably, or to go to sleep. When some leaders came to visit the labor camp, they would prepare us by asking us not to work or do some light work, or to watch TV, and they would improve our meals so as to bolster the illusion. This happened frequently in forced labor camps. Deception is also used when the forced labor camp takes part in a competition, or applies for an award. There is a regulation for a forced labor camp to have a limited number of people in one room and a certain amount of space for each person. In order to comply, the guards move the extra detainees, the aged or those in poor health to a location that the inspection team cannot see. Those moved are not allowed to come out of their hiding place. Someone even brings them food. This is how the labor camp "complies" with the requirements, by deceptive means. Meeting the requirement and being selected as an advanced labor camp directly relates to their monetary reward.
My fellow practitioner mentioned in the article that the guards illegally impose heavy labor upon us, not only for the purpose of making a larger bonus for themselves, but also for the purpose of brainwashing Falun Dafa practitioners. They also verbally abuse us and try to wear us down with exhaustion. Not having time to think about our understanding of Dafa or to recite Teacher's articles, we begin to unconsciously accept the imposed persecution. Deceived by the false impression, we become indifferent and forget about cultivation during Fa-rectification. We use our human mentality to find excuses for the survival of our attachments, instead of having a clear understanding from the perspective of the Fa that illegal detention and forced labor result from the evils' suppression and persecution of Dafa.
As Teacher said in the article Expounding on the Fa,
"Whenever a tribulation comes, you do not see it with the side of your original nature but view it completely with your human side. Evil demons then capitalize on this point and inflict endless interference and damage, leaving students in long-term tribulations. As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and have prevented them from doing Fa-rectification. How can the uncultivated side restrain your main thoughts or the side that has already attained the Fa? Having humanly fostered the evil demons, you allow them to capitalize on the loopholes in the Fa."
This is one of the reasons that some practitioners cannot pass the test of tribulations. Humanly fostering the evil demons also means acknowledging evils' damage to Dafa and the persecution of Dafa practitioners, both physically and spiritually, which is a totally intolerable injustice. Getting lost because of an unclear understanding of the Fa principles is the same as becoming blind to the true meaning of life.
III. Extremely Unhygienic Conditions
There are bathrooms at Xinan Forced Labor Camp. For us, however, it is viewed as a charity to be given a chance to take a shower. In summer, we were only permitted to take one quick shower per week. In winter we rarely were allowed to take a shower. Even though we were allowed one shower occasionally, all people from the seven teams of the labor camp had to finish within half a day (with limited shower heads). The guards told us it was for our sake -- in case we caught a cold. After the shower, we had to finish washing all of our clothes in the shortest time and we were not allowed to wash clothes at any other time.
Our clothes and bed coverings could not be washed regularly. Only when somebody had scabies were we allowed to wash our bed sheets and coverings and to sterilize the quilt in the sun. Every morning and evening, washing and brushing time was very short. The police guards urged us to hurry, with watches in their hands. Within a few minutes, over twenty people had to finish washing and brushing at only ten sinks. It was very militarized.
Under such a bad condition and intense atmosphere, many older people could only wash one foot or did not wash their feet at all. Sometimes they had to wash their underwear using the time designated for washing their faces and then hang their underwear in a hidden location that was not easy to find. Real life in the labor camp was always under high pressure and forced brainwashing, with no personal and spiritual freedom at all. The situation was always intense, with human dignity entirely lost or distorted. The evil constantly ordered practitioners about and persecuted them.
As the fellow practitioner pointed out, many suffered from high blood pressure and other diseases. Yet, the police blamed Falun Gong. They boasted that the government showed great concern and gave them medicine to take. The fact is, almost all practitioners were in good health before they were detained. Furthermore, no matter how serious their illnesses were at the forced labor camp, as long as they went back home, and resumed the normal practice of Falun Gong, they would recover very quickly. The labor camp's medical expenses are proof that Falun Dafa practitioners are being persecuted, as such expenses would never be necessary were the practitioners free to practice.
Some practitioners who were brainwashed went back to an everyday person's life completely and did not practice any more. After they were released, many did not recover at all from the illnesses they acquired in the forced labor camp. Instead, they started taking the same medicine they had thrown away after benefiting from Falun Gong. What's worse, many of them did not know what to do. They lived in misery, filled with fear and confusion resulting from the spiritual devastation of brainwashing.
IV. Worse and Worse Food
The food at the Tiantanghe Xinan Forced Labor Camp was of good quality in some people's eyes. One reason is the Jiang regime's strategy of false compassion, a component of the brainwashing. Many practitioners had been in some other detention centers that had very horrible conditions, so by comparison, they were deceived that they were in a better place and let down their guard.
Before practitioners were detained in the forced labor camp, the conditions were very bad, with low quality food as well. The criminal prisoners detained there told us that it was a blessing that Dafa practitioners came there, since the head of the persecution, Jiang Zemin, used the excuse of transforming Falun Gong to force the country to invest in the living conditions in the forced labor camps.
Many practitioners had been to detention centers or terminal centers, which were in really bad condition. They were only permitted to eat food with poor nutritional quality such as steamed corn bread, and soup with dirt in it every day. Many Chinese people live a very poor life. After they came to the forced labor camp, they felt that life there was even better than at home. They were satisfied with the food there because they were provided with meat and vegetables cooked with oil, which they rarely could afford to eat at home, so they felt good psychologically, and more comfortable, even though they had no personal and spiritual freedom in the forced labor camp. Some people did not even want to leave the labor camp. That element also contributed to people who have been brainwashed saying, "It is pretty good there."
The above-mentioned strategies are what are being used in the forced labor camps to brainwash Falun Gong practitioners. They lie and deceive, so that people can no longer tell good from bad. When people do not have righteous thoughts, they do not mind whether it is right or wrong. New practitioners, or those who did not yet really understand the Fa, totally forgot that they were practitioners and why they were forcibly detained.
Even though the menu on the blackboard in the dining room is different from the real dishes, people regard it as normal. By watching such abnormal thoughts over such abnormal things, we see the indifferent and distorted souls of people after forced brainwashing.
They also use the practitioners' captivity to extort money and property from them. One example is that detainees have to buy the commodities sold at the labor camp store due to the low quality of the food and their need for necessities. The commodities are mostly fake products at double the price compared with those sold outside the labor camp. Even those who are very poor have to buy some preserved food or other necessities. Another example is the computer course. The forced labor camp set up a computer class in order to extort money from practitioners using the excuse of helping them obtain a skill for a career when they are released back into society. A certificate is granted after finishing the course. In fact, the guards register those whose family members give them more money for living expenses: 100 Yuan per person. Since we have to do the forced labor, no one has time to attend the class and no certificate is actually issued, either. It is just a way for the forced labor camp to collect money, which shifts a heavy burden to the detainees' family members. It is part of Jiang Zemin and the "610 Office" policy of "bankrupt them financially." Many practitioners had a job before they were detained. They did not work because they were not allowed to, and were illegally detained, so they have no need for a compulsory computer course where they cannot learn anything anyway.
V. Brutal "Rescue"
I had been through brainwashing and experienced how Xinan Forced Labor Camp treats Falun Gong practitioners. At the time, I was in Team Three. Jiao Xuexian was the team leader and Huai Chunhong was the deputy team leader. Policemen Huo and Du were in our team. The telephone number of Team Three is 86-10-60278899, ext. 5301.
