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Facts of the Persecution
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Open Forum
People are Awakening
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
News and Events Around the World
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(Clearwisdom.net) During the 2004 Chinese New Year (around January 22), Dafa practitioners in Shahe City, Hebei Province, tapped into a TV network to broadcast a documentary video about Falun Gong. The incident created great interest among people in the local area. This event also created extreme panic among the evildoers. According to reports, state police authorities immediately sent someone to the Xintai Area to persecute Dafa practitioners. The Shahe City police force began to search out and mass arrest practitioners throughout the entire city on orders from above.
So far, nine Falun Gong practitioners are reported to have been arrested, and many families' homes were searched, with their possessions and books being seized. All Falun Gong practitioners in the city were monitored, interrogated and forced to sign certain documents.
The arrested Falun Gong practitioners are:
In the urban area: Zhang Caixia (Female), Wang Xinying (Female) and her three nieces, Yu Xia (Female) and a male practitioner whose last name is Nie from No. 20 refinery company
Wang Xiaosheng from Gequan Coal Mine
Qiuyun (Female) from Wanggang Village
Now, Dafa disciples in Shahe City are facing another round of large-scale, relentless persecution. Because of the information blockade, currently it is difficult to obtain factual, detailed information about individuals that are involved in the persecution.
The related responsible offices and personal telephone numbers are as follows:
"610 Office," Shahe City: 86-319-8921610
Wang Yizhang (City Party Secretary): 86-319-8909988 (Office), 2218238 (Home), 86-13703193989 (Cell)
Jiang Guilian (Mayor): 86-319-8902198 (Office), 8568988 (Home), 86-13903195786 (Cell)
Huo Baoyin (Mayor): 86-319-8902186 (Office), 8902300 (Home), 86-13503286098 (Cell)
Shi Jusan (Former Secretary of Political and Law Committee): 86-319-8906688 (Office), 8900888 (Home), 86-13803199968 (Cell)
Wu Shutang: 86-319-8902555 (Office), 2221588 (Home), 86-13903192666 (Cell)
Lei Yuncuan: 86-319-8902220 (Office), 2281886 (Home), 86-13903296002 (Cell)
Huo Chunshu: 86-319-8905688 (Office), 8819868 (Home), 86-13803190911 (Cell)
Qu Bin (Vice Party Secretary): 86-319-8909658 (Office), 2285632 (Home), 86-13503399566 (Cell)
Wang Xia (Vice Mayor): 86-319-8904101 (Office), 8902559 (Home), 86-13503195889 (Cell)
Yi Jiafang (Vice Mayor): 86-319-8903688 (Office), 8801961 (Home), 86-13503286069 (Cell)
Wang Aiying (Vice Mayor): 86-319-8903868 (Office), 8802680 (Home), 86-13831929588 (Cell)
Liu Junlin ("610 Office" Director): 86-319-8921610 (Office), 8987880 (Home), 86-13191629168 (Cell)
City Area Police Station: 86-319-8807972, 8807973
By Li Shuxia, a Falun Dafa practitioner in Xiaoheliu Village, Qiantong Town, Yanshan County, Hebei Province
(Clearwisdom.net) My family lives in Qiantong Town, Yanshan County, Hebei Province. In August of 1998 I was the first in my family to practice Falun Gong, then my husband followed in my footsteps. Through studying the Fa our minds and bodies have been purified.
Even though the persecution against Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, we still studied the Fa and practiced the exercises. Because of this, the Yanshan County police harassed us many times.
On December 31, 2000, my husband and I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. I was arrested and detained for more than three months in Beijing. While I was being detained, Liu Guoqing from my local police station led a gang of people to ransack my home. Our agricultural machinery and other personal belongings were taken away. My son held on to his favorite sheep and begged them to let him keep it, but they took it from him anyway. They saw a suitcase and a neighbor said, "Don't take the suitcase. There's money in it." When they heard the word "money" they took the suitcase with them right away. The crowd reprimanded them for behaving like gangsters. Because my home was stripped clean, my son was forced to leave school because he could no longer afford the school fees.
In October 2002, the Yanshan County police again climbed over a wall to enter my home. They made an arrest and ransacked my home. My fourteen-year old son cried and shouted in protest, so they stuck a dirty rag used for wiping the car into his mouth. They handcuffed him in the basement of the police station. They hit, scorned, and interrogated him in an attempt to get information about other local Dafa practitioners. After my son staged a hunger strike for two days they released him. Then they threatened my boy's grandfather, saying, "Send the kid back again to the police station in a couple of days." As a result my son ran away from home and had to beg for food on the streets. Zhang Xinping from the political security office of the police station claimed to have sent my son to a juvenile detention facility until they can sentence him as an adult.
My husband Liu Huanjie, who was also arrested for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, was first detained in a police station for about five days and then sent to the Yanshan Detention Center. After a few days he was taken to the basement of a police station for an interrogation session that lasted eleven days. We never could find out what kind of cruel tortures the police subjected him to, but we heard that they wouldn't let him sleep for eleven days. When family members visited him, we saw that his eyes were red, swollen, and bloodshot. Afterwards, unknown to any of his family members, the police tried him in secret and illegally sentenced him to ten years.
I didn't give any statement during the police interrogation. Zhang Xinping threatened me and said, "Even without a statement we can still sentence you." Later they sent me to a detention center where I held a hunger strike to protest. After the chief of the center slapped me in the face, I was forced to sit in a big metal chair. The back of the chair was tilted, so a person could only maintain a half-seated posture. At the top and bottom of the chair were two iron hoops to keep a person's legs and arms straight. Both of my ankles were stuck in an iron hoop. One belt immobilized each knee and another compressed the chest and made it difficult to breathe. Both arms were twisted backwards and the wrists were handcuffed to the two upper hoops. They wouldn't let you out of the chair even if you needed to use the restroom. An average person usually would not be able to endure it for more than 24 hours. I was tied up there for about forty hours. After that, they put me in a metal cage. The cage was about 60 centimeters in width. It was wide enough for me to stand, but it was too narrow if I wished to sit down, as I would be sandwiched tightly. No matter whether metal chairs or metal cages, in the winter they were always put in the corridor day and night. I was still subjected to force-feeding when I was in the iron cage. One day Zhang Xinping came with a warrant for arrest, forced my hands out of the cage, and pressed my fingers to make fingerprints on the warrant. They locked me in the cage for four to five days. It was only after I vomited blood that they let me out.
As soon as I got back to my village, however, the Yanshan County Police Station instructed Zhang Moxiang, the local police chief, to again lead policemen to make an arrest. At midnight they first went to my parents' home to find me, but to no avail. They again came to my village at midnight. They climbed over a wall to enter my sister-in-law's home and smashed the doors and windows. I was not home at the time, so their efforts were futile.