Team One, Team Three, Team Five and Team Seven had generally adopted a strategy of depriving all detainees of sleep. From the time of their arrival at the labor camp, Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to sleep, until they become compliant. I have witnessed the following. The practice in Team Three was not to allow detainees to go to sleep in their bedrooms unless they agreed to renounce their belief in Falun Dafa. They had to stay in the hall or corridor, as mentioned in the fellow practitioner's article. If practitioners did not renounce their belief in Falun Dafa, they were forced to squat, stand, or bend forward while their hands were handcuffed behind their back for extended periods. Often collaborators [former Dafa practitioners who renounced their belief in Falun Dafa due to severe pressure and torture] were ordered to beat any practitioners who would not renounce Falun Dafa. Detained drug addicts or prostitutes following the guard's orders beat all of the practitioners who remained firm in their belief. The prisoners were quite vicious and would strike the most sensitive parts of the body. Eventually, the guards would send the most steadfast practitioners to the Concentrated Training Team, where they are placed in cages.
In October 2001, the head of Team Three instructed drug-addicts and collaborators to deal with a firm practitioner named Zhang Yijie (She was a department director of the National Economic & Business Ministry. Li Lanqing, head of the "610 Office", personally sentenced her to one and a half years of forced labor.) Her eyes became black after the brutal beatings. After that, the head of the team was afraid that she might die or something might happen, so other measures were undertaken, to force her to renounce her belief; but they all failed.
Usually, the labor camp authorities would not release anyone who had been brainwashed or became collaborators until they were their sentence was over. Once brainwashed, they were directed to brainwash others. Using people this way was aimed at making the more steadfast practitioners suffer, contributed to their self-destruction, and, at the same time, trying to force them to fight with each other.
Because I succumbed to the brainwashing, I was asked to persecute practitioner Zhang Yijie (I will expose the process in detail in a separate article) but I failed. Her belief in Truth, Compassion and Tolerance never wavered. Even though some people developed distorted understandings after undergoing the forced brainwashing, once they left the environment of persecution, and no longer were under the power of the regime, they would awaken and see the truth some day. I am a typical example of such a case. Falun Dafa gave me a new life and the principle of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance is in my heart.
As a witness to history, as a victim of brainwashing, as a person who was once taken advantage of by the evil, and as a being who has awakened and come back to the cultivation practice of Dafa, I would like to tell people in the world that TV series such as "Life is Innocent" distorts the facts. It turns things upside down by describing the torture in the forced labor camps as if it were a spring breeze. I hope all who take part in the making of this TV series and support it, take a look at themselves. It is a cosmic principle that good is rewarded with the good, and evil with evil. It is a sin to distort facts like this, and to defame Falun Dafa, which promotes virtue.
I wrote the above after I awakened and restarted my practice of Falun Dafa. These are my personal experiences. If there is anything that does not conform to Dafa, please kindly point it out. I know that I need to strengthen Fa study and to improve myself in the Fa. At the same time, I will try to catch up with the process of Fa-rectification by exposing the evil and clarifying the truth.
(Clearwisdom.net) At the experience sharing conference held in New York City in 2000 I exposed the persecution of myself by the Nanjing National Security Bureau staff. However, I did not have a deep understanding of the persecution. Back then my heart was not calm when faced with persecution. Now I have come to realize it is very urgent to expose the persecution to more people.
Ever since I learned of the detention of Charles Lee (a U.S. citizen detained in China on the charge of tapping into Chinese TV) in Nanjing Prison, I have been thinking about the details of how I was persecuted by staff members, including a man surnamed Gu. I realized that no matter who commits crimes under what excuses, he or she has to be responsible for his or her own actions.
In May 2000 my husband and I went back to China to visit my family. Because of the persecution of Falun Gong, my husband was very worried about me. He is an American and he loves Chinese culture. At the same time, he was very aware of the viciousness of dictator Jiang. Before my departure, he begged me not to mention Falun Gong while we were in China, or tell anyone that I am a Falun Gong practitioner. Otherwise, not only might I be arrested, but my family might also get into trouble. I promised I would listen to him. Out of his concern for my safety, he insisted on putting the book Zhuan Falun in his backpack. I knew that many overseas Falun Gong practitioners got into trouble while going through customs. Therefore, when it was my turn to pass through customs, I was extremely nervous. All other passengers were required to go through a pass on the right, but somehow a man directed my husband and I to go around and thus we safely passed through customs. I was eager to see my family so I promised my husband that I would not mention Falun Gong. He was relieved and agreed to have me go back to Nanjing first, and he would meet with me in Nanjing after he was done with his business.
While in Janjing visiting friends and relatives, I naturally talked about Falun Gong during various conversations. Seeing that some of them were poisoned by the lies, I told them how my grandparents and I benefited from practicing Falun Gong. I also exposed the lies and told them how Falun Gong was widespread around the world. I did not forget my promise to my husband, but my conscience did not allow me to keep silent. Seeing that I was very healthy, gentle, and kinder to others, my family members were all amazed by the power of Falun Gong.
One night around 8:00 p.m., I took a taxi to go from my grandparents' home to my mom's home. When the taxi was making a right turn at an intersection, a dark colored sedan and two motorcycles stopped us. A man with a gloomy face ordered me to get out using a low voice. As soon as I got out, a man immediately snapped away my luggage, and dragged me into their sedan together with another man. With the two motorcycles clearing the way ahead, three or four men including the driver escorted me to their place.
One of them was a man surnamed Gu. A Nanjing native in his late 30's, he has a round face and is not tall. I remember he said he has a bachelor's degree. He was very good at chicanery and was the leader of those engaging in persecuting overseas Falun Gong practitioners going back to China to visit. He was very hypocritical. Even when he was threatening you, he still had a smile on his face. He once said to me, "After you go back to the U.S., be aware of the possible consequences if you dare to tell anyone that we have talked to you. You should know your family is still in China and your husband has business in China. Plus if you want to still come back to visit..." He also said, "If we did not want you to enter customs, we would have arrested you right before entering customs. We have been very nice to you."
There was another young man with a very tall and strong build. He seemed to work for Gu, always carrying out Gu's orders.
Both men's supervisor was a woman in her late 30s. Gu often went to ask for orders from that woman. She seemed to be a hysterical and bossy woman. She could attack Falun Gong in a high pitched voice nonstop for a long time. She slandered Dafa in front of my parents, not giving me any chance to speak. She and Gu went to my home. They pretended to be caring about my family when in fact they were threatening them. My dad had a stroke and was bedridden. He was too scared to say a single word.
When they interrogated me, they often changed places. I remember one time it was in a restaurant on the east side of Nanjing, another time they parked their car in the Nanjing Liaison Office of Wuxi (a neighboring city of Nanjing). There were several men present at the interrogation, including drivers, note takers and so-called leaders.
Gu kept saying he was my friend. I thought of clarifying the truth to him often. Gu has the chance to read Minghui.net. I am waiting for him to quit doing evil one day. After I returned to the U.S., I called him several times advising him not to do evil anymore. Not long ago, I called him again. He told me he is still doing the same thing and he slandered Charles Lee. During the conversation, I suspected that he also participated in the persecution of Charles.
I remember very clearly that Gu said during my detention, "We have special people dealing with overseas Falun Gong practitioners in various branch offices of the National Security Bureau. Falun Gong practitioners in China are taken care of by local police who are usually rude and beat people." Gu knew the truth very well but he just kept on doing evil.
I hope that my experience can help you see through the nature of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the National Security Bureau, as well as their hypocrisy. I was wrong in the past thinking that the persecution of me was not as severe as the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Even though the persecution takes on different forms, they are all persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
I would like to declare null and invalid all the things I said under pressure, abduction, threats, and intimidation in 2000. Out of fear, I have said something that a Dafa cultivator should never have said. I know clearly that my actions let Teacher, Dafa, and fellow practitioners down. I feel bad that I did not realize this point until today. I write this article with righteous thoughts, and I hope it can help expose the evil. I will walk my path righteously.