On November 16, 2003, I was at a fellow practitioner's home and was recognized by Liu Zhenming from the police station. (That day a gang of policemen was searching each household for Dafa practitioners). They took me away by force and once again sent me to a detention center. I was again tied to the metal chair and subjected to the torture of force-feeding every day. The wide tube they used for force-feeding was forced up into my nose and down into my stomach and it was very painful. They released me after eleven days, but they still keep me under surveillance, so I am deprived of my freedom.
The policemen who directly participated in the persecution:
The Yanshan County Police Station, Hebei Province: Gao Chongde, 86-317-6228593 (home)
Liu Zhenming: 86-317-6226882 (home), 13931781316 (mobile)
Zhang Xinping: 86-317-6226559 (home)
Qiantong Police Station in Yanshan County, Hebei Province: 86-317-6370110
Chief of Qiantong Police Station, Yanshan County, Hebei Province: Zhang Moxiang
Instructor of Qiantong Police Station, Yanshan County, Hebei Province: Liu Guoqing
(Clearwisdom.net) [The following accounts of torture are in chronological order.]
In order to escalate their persecution of Dafa practitioners that were hunger striking, staff at Fushun City Forced Labor Camp established a torture chamber in January 2002 on the third floor of Fushun City Second Hospital, Liaoning Province. Mr. Liu Baocai is in charge of the torture chamber.
Address:
Fushun City 2nd Hospital
2 Wanghua Avenue,
Wanghua Precinct, Fushun City,
Liaoning Province, 113001
Telephone: 86-413-6689711
Ms. Zou Guirong is a 36 or 37-year-old Dafa practitioner from Fushun City. On the seventh day of her hunger strike, Ms. Zou was sent to the torture chamber for punitive force-feeding. [Force-feeding is the number one cause of death for Falun Gong practitioners. The purpose of police force-feeding is not to nourish, but rather to punish practitioners and to cause so much pain that they will renounce the practice of Falun Gong. To that end, the police have used many different means to cause excruciating pain and injury, including inserting and withdrawing the feeding tubes repeatedly, leaving the feeding tubes in the stomach, knocking out teeth while attempting to force-feed, force-feeding saturated salt-water, vinegar/liquor, or urine/feces, etc.] While all of Ms. Zou's limbs were handcuffed to a bed, Mr. Liu Baocai punched and kicked her. He even stepped on Mr. Zhou's torso while trying to force a plastic feeding tube into her nostril. However, the plastic tube was expelled when Ms. Zhou vomited. Liu ordered a nurse to use a thicker plastic tube and to stuff a towel into Ms. Zhou's mouth to prevent her from expelling the tube again. During the 30 minutes the tube was inside of Ms. Zou, she lost control of her bladder and uttered such anguished cries they would break the heart of anyone with a conscience. Although Liu could see that Ms. Zhou was in agony, he ordered the nurse to pour a saturated solution of salt-water down the tube. When Ms. Zhou eventually managed to expel the tube using all her might, Liu ordered the nurse to re-insert the tube! By now blood was spattered all over Ms. Zhou and the bed. When she managed to expel the plastic tube a third time, the nurse started to fear Ms. Zhou might die from this torture and gave her an infusion of glucose. But Liu Baocai kept Ms. Zhou in the torture chamber for a whole week until she was near death. It was only then that Liu notified her family to pick her up at the hospital. So far, we know that the following practitioners are also locked in this torture chamber: Ms. Li Li, Ms. Wang Hong, and Ms. Ma Yunxiang.
Around February 17, 2002, during the Chinese New Year, Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhang Zhiqing persisted in sending forth righteous thoughts despite the ban in Fushun City Forced Labor Camp. Policeman Wu Wei made her go to his office, and there he beat her savagely. (Wu Wei's atrocious crimes were reported in http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/6/44826.html). Wu kept bashing Ms. Zhang's head with a hardwood stool, while fiercely kicking her face and back. Wu savagely beat her in this fashion for two hours until Zhang lost consciousness and was nearly dead. Although she was resuscitated by the hospital, she was left with a dent in her skull, bearing silent witness to the cruel torture she endured. Ms. Zhang now suffers from brain damage from the head injury she received and her responses to people are extremely slow.
In April 2002, the female squadron of Fushun City Forced Labor Camp was moved to one of the buildings at a manufacturing plant. Mr. Liu Baocai worked exclusively to torture Dafa practitioners in the "Small Cell" those that were hunger striking. [A Small Cell is a room of less than three square-meters. It has no window, bed, water, or toilet. A victim is locked in a small cell for months, and has to eat, sleep, and excrete in the same small area. Since the height of the room is less than 1.5 meters, one cannot stand upright. To exacerbate the agony, the guards often handcuff the victim to the small cell door so the victim cannot sleep for many days.]
Around April 2002, Ms. Gao Juan protested the persecution by going on a hunger strike. For this, Mr. Wu Wei, Mr. Wang Jun, and Mr. Liu Fengbin started beating her, which caused her head to become distorted and swell to an appalling size. They also kept shocking her head with electric batons. Eventually, the numerous blisters on her face became infected and kept discharging pus, making subsequent electric shocks all the more painful.
Ms. Wang Ke is a Dafa practitioner in her fifties. During Ms. Wang's hunger strike, Liu Baocai hauled her into a courtyard, tied her onto a stool, poured a bucket of water over her, and then shocked her with an electric baton. Ms. Wang went into anguished seizures as she rolled on the ground with the stool still attached to her body. But instead of lessening the torture, the prison guards then punched and kicked her while continuing to shock her.
Ms. Qin Qingfang is a Dafa practitioner in her sixties. During her hunger strike, Liu Baocai shocked this elderly woman with electric batons, and punched and kicked her while pulling on her hair.
Refusing to be illegally incarcerated and subjected to the persecution, Dafa practitioners Ms. Zhang Chuanwen, Ms. Li Li, Ms. Zhang Suying, and others, used a saw to cut through the iron bars in the window of their cell around May 1, 2002. Unfortunately, a prison guard named Liu saw what they were doing on the camera monitor and tried to stop them. Nevertheless, one of them managed to escape from the forced labor camp. The furious prison guards then turned their rage on the remaining Dafa practitioners. More than ten prison guards, including Mr. Wu Wei, Ms. Zeng Qiuyan, Zhang Wei, Mr. Liu Fengbin, Mr. Wang Jun, Mr. Zhou Hongjun, and others, blindfolded Ms. Zhang Chuanwen, Ms. Li Li, and Ms. Zhang Suying and shocked them with multiple electric batons. They were handcuffed for over 15 consecutive days and deprived of sleep during this time. In the end, the injuries caused by this torture left their faces swollen beyond recognition.
Ms. Zhang Chuanwen and Ms. Zhang Suying are now being held in the infamous Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, and suffering from atrocious tortures. Because of the information blockade, we were only able learn that Ms. Li Li may be incarcerated in Fushun City Second Detention Center or Fushun City Second Forced Labor Camp.
(Clearwisdom.net)
| Name | Position | Age |
| Xiong Hongyu | High school teacher | 28 |
| Li Xuangang | General manager of a private company | 36 |
| Yang Chengye | Senior engineer | 64 |
| Huang Yonghui | Employee at a certain company | 46 |
| He Yuanshen | Student in Beijing Aviation
University (He was sentenced for appealing to the higher authorities against the persecution of Falun Gong, when he was a junior at the university.) |
25 |
| Wang Yaoxun | 44 | |
| Xiao Zixiang | Manager of a company; also a middle school principal | 62 |
| Xiao Huisheng | Pharmacist | 31 |
| Ma Junwen | Employee in Railway Transportation Department | 31 |
| Lu Songming | 38 | |
| Deng Ye | Employee of Hunan Province Steel Co. | |
| Zeng Yinghua | From Chengde City | 34 |
| Jia Zhefa | From Chengde City | 38 |
| Zheng Shifu | From Chengde City | 53 |
| Xiang Xulin | From Chengde City | 55 |
| Xiang Yanzhi | From Chengde City (Xiang Xulin's son) | 26 |
| Li Zhiping | Deputy director general of Forest Bureau (with a Masters degree) | 36 |
| Hu Chuan | Engineer of Zhuzhou Auto Co. | 33 |
| Zeng Shuguo | Cadre of Culture Department in You County | 65 |
| Xu Xin | High school teacher | 28 |
| Zeng Haiqi | 31 | |
| Meng Kai | Attorney (He is now being subjected to brutal persecution because he collected persecution evidence in the prison.) |
25 |
| Xie Chongqing | Employee of Hengyang Steel Co. | 50 |
| Li Xuexian | Employee of The Fifth China Construction Department | 27 |
| Zhang Peng | Attorney, University Lecturer | |
| Lin Jiaru | Retired worker | 62 |
| Huang Zhihua | Assistant Chemical Engineer | 36 |
| Zhou Pingyang | Engineer of Whitecloud House Appliances Factory | 37 |
| Fan Sanfa | From Chenzhou City | 46 |
| Wang Suirong | From Chenzhou City | 25 |
Address:
Chishan Prison in Yuanjiang
P.O. Box 101 Yuanjiang, Hunan Province, 413104
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Practitioner Mr. Wu Rongyao, age 44, was once a worker at the Chongqing Railroad Branch Locomotive Dispatch. After beginning the practice of Falun Gong in 1997, Mr. Wu firmly committed himself to Dafa and continued practicing even after the persecution began on July 20, 1999. He journeyed to Beijing several times to appeal for Falun Gong and to clarify the truth. Because of this, Mr. Wu was illegally fired from his job and expelled from the Party. In July 2000, he was unduly sentenced to two years of forced labor. After serving the two-year sentence, Mr. Wu once again began clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa. He was then illegally arrested in September 2002, and his house was ransacked by the police. In October, Mr. Wu was sent again to Sichuan Mianyang Xinhua Forced Labor Camp for another 2-year term. En-route to the camp, Mr. Wu jumped out of the police car. Because his hands were handcuffed, Mr. Wu's face was injured, and his wound looked terrible. However, the police cared nothing about his well being, and they still forced him to work at the labor camp.
Earlier, Mr. Wu's sister (also a Falun Dafa practitioner) was illegally taken to Shapingba Mental Hospital. She continues to suffer through tremendous physical and psychological tortures. Mr. Wu's elderly parents have been alone without any care after both of their children became victims of the persecution.
2. Practitioner Mr. Zeng Weicheng, age 35, was illegally sentenced to a 2-year forced labor term in February 2001. Mr. Zeng nearly died from the torture he endured at the camp. Fearful of responsibility for Mr. Zeng's death, camp officials asked Mr. Zeng's relatives to take him home for medical treatment on a medical parole. However, when the police saw that Mr. Zeng was recovering, they immediately re-arrested him and took him back to the forced labor camp. Even after his release in March 2003, Mr. Zeng and his mother were forced into a brainwashing center. With righteous thoughts and actions, both of them escaped from the brainwashing center, and they have since had to leave home to avoid further persecution. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Mr. Zeng's wife, also a practitioner, is currently detained at the Sichuan Female Forced Labor Camp, where she is subjected to inhuman torture every day. Because both Mr. and Mrs. Zeng are no longer able to reside at home, their young child is now entirely without parental care.
3. 39-year-old practitioner Mr. Yao Rongxuan, a resident of Yongchuan City, was once a financial officer holding the rank of captain in a Chengdu military regiment. Because of his unyielding belief in Falun Dafa, Mr. Yao was viciously persecuted. First he was expelled from the Party and unceremoniously dismissed from the army. Mr. Yao had no choice but to leave home after he appealed for Dafa in Beijing. Later, Mr. Yao was illegally arrested for clarifying the facts of Falun Dafa and the persecution. The police brutally beat him and sent him to Sichuan Xinhua Forced Labor Camp, where he was held until September 2002, for a total of one year and nine months.
Early one morning in March 2003, several policemen suddenly broke into Mr. Yao's home, ransacked his personal property and took him away for a 30-day detention in the Yongchuan Jail. However, Mr. Yao protested with a hunger strike, and so the police released him after only 9 days of detention. Later in June 2003, the police abducted him again, and Mr. Yao is currently detained in Jiulongpo Jail Cell No. 29. His family has not heard from him since his arrest. They are very concerned about his safety as well as the safety of his wife and daughter.
4. Practitioner Mr. Lu Zhiyong, age 38, was once employed at Sichuan Heishui County's Forestry Station. In June 2001, Mr. Lu was illegally sentenced to a 16-month term of forced labor. He nevertheless continued practicing Falun Dafa in spite of the risk of being indefinitely detained. Because the police could not hold Mr. Lu longer than his sentence dictated, they released him on January 22, 2003. However, immediately after he walked out through the forced labor camp's front doors, a police car chased after him, and Mr. Lu was forced inside the vehicle. He is currently missing and his whereabouts are unknown.
(Clearwisdom.net) Upon hearing the shocking news of Meng Xiao being tortured to death, I could not stop crying. I could still remember her smile and voice vividly.