Seen from this dimension, no matter what I said, as long as I was answering questions asked by the National Security Bureau, I was in fact cooperating with the evil. Regardless whether or not my act had brought loss to Dafa or fellow practitioners, it was a stain on my path of cultivation. What I did was equivalent to leaving loopholes for the evil, and it was an excuse for Gu and other people to take credit using the words I said out of fear. At the same time, they also thought their tricks worked on me, and they would further intensify their persecution of other practitioners.
The whole process of exposing evil from different angles and at different levels is also a process of seeing more clearly about oneself, removing attachments, and purging oneself.
Gu's cell phone is 86-13003419755.
(Clearwisdom.net)
One of the articles published on Clearwisdom.net on December 10 2003 was entitled "Understanding Jiang Zemin's Persecution as the Most Wicked Ever in History." It contained different understandings on this topic. Here I would like to share my understanding from the perspective of analyzing the nature of the persecution. My article will also serve as an appeal against the persecution policies of Jiang Zemin.
In 2000, I went to Tiananmen Square for a second time to appeal to higher authorities regarding the persecution of Falun Gong. Some patrol officers from the "610" office arrested me. They took me back to my hometown, forced me into a brainwashing class, and closely monitored me twenty-four hours a day. We didn't have any personal freedom. They locked us up and forced us to watch video programs defaming Falun Dafa and Teacher. We also had to listen speeches by those collaborators who used to practice Dafa yet later renounced their belief under pressure and now actively help persecute true Falun Dafa practitioners. They were cursing Dafa. They also pressured our families to make us to give up practicing Dafa. I hadn't studied the Falun Dafa teachings very well and also wasn't mentally prepared for the extent of the cruel persecution. I hesitated. Eventually I wrote the "guarantee letters" to renounce my belief. I thought I would regain freedom after I declared that I was giving up practicing Dafa. I thought it would end the tortures that I suffered at the hands of the police. I totally forgot the principles that Teacher taught, which resulted in a loss that can't be made up.
After I came back from the brainwashing class, the local Community Committee monitored me every day. They also came to my home frequently to harass and pressure me. During "sensitive" times (e.g. when the People's Congress or the Party has a meeting or when it's around July 20th, the date when Jiang personally launched the persecution of Falun Gong), the local "610" office even hired some unemployed workers to monitor me twenty-four hours every day. This created a lot of pressure and had a very bad impact on my relationship with my neighbors, who wanted to avoid me due to the police harassment. I came to realize that the police simply wouldn't stop persecuting good people, such as me. This experience made me see through their ulterior motives. Rereading Teacher's articles on the Fa-rectification period, I gradually became clear-minded. I felt extremely guilty about what I did. I let Teacher down. On Clearwisdom.net, I declared that my words and deeds under forced brainwashing were null and void. However, I was still deeply hurt. I spent every minute and every second in pain. It was mental torture. I realized how evil Jiang's persecution of Dafa was because it slowly destroys any goodness in people's hearts. What they did was to torture those who live their lives according to Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. However, the Jiang regime and its followers put on a kind face and claimed the brainwashing and the physical torture is meant to help Dafa practitioners. When they persecute Falun Dafa practitioners, they try to involve as many people as possible. They even harass the employers of the practitioners. In this way, they try to drive people away from Dafa using pressure and implication strategies. Now some people are even scared to death when they hear the words "Falun Gong." We can see how widely and deeply the lies that the Jiang regime has spread! Those lies fabricated in order to justify the persecution have deceived people and poisoned sentient beings. However, this kind of poison is difficult to see, which is why Jiang Zemin's persecution is the most wicked ever in history.
I read the news on the Internet that many fellow practitioners suffered rather inhumane torture and even lost their lives rather than renounce their belief. They used their wisdom and extraordinary abilities to suffocate and eliminate the evil and to validate Falun Dafa. Comparing their acts to what I did, I knew I had committed a serious crime against the Dafa. It was Teacher's boundless compassion that encouraged me. Teacher said in Touring North America to Teach the Fa,
"Indeed, as long as there's still one day when the persecution hasn't ended, that day is an opportunity. Use it well, do better, come back sooner, and don't miss any more opportunities. Don't dwell on your past mistakes -- if you've made mistakes, then do well from now on. Don't think about the thing that have happened. Think about how to do well from now on, and become truly responsible to yourself and to sentient beings."
I felt that in these words, Teacher held my hand and led me forward. I cried.
Teacher also said in Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference,
"Yes! You know, in the past it was hard to cultivate the Dao. When facing a test, as soon as someone had one sub-par thought, he would lose the chance forever to cultivate the Dao, and that was for sure. The old forces think that's how I look at it too. 'Okay, now that we've forced him to write some kind of document, you, Li Hongzhi, you can't keep him now since he betrayed you. You've done so much to save him, yet he betrayed you. You definitely can't keep him. And what's to be done if he can't be kept? Eliminate him.' That's how the old forces think, and that's how they've arranged things. But I haven't done things that way--I will save him. He didn't do well today, but aren't you old forces still persecuting people? I'll have him do things over tomorrow, and definitely have him do them well! (Applause) Hasn't what's happened proven that Dafa disciples have become more and more rational, become more and more clearheaded, and done better and better? Aren't they more and more determined?! (Applause) When you ultimately really do become determined, then all of what you did in the past can only be the cultivation process playing out. That's really how it is. Master is handling this matter with the greatest compassion. (Applause)"
Teacher's words opened my heart. I no longer felt lost. I will make good use of the last chance to walk each step righteously and well. With the purest heart, I will do well in those three things that Teacher told us to do. I will clarify the truth, expose and restrain the evil and save more sentient beings.
(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, fellow practitioners suggested discussing the issues of affection, love, and marriage based on some problems that happened to some practitioners in China.
We have had different opinions on these issues. Some of us said, "How could we have this mindset during this stage in the Fa rectification?" According to this way of thinking, it looks as if those who want to marry are drifting off the major course, as we are supposed to give up all of our personal issues and put ourselves into the Fa rectification wholeheartedly. However, some others think being married allows us to practice cultivation to the maximum extent with ordinary human society as Teacher lectures in the Fa, so wanting to be married helps one avoid going to extremes or into a dead end. In addition, sometimes marriages may create some favorable conditions that are good for what we need to do at present.
Here I would like to share with you some of my personal ideas. From my perspective, both opinions are right. For example, meat eating is not a problem itself, the key point is to remove the attachment to meat. The purpose of this discussion is that its focus should not be completely on the selection of a correct opinion, but on understanding the deep meanings behind each--that is to say, how to practice cultivation in a more harmonious way. As practitioners run into conflicts, all of us need to check our mindset on the basis of the Fa, regardless of what is in our mind, when we run into conflicts and especially when our heart is disturbed. If we are attached to the discussion of different opinions instead of looking inward ourselves, we will miss opportunities and also develop attachments. It will be difficult for us to solve problems in our heart in cultivation.
For the first opinion above, many of those fellow practitioners can fully realize the preciousness of the time that Teacher created for the Fa rectification and fully realize the significance of life. Therefore, they can let go of everything among everyday people, making full use of time to do the three things that Teacher told us. It will be surely good if more practitioners can do this from the heart, not as a formality, but from their nature. It won't be a problem as long as you are not attached to it, but are grounded in the Fa and on saving people. But how can we handle the problem when we have different opinions? Can we, while setting strict demands for ourselves and always cultivating our character, still remember to treat others well? Do we follow the principles and at the same time tolerate others in a harmonious way? Or as Falun Dafa practitioners, when we are strict with ourselves using the criteria of the Fa, do we also try to set our own demands for others or try to cultivate others? Shouldn't we, on the basis of being good to others, reason with the other party in a tolerant, compassionate and understanding way, rather than be attached to outcomes?