I knew Meng from January 2000 when I was in Beijing's Dongcheng Detention Center. Seven of us practitioners from New Zealand went to Beijing to validate Dafa in December 1999, and we were arrested in the hotel before we even got to Tiananmen Square. All seven of us were sent to the Dongcheng Detention Center on New Year's Eve of 2000. I was locked in the room of the first department for women. After a week, quite a few practitioners were transferred to Dongcheng, and Meng Xiao was among them.
Before she was came, there were three practitioners in the first department. The three of us did the fifth exercise everyday, but not the first four exercises until later because of our attachments. Especially for me, my heart could not stop pounding whenever doing the exercises under the surveillance camera. It was like I was going through a huge test. Meng Xiao was encouraging for me because of her firm belief in the Fa and her courage. It surprised me that with less than one year's practice, she had a very clear understanding of the Fa. She said, "We need to tell the police that practitioners must do the exercises, and there will be consequences for whatever they do. Besides, if someone were really punished because of us doing the exercises, wouldn't this person be rewarded with blessings in the future for his sacrifice for Dafa? We have to create the environment for doing the exercises."
One time after we did the exercises, the police handcuffed Meng to a metal door. She loudly recited Teacher's articles, "Determination" and "Digging Out The Roots." Many prisoners were in tears, moved by what she did. Meng Xiao memorized many of Teacher's articles. She told me that she memorized them whenever she had time, so that she would never forget them and would always be in the Fa.
Meng Xiao was taken to the Dongcheng Detention Center because she went to Tiananmen Square with two other practitioners and displayed a banner with the words, "Long Live Falun Dafa in the World." She was later transferred to the Beijing Police Department 7th Division (a division for the serious criminals), and then transferred back. She said that the banner she displayed spoke to her heart the most. After the persecution of Falun Gong began, she bravely withstood the pressure coming at her from family, work, and others around her, and was determined never to give up the practice. I will never forget her firm belief in the Fa and her courage in facing the evil. She said that after the 4-25 event, she was able to see that the sun was no longer the sun--it had become a spinning Falun.
Because of the persecution, that young life had been taken away. I could not stop crying in front of the computer. Meng Xiao, my fellow practitioner, you used to tell me that every time when you recited Teacher's poem "Predestined to Return to the Sacred Fruit Status",
"Looking for the teacher for many years,
One day the chance to meet appears;
Obtain the Fa and return through cultivation,
Achieve Consummation and follow the teacher home."
you always cried because this poem touched the deepest part of your soul. I believe that you will return to your true home.
Meng Xiao's death was reported at
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/27/44467.html
(Clearwisdom.net) I asked my neighbor's 4-year-old son, Bao Bao, "Do you want to go to school when you are older?" Bao Bao said, "I don't want to go; school is terrible." I asked, "How do you know it's terrible?" Bao Bao said, "Granny went to school, and she can't come home. Mom took me to school to see her. The school had locked granny in a room. There are steel rods and a lock on the door. Granny can't come out. She even has to urinate in there. There is no bed, so she has to sleep on the floor. The school tries to make granny curse at people, and she can't come home unless she complies. School is no good, it's a terrible place."
Everyone knows that Bao Bao's granny is a kind person. Because she practices Falun Gong and believes in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," the police took her away. They locked her in a place they officially call the "law-regulated school," but in reality it is a forced brainwashing center. There, they used all means to force her to give up her belief in Falun Gong. She was subjected to the worst mental torture. On the outside it's called a "school," but in reality it's a jail.
In China, the persecution of Falun Gong has imprinted an indelible image on Bao Bao's innocent mind. The first school that Bao Bao has experienced is a jail which is a place where bad things are perpetrated on good people. What he doesn't know is that his family, in order to rescue his granny, went to many places asking for help, and begging for money. When his granny does get released, his family will be in debt and still have to pay a few thousand more yuan [an average urban worker's month salary in China is 500 yuan] in illegal fines and fees.
John Cushnahan MEP
European Parliament
Brussels
3rd February 2004
Dear Minister Cowen,
I have recently received the enclosed letter from an Irish citizen, Donal Maddock, concerning the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in Paris at the hands of the French authorities. He alleges that 11 individuals from the USA, UK, Denmark and France were arrested simply for wearing clothing with "Falun Gong" or "Falun Dafa" written on it in the round-up to the visit of the President Hu Jintao in January this year.
Could the Presidency call on the French authorities to clarify the arrest policy used during this official visit. Could the Presidency also urge the French authorities to respect the fundamental rights of all European citizens to the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of assembly and freedom from arbitrary arrest.
I would be grateful for any comments you may have on this issue.
Best wishes,
John Cushnahan MEP
Dear John Cushnahan MEP,
I am writing to ask for your support regarding an outrageous incident that occurred in Paris last week during the celebrations for the Chinese New Year.
This year is the year of China in France and a huge celebration, co-organised by the cities of Beijing and Paris, and an accompanying visit from President Hu Jintao all took place last week. However, many practitioners of Falun Gong, both Chinese and westerners, have had their basic freedoms trampled on by the French authorities.
I believe that this incident is a brazen extension of the campaign of genocide instigated by the military leader and former chairman Jiang Zemin against Falun Gong practitioners into the heart of Europe. To date there are over 860 verified cases of practitioners having been killed from maltreatment in China's labour camps. A number of court cases have been filed worldwide against Jiang Zemin for crimes against humanity and torture and genocide.
As you may be aware, Falun Gong is a peaceful practice that promotes better health and adherence to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. It was very beneficial to Chinese society since its introduction to the public in 1992 with over 70 million practitioners in Mainland China alone, according to a government survey in 1998. However, fearing anything which touched the hearts and minds of so many Chinese people other than the Communist Party, Jiang Zemin issued an order to completely eradicate Falun Gong in 1999 beginning a 4-year- long, brutal campaign of torture, propaganda, brainwashing and murder which has drained China's economy and forced hundreds of millions of people to participate in this senseless campaign against their own consciences.
I am writing to invite you, as a public representative in Europe, to speak out against this injustice and call on the French authorities to make a full public apology regarding these events. As we both know France is a country that treasures human rights and it is extremely disturbing to see them bend to pressure from Beijing in such a manner. I am very concerned for the stain this incident will leave on the nation of France when this persecution in China comes to an end and history becomes the judge.
For your reference I include contact information for some of the French authorities; should you wish to voice your concerns directly please contact me again for more detailed information on this incident. I believe a letter from an MEP would provide a strong voice of support in this case and send out a clear message that Europe will not disregard its basic human freedoms to appease dignitaries from a totalitarian state.
With warmest personal regards,
Donal Maddock
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/17691.html
(Clearwisdom.net)On February 6, 2004, after Falun Gong practitioners were unreasonably arrested by French police in Paris during the Chinese New Year, Swedish practitioners held a peaceful appeal at the French Embassy in Stockholm. One of the Paris victims attended this activity and handed in an open letter to the French Embassy.
The Ambassador was away, so the First Attaché met with the practitioner who was mistreated in Paris and another Swedish practitioner and asked about the situation in detail for a long time. Finally, she expressed deep regret and said, "I cannot say why the French Government did this. Here, I express my deep regret to you. I will send your letter to the French President immediately, and I think all Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested in Paris should go to France and ask the French Government for a reason."
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Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/17758.html
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 3, 2004, the Ontario Superior Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Toronto Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Joel Chipkar, and convicted Deputy Consul General of China Mr. Pan Xinchun of libel.
This is the first time that a Falun Gong practitioner has brought and prevailed in a lawsuit against a Chinese diplomat for persecuting Falun Gong outside of China. It is the first time a Chinese diplomat has been sued for slander and spreading hatred against Falun Gong. A Western court, finding such conduct illegal, has ruled against such an individual.
Some legal experts said the Canadian court carefully noted the facts and was very clear about the nature of this lawsuit. Defendant Mr. Pan Xinchun publicly declared that Falun Gong practitioners were "[slanderous term] members" an opinion which is outside his duty as a consular official. At the same time he violated Canadian law(s) and his action constituted libel. This verdict sends a solemn warning to all Chinese consular officials abroad. It also provides clear legal base and sets a precedent for Canadian government officials to resist Chinese officials' attempts to interfere with affairs within the Canadian government's jurisdiction.
This seemingly ordinary civil lawsuit attracted fairly wide attention in the international community. Many media in Canada, U.S.A., Hong Kong and Taiwan reported about the lawsuit.
Shaking the foundation of Jiang group's lies that are used to persecute Falun Gong
There is a deeper significance to this case. Since the charge of libel against Deputy General Consul Pan Xinchun was confirmed by the court, and since all of Pan Xinchun's lies were merely repetitions of Jiang's lies spread in Mainland China, doesn't the verdict imply that Jiang's group is also guilty of slandering Falun Gong?
Before the persecution began in July 1999, Jiang blatantly violated the constitution of China, overturning government decision(s) and forcing the persecution of Falun Gong by presidential decree. In October 1999, he used his power to force the National People's Congress to pass a special law as the "legal basis" for this persecution. At the same time he ordered the national media to bombard the public with Falun Gong-slandering propaganda to incite and foster hatred against Falun Gong and poison the people's minds.
In the past few years, Jiang's group has concocted a mountain of lies. One of the biggest and the worst lie was the "Tiananmen Self-immolation" case, which Jiang is used to deceive people into hating Falun Gong and to assist with the escalation of the persecution. Many flaws in this so-called "Self-immolation" were discovered through analysis of a slow-motion version of the self-immolation video made by CCTV [the major state-run TV station in China]. Liu Chunling, one of the self-immolators, was instantly killed by someone who hit her head from behind. None of the self-immolators were ever known to be Falun Gong practitioners.
Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong was based on lies, slander and frame-ups, and all of the excuses he made to justify the persecution are based on lies.
From a certain perspective, the guilty verdict in Pan Xinchun's libel case will have a positive effect to help many people realize Jiang group's lies, slanders and hatred-promoting propaganda, at least in those countries that have free access to information. It will also have an impact on the lies upon which Jiang bases the persecution.
Solemn warning for Chinese diplomats who follow Jiang's methods
In foreign countries, Jiang has always misrepresented the Chinese government's name and forced Chinese diplomats, including Pan Xinchun, to distribute information filled with lies and slander, to encourage people who don't know the truth to hate Falun Gong. They were also ordered to interfere with Falun Gong activities. Such criminal activities fall outside the scope of a diplomat's duty, as stated in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and Optional Protocols, yet they are regarded as Chinese diplomats' "top priorities." The outcome of this lawsuit has sent a warning signal to Jiang's group and his followers in Chinese consulates on foreign soil. It tells them they will be held responsible for their illegal conduct.
Regarding the dispute over diplomatic immunity, analysts point out that the verdict has actually clearly resolved this question. Pan Xinchun violated Canadian law(s) and was acting outside of consular functions, so he is not protected by consular immunity. However, the Chinese consular officials' argument on immunity shows they don't understand the laws and neither do they respect the Vienna Convention, yet they follow Jiang's policies and commit crimes in foreign countries that shame China.
Future Domino Effect
The Pan Xinchun case is not the first lawsuit Falun Gong practitioners have won. Over a year ago, the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York issued a default judgment against Zhao Zhifei, Deputy Chief of Public Security for Hubei Province in China and that province's concurrent head of the "610 Office" for violating a U.S. federal law, the Torture Victim Protection Act. Zhao was charged with killing, torture, illegal imprisonment and crimes against humanity. Half a year later, the Federal District Court for the Northern District for San Francisco found former Beijing mayor, Beijing Party secretary Liu Qi and deputy governor for Liaoning Province, Xia Deren, guilty of overseeing the torture of Falun Gong practitioners. People's attention, however, and their reaction springing from Pan Xinchun's libel conviction is unprecedented.
Observers point out that the verdict in Pan Xinchun's libel case will likely start a domino effect, and they believe this will not be the last lawsuit Falun Gong practitioners will win.
Falun Gong practitioners have filed more than 20 lawsuits so far, charging Party officials with libel or torture. Aside from Jiang Zemin, Li Lanqing, Zeng Qinghong, Luo Gan and Wu Guanzheng, Party heads who are members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, Zhou Yongkang, Minister of Public Security; Sun Jiazheng, the Minister of Culture; the National Security Ministry, the Ministry of Public Security and CCTV face lawsuits from Falun Gong practitioners as well. The bulk of the lawsuits are against Jiang. Practitioners in six countries and regions have filed lawsuits charging him with genocide.
Of course, the verdict in the Pan Xinchun slander case is not good news for the defendant nor for the chief criminal guilty of the Falun Gong persecution.
A Falun Gong practitioner from the U.S. commented, "History is just! Anyone who persecuted Falun Gong will be held responsible for their actions. Carrying out orders is also assisting the perpetrator and those who do so will also be held responsible for their crimes."