Some practitioners feel pressured by those with this opinion, so they don't have the courage to tell fellow practitioners after they are married. Without a doubt, this is an attachment. If something is not right, we shouldn't do it. If we need to do something, we should have a clear mind that it conforms to the requirements of the Fa for practitioners at different levels, instead of blindly following the example of others. Some fellow practitioners that have no way to obtain an ID under the persecution cannot register for marriage, so they just follow the common-law. This issue is complicated and beyond our discussion here. Clearwisdom.net has already posted some relevant articles addressing this.
During the peaceful period before 1999, practitioners also had different opinions on the issue of marriage, but didn't go to extremes as we do at present in the Fa rectification period. Why?
It is true there are some external causes. In this long persecution, many fellow practitioners who have lost their jobs and families work on the Fa rectification together. When they help each other, for those who still have everyday people's mentalities, including affection and desire, they need mutual consolation and encouragement in a cruel and harsh environment. For example, if two persons share an apartment it will cost less than if they each lived separately. This also gives neighbors the impression that they are couples. It should be beneficial that we practice cultivation and work on the Fa rectification to the maximum extent with ordinary human society. However, we need to do our best to set strict standards for ourselves, and not just use it as a guise. The affection should be taken lightly and not affect the overall situation.
From the perspective of internal causes, is it that we can't be harmonious in our minds and rise above affection and desires? If it is the time for these attachments to be abandoned, is this why the problem pops up in one form or another? Besides, is it possible that some practitioners haven't put the Fa in the first place and are still showing off?
In addition, some of the practitioners who have different opinions might have a deep attachment, such as guessing when the Fa rectification will end. I have seen many of these examples. Failing to clearly realize and completely remove this deep attachment, they gave up all of their material belongings and living environment and went to extremes. Then because they didn't understand the Fa in a harmonious way, they went to the opposite side when the Fa rectification didn't end as they assumed. They were desperately chasing what they lost, but actually what they lost was because of their going to extremes.
A part of the problem could be that some practitioners are trying to arrange their own path of cultivation, not letting go of the attachments to profit and desire, and only temporarily giving up some trifles at the moment for fulfilling a cause. Meanwhile, they are bargaining with the Fa: "Since I gave up something on my own, I am supposed to get this or that." These attachments are very dangerous when the Fa rectification has reached this stage. We need to dig out them out at the root through studying the Fa.
The above are my personal opinions. My purpose in presenting this topic is to demonstrate that when handling any issues, we practitioners can change our ideas or purify our thoughts and character as a result of conflict. I am not trying to point out any specific situation or individual. Please oblige me with your opinions if my article has anything that is not appropriate on the basis of the Fa principles.
(Clearwisdom.net) Prior to the New Year's Festival, the leader of my work unit asked me to give a performance at the New Year's party. I agreed, since I thought any opportunity of clarifying the truth should not be missed.
I planned to sing the Dafa practitioners' song, "Ru Meng Ling: Dedu" (" Be Saved"), but I still felt a little worried that this song would not be readily accepted by ordinary people and would affect the image of Dafa. Then I thought this over again from the viewpoint of Dafa. Anything that belongs to Dafa is most sacred, even if ordinary people may not appreciate it immediately. However, the profound connotation behind the song and the pure compassionate heart of a Dafa disciple will move ordinary people deeply. So I decided to sing the song.
On the day of the party, I went to the beauty salon to have a new hairstyle and put on simple, graceful clothing and makeup. My colleagues all said that I was very beautiful that night.
When it was my turn to sing, I started to devote my whole heart to singing "Be Saved." Early into the song, I infused all my hopes of awakening sentient beings. Afterwards, a colleague gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I was very touched.
The leader said in surprise, "What song is this? Why is the melody so unusual? Who wrote it? It is very nice, very special!" I told her that if she wanted to learn it, I would teach her.
A colleague who has a positive attitude toward Dafa said, "I feel that you were singing with your heart. I can hear that your spiritual heart is warm and you have a very deep conviction. You love living beings and life very much and you are enthusiastic and upright." She encouraged me to be firm in my principles and not yield to the evil persecution. Justice will prevail, she assured.
Another colleague said to me quietly, "I understand the meaning in your song. You want us to go up one more level." We smiled at each other knowingly.
This experience has been an inspiration to me. I was also enlightened by it. When we do Dafa work, we should not be affected by the views of ordinary people. If the basic premise has no problem, we should put it into action immediately. No matter where we are, the harmonious Dafa will give an immeasurably beautiful and happy feeling to sentient beings.
(Clearwisdom.net)
One day, I went to a Japanese appliance company to have an appliance repaired that I had just bought, which was still under warranty. A young man in the service department patiently told me that the problem with this appliance was due to improper usage. However, he could talk to someone and ask them to fix the problem. While talking to him, I had a momentary thought: "This young man is very kind. I should let him know about the truth of the persecution." However, I didn't know where to start.
After a little while, this young man started talking about the fact that my appliance was not well maintained, and he said that there was dirt on the magnetic head. I said that I had been using only high quality, brand-name tapes. I asked whether it was possible that those tapes' brand-name had been faked. The young man said with a smile, "It's hard to tell." I commented, "Nowadays, there are more and more faked products. Who knows how to deal with the problem?" The young man said, "Well, it depends on how one judges the difference. The key is to have good judgment!" Suddenly, an idea hit me and I said, "How do you judge the 'Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident'"? Right away, he asked, "Do you believe in Falun Gong?" When I told him that I did, he became very excited and replied, "Between you and me, I think that Falun Gong is good. But don't tell other people that you believe in it, otherwise you will be in trouble." I said in agreement, "Yes, that's true. Nowadays, our country is in such chaos; they only catch good people, even though swindlers run rampant." Then he continued, "I don't trust what the government propaganda says at all. There was a person in our factory who used to be quite ill and he swore at people freely. Later he changed after he practiced Falun Gong. He became a good person, and his physical condition improved as well. Well, with the current situation, we have to wait for some time before it can change." I said, "True. It's very important that you understand the truth from your heart. As you just said, people need good judgment." We both laughed.
Shortly after that, my machine was repaired. After I got home, I thought about this incident again. I also realized that, actually, Dafa practitioners' every word and deed are the best ways to clarify the truth. As one can see, what remains in that young man's mind is the fact that his colleague has become much better after practicing Falun Gong, which is a fact that nobody can deny. This fact penetrates into people's hearts and is the force that truly elevates the whole society.
(Clearwisdom.net) In Falun Dafa cultivation, there are many amazing stories. The following is a true story about a little boy who is less than two years old.
Before the Jiang' regime's persecution of Falun Dafa, there were many practice sites throughout the country which were voluntarily formed by Dafa practitioners in order to teach the practice free of charge. At our practice site, a banner hung by two bamboo poles stated "Free Teaching of Falun Dafa Exercises." There were also several exercise charts, introduction posters, and so on.
After April 1999, the situation was becoming more and more tense with each passing day, and plainclothes public security guards frequently visited our practice site. Our hearts felt very heavy'''', and we treasured even more the time that we would be able to practice outside. Therefore, each time we practiced, we hung up the exercise charts and instruction banners to facilitate new practitioners.