President Jacques Chirac
The Republic of France
55, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
FRANCE
Gothenburg, 2 February 2004
Dear Mr. President,
Thirty Falun Gong practitioners were detained (some were even handcuffed) in Paris during January 24-27 2004. Some were handing out leaflets to inform about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Some just quietly watched the Chinese parade, and because they wore yellow scarves or clothes with the words "Falun Gong" or "Falun Dafa" they were treated as criminals by French police. Some of them didn't even wear clothes, scarves, or badges of this kind. These actions by the French police against peaceful European citizens are not only unfair, but also against human rights and democracy.
A friend of mine, Marco Hsu from Denmark, was kept under surveillance for four hours on January 24. Here is a part of his report: "...Just around 2 p.m., three or four plainclothes policemen approached me and demanded that I take off my yellow scarf bearing the words 'Falun Dafa.'...When I asked the reason why I should take it off they would not give any answer except that 'Falun Gong is forbidden today.' They also didn't want to tell their names or any other information that could reveal their identity. The policeman that seemed to be in charge was very short tempered and basically ignored my questions and would only talk to his men, treating me as if I wasn't even there. After a short while and another warning to take off my scarf I was told that 'now it is too late,' and I was consequently taken away by four or five uniformed policemen who had been sent for."
This kind of thing, and even worse, happens in China daily ever since the persecution started in July 1999. But now it has happened in France, a democratic country, and that is very, very serious. The rude behavior of the policemen, which other detained Falun Gong practitioners were also subjected to, indicates that the French police have been fooled by the Chinese propaganda about Falun Gong. That propaganda claims us to be troublemakers or even violent. But the fact is that during these years of suppression, Falun Gong practitioners both inside and outside China have always been using non-violent ways to expose the persecution. Our appeals are known by police and authorities all over the world to be very peaceful. Our behavior is always in accordance with what we practice, and that is Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Falun Gong is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Due to its enormous popularity in China, Jiang Zemin, the former head of state, outlawed Falun Gong in July 1999 out of jealousy and paranoia. 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. Lawsuits have been filed against Jiang and other Chinese top leaders in countries such as France, Belgium, USA, Australia etc.. They are charged with Crimes Against Humanity, Torture and Genocide. I think all people in the world, including the French government, should take a clear stand in this matter. Does the French government want to support criminal dictators or people who live according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?
Looking back in history, when other groups were suppressed or even eradicated, people asked: "Why didn't anyone do anything?" Today we all know what is going on in China. We, Falun Gong practitioners outside of China, are really trying to do something to stop the persecution, to stop the torture and killing. We should be respected and supported for our work, and we should definitely not be treated as criminals. I sincerely hope that the French government can do it's best to investigate this matter and prevent this from happening again.
With regards,
[A Swedish Falun Gong practitioner]
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/17688.html
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(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Zhao Ming. I am a Chinese national, but now I am stateless and holding refugee status in Ireland. I am still studying. As a Falun Gong practitioner, I was persecuted in a Chinese labor camp for nearly two years. Due to the diligent efforts of many kind-hearted people, human rights organizations and the Irish government, I was released in March 2002. I am lucky to have been rescued and freed. Today I am speaking here not on behalf of myself but on behalf of millions of Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in China. I would like to share with you some of my very personal experiences about my suffering in China's labor camps.
Once in the Haidian District Detention Centre of Beijing, the police guard told the inmates in the cell to force-feed me in a very brutal way when I was on hunger strike. One of the inmates held my nose tightly so that I had to open my mouth to breathe. At the same time, another inmate poured liquid food into my mouth continuously. I tried my best to turn my head to breathe in some air, but my head was held very tightly by them and it was not possible for me to turn my head at all. When I opened my mouth to breathe, they put a tooth brush in to keep my mouth open and poured in liquid very quickly. I hardly had any chance to breathe, liquid got into both my bronchi and esophagus. I coughed very violently afterwards and felt very painful in my lungs for many days after. It was actually a very dangerous procedure. Quite a few practitioners recorded on our websites were tortured to death in this way.
Several practitioners in the labor camps were tortured into losing their sanity. During the Chinese New Year 2002, a section chief of Beijing Labor Camp Bureau whose surname was Luo came to Tuanhe Labor Camp to see me. He said nothing really meaningful except one sentence, "I hope that you will not become like Wu Jun." Wu Jun was a Falun Gong practitioner who was tortured into losing his sanity. Some practitioners told me that he once saw Wu Jun lick saliva off the ground. Another practitioner told me that some gangsters sexually abused him. Now this section chief Luo was directly referring to Wu Jun to threaten me. I knew that they would torture me sooner or later.
About two weeks before the end of the one year and ten months extended labor camp period, they finally started. Firstly they did not allow me to sleep for forty-eight hours. Very exceptionally, on the evening of the second day of depriving me of sleep, one policeman told me to watch TV. While I was watching, he rushed into the room suddenly, pulled me and pushed me all the way along the corridor to a police office. When I got into the room, I saw a bed board on the ground and some straps torn from bed sheets. Five policemen were standing in the room including three section chiefs of Tuanhe Labor Camp. I knew they would torture me using electric batons. They pressured me to renounce Falun Gong. I refused. Then they put me on the bed board and started to bind all parts of my body on the board to prevent my body from going into spasm during the shocking. They bound my ankles, my thighs, my upper body, my arms and across my mouth. Afterwards, they asked me to renounce Falun Gong again. I refused again. Then one police guard took out a bundle of electric batons, which were about half a metre long, and distributed them to the others. They started to shock me all over my body simultaneously. My body was trembling very violently and was completely out of control. I heard the sound of very intensive electric sparks. One police guard took one baton in each hand and started to shock my chest. He moved the two batons in circles in parallel to my body to shock me with the metal winding around the baton. That shocking made me breathe rapidly. My throat was dry with a burning sensation. They continued shocking while pressuring me to renounce my faith from time to time. I said nothing but was breathing deeply and rapidly. I tried my best to endure, but suddenly one of my legs went into spasm. The pain was huge. I just could not think rationally any more. At that moment I agreed to sign the things they requested.
During the days after that I could not sleep well. I often woke up suddenly at night. When I was awake, I nearly went crazy. A big opposition was in my mind. I could not agree with what I had done at all. But it was not the end. Days later, the police got a CCTV journalist into the labor camp to interview me. That woman journalist had made a lot of programs slandering Falun Gong. Actually she had interviewed me once before. In a previous interview she pretended to be very supportive to Falun Gong and asked me all my experiences and benefits in this practice. But her real aim was to get some footage to show that I was living very well in the labor camp so as to deny the torture and cheat the public. But this time, she was not friendly at all. Her face looked dark and evil in the shadow of the window light. She asked me while holding in hand the paper that I signed, "What do you think of Falun Gong now?" I knew very clearly that if I said anything complying with her, it would be broadcast to deceive more than a billion people all over the country. I definitely would not do that. I gathered all my courage and rationality and answered all her questions by saying repeatedly "I have nothing to say." Maybe because of the strong international pressure, they did not torture me any more.
Days later, I was released. I stepped out of the labor camp without any happiness, hope or relief, because my spirit had been murdered. I was not free at all. I was closely followed by secret agents every day after being released.
Some commonly known genocide in history was aiming at eliminating a racial group. But this on-going genocide against Falun Gong practitioners in China is totally aiming at eradicating a spiritual system. The police guards were committing all the torture to force us Falun Gong practitioners to renounce our belief in Falun Gong. Over the twenty-two months of detention, I was transferred back and forth between two cities, three detention centers, two labor camps, three police stations and one drug rehabilitation centre. On different occasions I tried to appeal to higher officials to complain about the abuses committed by some police guards or inmates, but I found more and more clearly that the torture, brainwashing and different kinds of illegal treatment were actually planned, instigated and admitted by high levels. The persecution against Falun Gong is being implemented by the whole police system all over the country. What is happening in this persecution of Falun Gong in China has met with the definition in the current International Convention against Genocide. Now the number of verified death cases in this persecution has reached more than eight hundred. The death toll has not reached millions at the moment, but all the characteristics of commonly known genocides have been manifested in this persecution of Falun Gong:
If there had not been strong resistance and exposure by the Falun Gong practitioners and strong concerns from the international community, a holocaust would have happened much earlier in this persecution. I learned that in the official meeting of this forum many people are discussing the definition of genocide. I do not think this is the topic to discuss. Now there is already an on-going genocide that we can identify. What should be discussed is what we should do about ending it. Now is the time to act!
I believe this conference "Genocide in the New Era" is a very historical one because it is the first time that the lawyers from different countries who are filing lawsuits to sue the Chinese perpetrators have come together to discuss about this issue. I have acted as a plaintiff in a series of these cases. I want to take this chance to thank my lawyers. You are not only helping me or other plaintiffs but also upholding justice for the tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China. I understand that there are a lot of technical difficulties attached to these lawsuits. But I believe that law should be a tool to assist in seeking justice instead of preventing people from seeking justice. I believe there will come a day when the Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin, who has instigated the persecution of Falun Gong, will be brought to justice in a court in China. On that day, people will all find that what you are doing today is very meaningful, very meaningful.
Thank you.
Zhao Ming
January 28, 2004
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/17687.html
Background: Every Sunday, a group of Falun Gong practitioners gathers in New York City's Chinatown to show Chinese language films free of charge to the local community. The Movie Project began about three years ago as a vehicle for showing documentaries that clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. Later, the project began to show Chinese language films when practitioners realized that the community movie theatres in Chinatown no longer showed these films. Now, Dafa documentaries are shown during the intermission. Practitioners were able to both clarify the truth while building better relations with the community by offering these free movies. During the summer months, the movies are shown outside in a park where hundreds of people from the community come to watch. This winter, the Movie Project is being shown in a school auditorium. Practitioners have also set up a table with truth clarification materials for the audience in the lobby of the school, and they have introduced a raffle at the end of the program, which the audience seems to enjoy. Here is a touching story from a recent movie presentation.
A man came up to me right before the show began, almost in tears, yet accompanied by solemnity, rationality, compassion, justice, and righteousness. He said: "It's enough. The persecution should end. Should end now! Too many killings, too many tortures! Kind people, kind people are being murdered. This evil shall perish. My heart is hurting and breaking. How can a government be so evil to murder its own people! Jiang Zemin, out of his warped hatred and jealousy, manipulated the whole media machine to crush these kind-hearted innocent people. I'm not a practitioner, but as a citizen, I have a conscience, I have a heart, I don't say I'm a good person, but I know I have heart. I have to listen to my heart, and my heart is crying. Anyone with blood should call to end this inhumane persecution of the greatest Falun Gong practitioners. They're the model citizens, they're the best people you can ever find in this world. Out of my observations of you Falun Gong practitioners, you impress me with your good heart and good manner. You all are selfless and unconditionally give to the community..."
He went on talking about the evilness of the Jiang regime, and how unreliable it is. He also had insights about not engaging in politics to end this persecution. He supported wholeheartedly what we are doing now, using non-violent means to call for support to end this injustice and evil.
I tried my best to control my tears, as I saw in front of me a man of justice and righteousness, a sentient being who chose the brightest future for himself, for his boundless paradise and the incalculable sentient beings living in it.
Towards the end, I handed him a box of chocolate to show my respect and appreciation to him. He declined taking it. "I couldn't take it, I don't deserve it. You don't know how much joy I have to come to your shows every Sunday here. I've taken too much from you, and never have I given back anything. How can I still keep taking from you. I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart. Please save this box of chocolate for next week's raffle. I know it's not easy for you to make money. It's my deepest regret that I'm incapable of assisting you to alleviate your pain, your fellow practitioners' pains in China." He was shedding tears and his voice was shaking.
I couldn't control my tears anymore.
(Clearwisdom.net) All three members of my family practice Falun Gong. Toward the end of 2000, we were forced to leave and live in exile from our home, with an infant less than two-years old. The persecution from Jiang's regime did that to us. Because my son was so young, I had to take him with me to do all my truth-clarification work. Here I would like to share my thoughts about how to look at the challenges children present in Dafa disciples' families.
I have been taking care of my five-year-old son since 2000. During this period of time, other practitioners asked me periodically to leave my child at home with his grandparents or relatives. First of all, our family conditions did not permit this. Secondly, I feel that I have a responsibility to my child. Even though there were all sorts of inconveniences, my son came into the world for the Fa.
Master said, "A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains." ("Melt into the Fa" from Essentials for Further Advancement). Children are pure. They do not have concepts that adults form during their lifetimes. If children are frequently exposed to the Fa, they will do things by Fa standards. Earlier I only knew that I should let my child study the Fa, but not systematically. So I read Dafa books to him when he was over two years old and taught him to memorize some short poems from "Hong Yin." I also read Zhuan Falun (Turning the Law Wheel) to him wherever I picked up the reading from my previous study. This year, I realized that I should let him study the Fa in a systematic way. Now I have two bookmarks in my book - one indicates where I stopped my study and the other is for him.
When I study the Fa with my child, we are one whole body. Sometimes, when he was too intent on playing, or for other reasons such as it was time for him to sleep, I asked him to go to bed quickly. Then he would tell me that I did not yet read the Fa to him! If I sometimes did not read to him, he was sad and even cried. Later I realized that it was not right to do this.