On the last day that we could practice outside, right as we finished our practice it started pouring rain, and many people were in a hurry to go home. Some of the practitioners who took turns taking care of the banners were not there, so there was not enough help to put away the materials. A young mother watching nearby was holding a little boy who was less than two years old. The little boy struggled to get down, but his mother held him tight and did not let him down. He struggled very hard so the mother had to put him down. Amazingly, he quickly walked to the place where we kept the banners, bent down, picked up the folded banner with both hands, and step by step he began staggering over towards the place where the materials were piled up. I was completely shocked by his actions. After I realized what he was doing and went to take over the job, the little boy held the Dafa banner tightly and 'would not let it go, saying "I want to do it too." Words could not express how I felt, and tears almost came down my face. I loosened my grip on the banner. His small face was very serious, and the expression on his face was firm and resolute. He staggered along and placed the banner on the pile of materials.
I walked over to hold the folded banner in my hands and felt that it was quite heavy. It was a large banner made of thick cotton. The weight must have been close to the weight of the little boy. ' Next, the little boy went to pick up the two bamboo poles and put them down in the right place. He did it in an organized fashion, and he was even more careful than an adult.
I said to the boy's mother, "Your child is really great!" She told me that the child could crawl when he was six months old. One day she had left him in the bedroom while she was cooking in the kitchen. The kitchen and bedroom doors faced each other and were both left open. While she was cooking the meal, she also kept an eye on him. All of a sudden, she saw the boy crawling past his toys towards the other side of the bedroom where his wooden crib was. The crib had wooden rails around it. The boy held onto the crib's leg and gradually stood up and leaned on the crib. Then he used his arms to hold onto the rails (because he was less than seven months, he 'could not stand up by himself). Next he faced the 'picture of Master, which was hanging on the wall, and showed his respect with both of his palms closed together in front of his chest. While watching this, his mother was totally shocked and 'just stood there holding a spatula in her hands. I said to his mother "Your son is smart," and asked her if her husband had ever seen her son do that same thing. She said, "We' never realized he could do that."
This little disciple left a strong impression on me, for he already knew to respect the Teacher when he was only six months old, and he knew to protect the Dafa banners when he was less than two years old. Sometimes when I think about those practitioners who have turned against Falun Dafa and even persecute practitioners viciously after receiving Teacher's graciousness, I really don't know what to say.
A Young Disciple's Sincerity
A young Dafa disciple named Yuanyuan (pseudonym) is ten years old this year.
Her mother often used money she saved to spend on truth-clarification materials,
and the family lived an impoverished lifestyle. Yuanyuan also wanted to help her
mother. For a period of time, without letting her family know, she collected and
sold the cans, cardboard and other items that people had discarded. When there
was enough for one Yuan*, she would go to the food store to exchange
to it for a coin. When her parents caught her doing this, they reprimanded her
several times. Finally one day, Yuanyuan had accumulated ten Yuan, and with
conviction, handed the ten coins to her mother and said, "This is the money I
saved by picking up waste. Please take it to print more truth-clarification
materials!" Her mother took the ten coins, and was speechless for a while.
*
(Clearwisdom.net) Gout, hypothyroidism, breast gland changes, enarthrosis inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis and others; a total of over a dozen illnesses had been torturing me before I started practicing Falun Dafa. My medical expenses were ten thousand Yuan.* Gout did not permit me to eat certain foods. If I ate them, the disease would create more crystalline structures, causing excruciating pain. The hypothyroidism made my whole body retain fluid and swell. I feared wind and cold. I would wear a heavy jacket and boots, even in the hottest summer. I could not fall asleep at night.
Suffering as I did, I often had thoughts of suicide. In October 1996, I started to practice Falun Gong. After seven days of practice, the edema vanished, and my arms could move freely. The other illnesses healed too. In these seven years of practicing, I haven't taken a single pill. Now I don't mind wind and cold, can eat any food and don't have any problem walking 7or 8 Li.** Prior to that, it took me 30 to 40 minutes to walk 50 meters (about 165 feet) with the support of others. In such a short time Master saved me from the brink of death, made me a healthy person. Falun Dafa is truly miraculous!
When my daughter-in-law was 34 years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She had been hospitalized for three months, but the illness was not cured. Her red blood cell count was extremely low. Her whole body was swollen. She was pale and her whole situation looked hopeless. Faced with this, she started to practice Falun Gong. After one week of practice, her red blood cell count went up. After practicing less than 20 days, her red blood cell level went back to normal. She went to the hospital for a routine check-up after that. Everything had been restored to normal! The doctor, pointing to her medical record told her, "We had 36 leukemia patients. 35 of them have left this world. Only you're still here." Then my daughter-in-law told doctor, "I practice Falun Gong." She told me that she is even healthier now than she was before she had gotten ill.
In September 2001, my older brother, 61 years old, had advanced-stage lung cancer, a malignant tumor on the right side of his trachea, and one lung had already collapsed. His left lung was still functioning and the medical treatment he received didn't work. All he could do was to go back home, waiting to die. Back then, my brother was only skin and bones, weighed only 60 Jin***, was sallow and emaciated. He had lost almost all his hair. He could not eat anything; even breathing was difficult. He had fever, a swollen face, feet and legs, his white blood cell count was way down. (1800). Normal people should have a white blood cell count of 8000-10000. I let him listen to Master's lecture audiotapes four hours a day, and instructed him in the exercises. Four days later, Master started to clean his body. He felt cold, nauseated, and vomited. Less than an hour later he felt a lot more at ease. The fever broke, he felt strengthened, and the swelling had disappeared. From then on he never had fever and edema again. Many medical check-ups revealed that his white blood cell count had sharply risen, and four months later the count was normal. After a year of Dafa practice, he had gained 40 Jin*** and his hair grew back. After more than two years of practice, he is now very healthy and can do everything.
Falun Dafa made my brother, my daughter-in-law and me well again, showing its miraculous workings and power.
*The average monthly income of an urban worker is 500 Yuan.
**Distance measurement, 1 Li equals 500 meters.
***Weight measurement, 1 Jin equals 500 grams
(Clearwisdom.net) On January 24 and 25, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners participated in the annual celebration of the Chinese New Year in downtown Melbourne. It was the first time that the Falun Dafa Association was given a booth after the settlement with the Federation of Chinese Associations in favor of Falun Gong, following an exclusion of the Falun Dafa Association from the New Year Celebration in 2002.
Falun Gong practitioners were wearing their holiday best plus silk ribbons saying "Falun Dafa Is Great" and "Happy New Year". They demonstrated the five sets of exercises and distributed Falun Dafa materials. Yellow balloons saying "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" in both Chinese and English were people's favorite. The floating balloons appeared in every corner of the site and became bright spots of the celebration.
The person in charge of the Federation of Chinese Associations paid a special visit to the Falun Gong booth, shook hands with Falun Gong practitioners, including those he met in the courtroom, and wished a Happy New Year to everyone. Falun Gong practitioners wished him a successful celebration of Chinese New Year.
Many more people received Dafa materials in the two-day celebration this year than in the past. Many of them used to believe the propaganda of Jiang's regime, but finally learned the truth about Falun Gong after listening to Falun Gong practitioners' explanations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200401/17454.html
Jan. 21, 2004
Effie Bathen/The Gazette
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Chunfang "Anne" Yang and her husband, Li Ding, in their Derwood home |
Her father's slap across her face broke Anne Yang's heart.
But it was only one moment compared to the months that shattered her world, when the Derwood couple went from being among China's elite to being labeled as traitors.
This week, as Chinese New Year celebrations abound with parades and firecrackers, they lament that they may never see their native country again.
Chunfang "Anne" Yang, 26, and her husband, Li Ding, 27, who were granted political asylum in the United States in December, said their troubles started by chance.
As Yang was about to leave China to start studies in the United States in 1997, a friend gave her a small book on Falun Gong.
In the United States, the meditative practice is considered in about the same light as such disciplines as yoga or tai chi.
In China, however, where the ancient practice originated, the communist leadership has jailed hundreds of its followers and condemned some to death. [Editor's note: As of January 2004, 867 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have been tortured to death since the persecution began in 1999.]
[...]
The U.S. State Department in 2001 formally expressed concern over China's human rights violations of Falun Gong followers and called for inspections by the International Red Cross.
As recently as last year, the State Department cited ill treatment of followers in an annual International Religious Freedom Report to Congress. Locally, U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Dist. 4) is cosponsoring a resolution criticizing China's oppression of followers, both in China and in the United States.
Meanwhile, the young couple focused on their studies, she as a doctoral student in statistics at Temple University in Philadelphia, and he as a doctoral student in economics at the University of Maryland, where he is completing his thesis.
They were married on Oct. 1, 1999.
They had not considered themselves political, they said, nor had their families.
Seated in their sunny but sparsely furnished apartment in Derwood, they rocked back in surprise at a question about it.
People just try to make a living, they said.
Ding's father is a mid-level official in a workers union in Zhoushan, an island off the Yangtze River delta. His mother works in a distribution center for commodities such as grain, rice and oil.
Yang's father is a professional engineer and architect in Jinan near the east China coast. Her mother is an accountant.
Yang and Ding were fortunate to be selected to attend one of the country's most respected colleges, Fudan University in Shanghai.
"It was very competitive," she said.
Yang added that it was an easy choice to later apply for an American scholarship to study in the United States. Both students were fluent in English, as they had studied it since they were in grade school.
"We were eager to learn about the outside world," she said.
When she left China, a friend urged her to take her little book to "save herself a trip to the doctor." So she tucked it into her suitcase.
As Yang read more, she found that the ancient [spiritual] practice struck a chord with her. Ding's studies had left him only five hours of sleep a night and exhausted. The meditation helped their bodies and spirits, they said.
A cruel awakening
One summer night in July 1999, while Yang was working in a computer lab, she was alarmed by international news reports about the Chinese government's sudden [persecution of] Falun Gong followers.
"That is where I first learned that a government can lie to its people," she said.
She found herself crying onto the keyboard.
Until then she had resisted her American colleagues' versions of events in China, especially the massacre on Tiananmen Square in 1989, when the Chinese military crushed pro-democracy student demonstrations.
"Your government is anti-China and lying," she had told them.
Growing up, she had been taught that rebel students had attacked loyal government soldiers.
[...]
She wrestled with the slow realization that her homeland had betrayed everything that she had come to believe.
She and Ding debated whether to make a honeymoon trip back to China to see their families.
Friends and advisors warned them that it was too risky.
Nonetheless, the couple decided to make the trip, and they attempted to view a trial of a Falun Gong follower that was occurring, by chance, at the same time in Beijing.
"If nobody dares to step forward and say the truth, there is no hope for the country," Yang said, explaining why they went to the capital city.
As their taxi approached the courthouse, a policeman stopped Yang and Ding.
"Do you practice Falun Gong?" he asked.
Yang said "yes," and they were immediately arrested.
"That's the way we spent our honeymoon," she said.
The newlyweds were separated and taken to their hometowns. They were interrogated and put on a "re-education program."
After an eight-hour train ride from Beijing and an interrogation until 3 a.m., Yang was put under house arrest at her parents' home.
[...]
Ding was held with six other detainees, including women and old men, for two nights in one hotel room. Then two police officers escorted him on a 17-hour train ride to his hometown, where more officials interrogated him for four hours.
"They wanted me to promise not to go back to Beijing and not to talk about Falun Gong," he said.
The students were eventually allowed to return to the United States.
[...]
Changing views
Since all of this has happened, the couple's views of American values have changed. They said they used to think that the U.S. mantra about human rights was a cloak for civil disobedience.
That has changed. Freedom of religion is the founding principal, Yang said.
"It's something you can touch. You can feel it," she said.
Ding hopes the couple can work to someday bridge the differences between the United States and his homeland.
From under a map of the United States taped on the wall, Ding continues his readings on the Internet.
"I thought I knew what I needed to know," the doctoral candidate said. "I found I didn't know a lot of things."
http://www.gazette.net/200404/rockville/news/198070-1.html
(Clearwisdom.net) On January 22, 2004, Falun Dafa practitioners in Quebec participated on invitation in the "2004 Global Human Rights Day" activities sponsored by Amnesty International (AI) at Concordia University. In addition to photo and video displays, Falun Dafa practitioners, together with some members of Amnesty International, held a symbolic trial of Jiang Zemin, aiming to expose the crimes of human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang and the "610 Office" and to help people grasp the essence of the evil nature and the wide range of the persecution.
When local Falun Dafa practitioners proposed this symbolic trial to AI, the members of AI not only agreed with the idea, but also were willing to help play some roles in the trial, because they had gained a good understanding of the persecution of Falun Gong through various channels and were very happy to help improve human rights in China.
Based on facts presented, the judge, played by a member of AI, made the following ruling, "We rule that the defendant is guilty. The court has taken notice that the persecution had forced people to betray their conscience, dignity and faith in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. The court has taken notice that Jiang and the "610 Office" had fabricated countless lies and spread them all over China and the world, which had misled people to discriminate against Falun Gong practitioners. All people who learn the facts will see how the persecution was driven by the weaknesses in human nature, which include jealousy, greed, fear and selfishness. All people who know the facts will see the noble spirit and courage of Falun Gong practitioners. They will be remembered forever, for their strong determination, bravery and ability have withstood the persecution that people should not have subjected to."
What happened at the exhibit booth was very moving. More and more people wanted to learn the facts about Falun Gong. Having been influenced by the Chinese propaganda, a Chinese student was very hostile to us at first, but learning the facts turned his hostility to confusion, and then to sincerity, and finally to worry. It made Falun Gong practitioners realize how effective and necessary it is to clarify the truth.
Zhu Ying, a former student of Concordia University, was subjected to persecution during a visit to China. A local newspaper interviewed her.
We also learned that many universities in Canada planned to hold symbolic trials of Jiang this winter.
Amnesty International says in a report published today (Wed 28 January 2004) that since November 2002 there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people arrested and imprisoned for expressing their opinions online or for downloading information from the internet in China.
By January 2004, 54 people had been detained or imprisoned for these internet-related activities, a 60 per cent increase in just over a year. In addition an unknown number of people remain in detention for disseminating information about the spread of SARS over the internet.
The report also cites companies including Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, Websense and Sun Microsystems, which have reportedly provided technology which has been used to censor and control the use of the Internet in China. Amnesty International is concerned that by selling such technology the companies did not give adequate consideration to the human rights implications of their investments.
Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:
"All those detained for expressing their peaceful opinions online are prisoners of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally.
"We also urge all companies which have provided technology which might support this kind of surveillance and harassment to use their influence with the Chinese authorities. They should ask the Chinese government to permit freedom of expression and to release all those detained for internet-related offences in violation of their fundamental human rights."
Those detained in China include students, political dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, workers, writers, lawyers, teachers, civil servants, former police officers, engineers, and businessmen. They have been accused of various 'offences' including signing online petitions, calling for reform and an end to corruption, planning to set up a pro-democracy party, publishing 'rumours about SARS', communicating with groups abroad, opposing the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calling for a review of the 1989 crackdown on the pro-democracy protestors. Most have been charged with 'subversion' or 'endangering state security', criminal charges which have resulted in prison sentences of between two and 12 years.
Former academic He Depu was prosecuted for "incitement to subvert state power" in October 2003 and sentenced to eight years imprisonment after he published pro-democracy articles on the internet. He has reportedly been ill-treated in prison and is in poor health.
Huang Qi, a computer engineer from Sichuan who set up his own website, was detained on 3 June 2000 after several Chinese dissidents abroad posted articles on his website on the eve of the eleventh anniversary of the crackdown against the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Three years after his arrest he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment after an unfair trial. He has reportedly been badly beaten by prison guards and is now in poor health suffering from regular headaches.
China has extensive internet censorship and over the past year there has been a growing trend towards assigning greater responsibilities for surveillance and monitoring to a variety of companies in China such as internet cafes, Information Service Providers (ISPs) and other enterprises. Nevertheless internet activism appears to be growing as fast as the controls are tightened. During 2003 there have been signs of internet users acting in solidarity with one another, in particular by expressing support for each other online. Such expressions of solidarity have proved dangerous as a growing number of people have been detained on the basis of such postings.
Background
Internet access has expanded considerably in China over the past year. According to official statistics the number of internet users had risen to 79.5 million by December 2003 from 59.1 million users in December 2002, an increase of 34.5 per cent. This has presented the authorities with greater challenges in their attempts to censor and control the online activities of Internet users.
For the full text of the report, please go to:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170012004
There is further information on internet and freedom of speech in China at:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170072002
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170462002
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/deliver/document/15132
Owen Gibson
Wednesday January 28, 2004
Human rights group Amnesty International has attacked Microsoft and other computer giants for selling technology which allows Chinese authorities to control and monitor the internet, leading to a huge rise in the number of people detained for using the web.
While the Chinese authorities allow access to the web, the regime continues to censor sites that promote dissident views.
According to today's report from Amnesty, 54 people are now detained or imprisoned in China for internet-related activities, a rise of 60% in just over a year.
The report hits out at companies such as Microsoft, the US software giant whose founder Bill Gates learned yesterday that he would receive an honorary knighthood for "services to enterprise", for facilitating the monitoring and control of websites.
"All those detained for expressing peaceful opinions online are prisoners of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally," said the director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen.
"We also urge companies which have provided technology which might support this kind of surveillance and harassment to use their influence with the Chinese authorities.
"They should ask the Chinese government to permit freedom of expression and to release all those detained for internet-related offences in violation of their fundamental human rights," she added.
Other western companies named in the report include Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Websense and Sun Microsystems. Amnesty said it was "concerned that by selling such technologies the companies did not give adequate consideration to the human rights implications of their investments".
Those imprisoned for internet-related offences have been accused of a variety of crimes including signing online petitions, calling for reform and an end to corruption, planning to set up a pro-democracy party, communicating with groups abroad and calling for a review of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protestors.
Others have been imprisoned after being accused of spreading "rumours" about the severity of the Sars virus and protesting against the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
For example, academic He Depu was prosecuted for "incitement to subvert state power" in October last year after publishing pro-democracy articles on the web and sent to prison for eight years.
Last year the Chinese authorities hit the headlines when they blocked access to search engine Google in a media clampdown ahead of the watershed 16th Party Congress, when President Jiang Zemin handed power to a new generation of leaders
Access to Google was blocked for two weeks when a link on the site was discovered to lead to a game called 'Slap the evil dictator Jiang Zemin'. Access was later restored, but with certain links blocked.
The BBC, which has had its site blocked in China for some time, drew attention to the growing problem last year when it disclosed that its World Service site in Vietnam had also been censored by the authorities.
China has the fastest growing internet community in the world, presenting the authorities with an ever growing problem in trying to control its expansion. According to official statistics there were 79.5 million internet users in China by December 2003, a rise of 34.5% in the past year.
January 14, 2004
(Clearwisdom Net) I am a Dafa practitioner living in the countryside. Since 1999, when Jiang's regime started persecuting Falun Gong, my fellow practitioners and I have been going to appeal to the government. We were illegally imprisoned a few times, but I didn't give up. I remember Master's words all the time and strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with being a good person. We do not violate even a bit of any policy or law, and we are good people everywhere. We clarify the truth to everyday people and behave according Dafa's standards.
One day, in November 2003, the police abducted me. The following is an account of my experience.
Around 8:00 am that day, a group of people broke into my house. They demanded that I write a "guarantee letter" (not to practice Falun Gong), or verbally agree not to practice Falun Gong, not to distribute flyers, and not to appeal to the government anymore, otherwise I would be sent to a brainwashing class. I sent forth righteous thoughts calmly and clarified the truth to them at the same time. I asked them to wake up and make sure that they could tell the difference between right and wrong, and not do anything that helps the evil. After four hours of negotiation, they requested a few more policemen to come to the scene. They all rushed at me and tried to take me away. My children and a neighbor, who do not practice Falun Gong, tried to push them away. But there were around 20 of those policemen in the hallway and they came and grabbed me. The police chief told me in an evil tone, "We will carry you to the reeducation class."
They took me downstairs and I thought that it was a good time to validate the Fa and clarify the truth. Therefore, while saying "Falun Dafa is good" loudly, I also told people who were watching, "See it for yourselves, it's a VCD with the facts about Falun Gong. I practice Falun Gong to be a good person, but they want to take me to a brainwashing class." One grandmother stopped her work and came to help me. The police chief rudely pushed her away and told her that it wasn't her business. The grandmother almost fell. She came back and held me again. After a while, I asked Master for help, to not to let the police take me away. The police finally put me down, and one of them asked, "Why is it that so many of us cannot take you away?" I understood that it was Master who helped me.
Meanwhile, my children broke through the police's blockade and got out, and there were also a lot of neighbors on the road. They asked the police why they arrested people without a cause. The evil is most afraid of being exposed. The police told my children, "We lost today, and couldn't face the people. We will let your mother go." What happened that day helped everyday people understand the essence of the evil's persecution, and many everyday people were on the side of justice.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Written on January 11, 2004
"If You Want to Trust Something, Just Trust Falun Gong"
The head of a Farming Company in Heilongjiang Province spoke these words in the company's general meeting: "Now if you want to trust something, just trust Falun Gong, not anyone else..." All the people in the company know the truth about Falun Dafa, have a good understanding of Dafa and they don't believe the fabricated stories shown on TV.
"I Don't Believe What Is Told By the Higher Authorities"
A few days ago, I met with an elderly man about 70 years of age and we spoke as we walked together. The topic of conversation naturally turned to the authenticity of the media reports regarding Falun Dafa. When I mentioned that Jiang Zemin (former President of the ruling party) slandered and attacked Falun Gong with the media, the man said sadly, "Now the higher authorities claim that all the good deeds are done by the party representatives, and the bad things are all done by Falun Gong." I asked the elderly man, "Do you believe them?" The man replied instantly: "I don't believe them! Actually I believe just the opposite of what the authorities say."
"How Brutal It Is!"
A student at a chemical institute went to buy some fruit from a store. He said to the owner casually: "The world has become very dark. Take Falun Gong as an example, they haven't done anything to bother others except practice to have a healthy body and conduct themselves as good people. Why are they persecuted? There are many people practicing Falun Gong in the chemical institute; see, quite a few of them have been dismissed due to practicing Falun Gong, and some have been arrested. How brutal it is!"
A "610" Officer Wakes Up
An officer newly in charge of the "610 Office" in a certain city said, "The practitioners of Falun Gong are all good people." One day, his friend asked, "It is another sensitive day. Will you start to arrest Falun Gong practitioners again?" The officer said, "Those Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Let them be..." [The "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.]
A History Teacher Who Knows the Truth
When a history teacher took some truth clarifying materials, he didn't feel afraid and said, "I just want to know the truth. Jiang must have felt frightened; otherwise how come he is afraid of this booklet? My neighbor read these flyers before and he said that what Falun Gong says is very reasonable!"
Sigh From an Intelligent Person
A certain person is a sincere lay Buddhist. One of his colleagues was once impolite to him and he felt disturbed. A Falun Gong practitioner in the same work unit opened the book Zhuan Falun and let him read the section entitled Transforming Karma. The book talks about conflicts among people, the essential nature of this kind of predestined relationship and explains how to handle it properly. The man's anger disappeared even before he finished that section. He became peaceful and agreed, "It is very good." After finishing reading the section, he then said, "The book Zhuan Falun is very good! It only tells people how to cultivate. How come Jiang made up such a lie?"
(Clearwisdom.net)
Two Directors of a Beijing Labor Camp were Involved in an Auto Accident as a Result of their Persecution of Dafa Practitioners
The two directors of a Beijing female forced labor camp made every effort to cruelly persecute Dafa practitioners, using both severe and subtle means. At the end of the 2003, they were injured in a car accident. Their heads were bleeding, their faces severely bruised and their noses were swollen. They cried out loud because of their pain. They were taken to the hospital, where their mouths had more than 20 stitches in an operation.
The Director of a Police Station in Panshan County, Liaoning Province suffers from Dementia
Yang Zhonghua, the director of the Yangquanziweichang police station, Panshan County, Liaoning province, participated in persecuting Dafa practitioners by following Jiang's regime after July 20, 1999. He searched for Dafa books and then damaged them. He was diagnosed with dementia in 2000.
Shi Guobin, the Party Secretary of Zhenchai Village, Nongan County, Jilin Province Meets Retribution
Shi Guobin, the party secretary of Zhenchai village, Nongan town, has relentlessly persecuted Dafa practitioners since July 20, 1999. He reported and abducted Dafa practitioners into detention centers and brainwashing classes many times. When holidays or politically sensitive days came, Shi Guobin often interfered with the normal life of Dafa practitioners. Recently, Shi Guobin has had frequent heart attacks.
(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
People Who Understand the Truth
I am a self-employed businessman and I use my own skills to make money without interfering in state affairs and have made a reputable name in my field. I don't believe any of the propaganda about Falun Gong on TV or in the newspapers. I haven't read any Falun Gong materials either because it didn't have anything to do with me. Some time ago, I met an old friend of mine that I have not seen for many years. He told me the benefits that he has had from practicing Falun Gong and the persecution that he has suffered because of his practice of Falun Gong. My heart was touched and became clearer. I started to reflect on my life philosophy, that if something has nothing to do with me, I just feel indifferent and numb to it. I feel lucky that I had the good fortune to meet my old friend who practices Falun Gong. I want to say these words from the bottom of my heart to all those people who live with an indifferent and numb mentality. I want to say, "Let there be justice for Falun Gong!"
Facts of the Persecution
1) In 2002, Tiexi District Court in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province illegally sentenced the couple of Ms. Dong Weijia (43 years old) and Mr. Chai Shijin (41 years old) to 10 years and 4 years in prison, respectively. At present, they are separately detained in Huazi Jail in Liaoyang City and Dabei Women's Jail of Shenyang City.
2) Recently, the "610 Office" and National Security Team of Tongnan County in Chongqing City rampantly arrested Dafa practitioners. On December 23, 2003, policemen took Ms. Wu Yongmei from her home to the Public Security Bureau. At that time, the 4-year-old daughter of Ms. Wu Yongmei, little Yuanyuan cried and struggled to ask for her mom, and her young heart was deeply hurt. On New Year's day, four policemen from The First Police Station of Tongnan County forcibly took little Yuanyuan away. At that time, little Yuanyuan didn't want to leave, and she cried and said, "I want my mom." It is said that the police are plotting to sentence Ms. Wu Yongmei to prison. All kind-hearted people, let's stop this persecution around us together and help little Yuanyuan see her mom again as soon as possible!
3) Dafa practitioner Ms. Gao Yan from Leshan City of Sichuan Province went to Beijing to appeal in October 1999, and then was taken back to Leshan and illegally sentenced to one-year forced-labor in Nanmusi Labor Camp. One year later, after her term expired, they illegally extended her term for another year. In May 2002, Ms. Gao was kidnapped in Beijing, sent back to be detained in Shawan Detention Center and one month later was sent to Nanmusi Labor Camp for one and a half years' forced-labor. In August 2002, Gao Yan was severely tortured, suffered a mental collapse and then was bailed out for medical treatments. Right after the Chinese New Year of 2003, when Nanmusi Labor Camp heard that Gao Yan had some recovery, they sent her to the labor camp again and didn't release her until October of 2003. Now Gao Yan has become schizophrenic and absent-minded. She used to be good at dancing and looked healthy, and now that she has been tortured so fiercely, her body has become withered, humpbacked and bent at the waist. She even has difficulty taking a bath by herself.
4) Ms. Wu Rongjie lives in Shuangta District of Chaoyang City in Liaoning Province. Because Ms. Wu insists on practicing Falun Dafa, her whole family has been harassed and blackmailed by policemen of Shuangta District many times. Her husband Mr. Dong Shixi suffered from "guilt by association" and was dismissed from his job. In late January of 2003, when Ms. Wu Rongjie was illegally detained in Wujiakou Detention Center in Chaoyang City, she was infected with some serious diseases. In August, Criminal Law Section of Shuangta District Court of Chaoyang City went to the detention center and secretly and illegally sentenced Ms. Wu Rongjie to 8 years in jail. Because Ms. Wu's disease was quite serious and she also had the problem that her cardiac muscles lacked sufficient blood, Dabei Prison refused to accept her on three separate occasions. However, till now Wujiakou Detention Center still refuses to allow Ms. Wu to be bailed out on medical parole.
5) Policeman Xu Shaobing from Nong'an County in Jilin Province brutally persecutes Dafa practitioners. Every time when police search for and arrest Dafa practitioners, he is always one of the most active thugs. He never hesitates when he commits crimes or beats people. He fiercely slaps Dafa practitioners, beats their hands with thick wooden sticks, forces practitioners to sit on the "tiger bench,"* uses needles to pierce practitioners, forces practitioners to "wear sun hats" (it refers to torturing people by using plastic bags to cover peoples' heads and then nearly suffocating them), and extorts money from practitioners.
6) Team head Wang Xiaofeng from No. 1 Team in No. 2 Women's Division of Masanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province incited inmates to use their fingertips to twist and pinch off Dafa practitioner Shan Jie's (pseudonym) skin inside her legs. This made Shan Jie's legs bloody, infected, suppurating and festering. Even so, Wang Xiaofeng still could not stop tormenting Ms. Shan Jie. She incited a few thugs to kick Shan Jie's legs that have been suppurated so brutally that Shan Jie's wounds ulcerated one after another and made her suffer from extreme pain. Wang Xiaofeng beat Dafa practitioners in very brutal and ruthless ways, and also cursed practitioners with very virulent language. She also incited criminals to force-feed garlic to Ms. Zhang Chuanwen who had had an empty stomach for many days, in the name of so-called "cleansing the stomach," and persecuted practitioners physically and mentally.
7) In March 2002, the Foreign Language Center of Jilin University illegally sent one faculty member working at the language center, Mr. Zhao Bo, to the detention center and caused him to be persecuted there and become critically ill. The functions of most of his internal organs failed. Before that, as a faculty member at the university, Mr. Zhao Bo was deprived of his right to teach as well as his right to receive a graduate education because he practices Falun Gong. Starting October 2003, the Foreign Language Center of Jilin University stopped paying Mr. Zhao Bo his salary using the excuse of "leaving the position voluntarily," which left Mr. Zhao with no resources to pay his living expenses.
* "Tiger Bench": Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead. They are not allowed to turn their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse (see illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html)