Master urged us again and again to read and study the Fa more often. My son is young, but he is a small Dafa disciple first and a child second. His enlightened part is eager to obtain the Fa. After a while he memorized much, and also realized that he is a Dafa disciple. Later on I made the following arrangement for him - I read to him from Dafa books every day before his nap around noon-time; then later in the evening we read Zhuan Falun together. The remaining time I read a few articles or poems from "Hong Yin." By 8:55 p.m. we prepare to send righteous thoughts.
In the past I always asked him to go to sleep after sending forth righteous thoughts, but he often could not fall asleep for a long time. So I began taking him to practice the exercises after sending righteous thoughts, and now he goes to bed close to 10:00 p.m. every night. However, he is able to get up earlier than before.
In addition, I also taught him to respect our Master and the Fa. He will make the Heshi gesture [palms pressed together in front of the chest in respect] whenever he sees Master's picture. I told him that all Dafa books were written by Master. They are all the Fa; so one should not put them somewhere carelessly or put other things on top of them.
Recently, articles by little Dafa disciples have been published on "Minghui weekly news" and I always read them to him. I think that the effect is really good. Later he asked me to also read articles written by adults. After one of those occasions, the next day he even helped me hand out truth-clarifying information while I was doing it.
I am very pleased when I see his changes. I would like to tell those practitioners who have children at home not to miss this cherished opportunity for their children, which they have never had in billions of years. Of course, one cannot generalize, since everyone has a different situation. Here I only hope that those who have the opportunity but may not necessarily grasp it should be responsible. Do not leave any regrets for yourself and your child in the last remaining time while the opportunity still exists.
(Clearwisdom.net) I would just like to share an incident that happened to me on January 8th of this year. Some western practitioners in Toronto were going to be singing the song "Coming For You" (Wei Ni Er Lai) at a New Year Gala at the Toronto Convention Centre on January 10th. We had been practising for about a month and sounded quite good, I thought, except for me. Although I had sung in a choir as a child and performed onstage as a young adult, I had not sung for many years. My voice had gone from soprano to an untrained alto. I could not carry a tune. But this was for Dafa, for the precious Chinese people. So I volunteered.
My experience occurred on January 8th while I was shopping for part of the costume I would wear in the concert. All the ladies were going to wear colourful shawls or scarves. Since I didn't have one I had to go shopping. It was in the small shop that it happened. The storeowner was a Chinese lady from the Mainland. While she was helping me I told her about the concert and she was quite intrigued. So right there in the middle of the store in the middle of the afternoon without really worrying what I would sound like, I sang the song "Coming for You" for her.
She looked more than a little surprised and at the same time rather pleased. I knew I had done a pretty good job at my pronunciation because she asked me if I had just memorised the words or did I know what I was actually singing. I told her what the song was about and that I felt the Chinese people are very precious. I told her that I am a Falun Gong practitioner and only want the best for her, her homeland and really everyone in the world. She stood there motionless, and I think, speechless. By this time I had picked out my shawl and paid for it. In Chinese I thanked her and wished her a Happy New Year and left.
I am a person who really avoids being at the centre of attention. I have never written an experience sharing before nor have I ever made a speech at a Fahui. And yet there in that store it seemed so right. It felt like the most natural thing to do. I know Master was watching and helped me sing well.
(Clearwisdom.net)
On January 1, 2001, my elderly father and I went to Beijing to validate Dafa. We were arrested and detained in Beijing's Haidian Detention Center. Then, on January 8, we were taken back to the Huailai County Detention Center by the town head and a number of police officers that had traveled all the way from the town of Beixinbao in Huailai County, Hebei province, to bring us back. Eight months later, on August 27, 2001, my father and I were sentenced to two years of imprisonment to be served in the Jidong Prison and Shijiazhuang Prison, respectively.
Upon arriving at the Jidong prison I was interrogated by several people in quick succession. I was interrogated by Di Shijin, (branch prison deputy officer), Wang Guosheng (the executive education officer), Ma Lanchun (the executive prison administrator), and later by Huang Hao (the middle-team leader). They tried to find opportunities to wear me down through constant interrogation. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to promote Dafa to them. A week passed with them having no success with me, and I could see that their evil nature began to emerge. Di Shijin was so angry with me that he took off his shoe and used it to slap me in the face. As for Huang Hao, he left the beatings up to the inmates. Their next approach was to brainwash me during the day by forcing me to watch propaganda videos or read materials defaming Dafa. During that entire time, I put myself into a state of "see as if see not" [From an unofficial translation of the poem "In the Dao" in Hong Yin]. Noticing that I was not concentrating on their brainwashing material, an inmate assigned to monitor me slapped me in the face, and quickly reported back to the supervisor. The supervisor called in more people and they read out loud materials defamatory materials to me. To prevent me from practicing the Falun Gong exercises, Huang Hao handcuffed both of my hands to a chair. If I needed to go to the toilet, the guards would only free one of my hands, and I had to drag the chair along with me. They would not let me sleep at night. When I dozed off a few times, Li Jingang and Shao Mingli, the two inmates assigned to watch me, quickly poured hot water over my head. Later, after seeing that they could not break my will that way, they poured scalding water over me directly from a thermos.
Thus, for eleven days, I was handcuffed to a chair with no sleep. My buttocks went numb and lost all feeling. Huang Hao then instructed an inmate to tie my arms and hang me up for an entire day, with my feet barely supporting my weight and causing my feet to swell up. Later that night, without giving me any time to recover from the previous torture, the guards handcuffed each of my hands to the handle of a different door. Then a few prisoners were asked to push the doors open. I felt my arms tearing away from me, and I went into convulsions because all my muscles were cramping up from the pain. The hospital report stated my heartbeat was high, and my blood pressure was measured to be 60-90 mm hg. After the incident, the team leader temporarily stopped the torture and allowed me to have two hours of sleep every night. However, as soon as I went to asleep, another form of torture began. One inmate sat beside me, lit up a cigarette and blew smoke into my nose through a rolled up paper funnel. He kept blowing until I woke up, choking from the smoke. [Note: Falun Gong practitioners do not drink or smoke] Sometimes, as soon as I would fall asleep, they would pour cold water on my face or strike me in the head with their knuckles. Aggravated by the fact that I still remained steadfast to my belief, Huang Hao locked me up in a solitary cell. Huang asked an inmate to immobilize my arms behind my back and then started punching me like a punching bag. I was severely hurt and blood spurted out from my mouth. The next day, they continued striking my face. That night, using a cigarette lighter, they burned my ear lobes, then stripped me naked and poured cold water all over me.
A few days later, Huang Hao summoned me to his office. Without a word, he grabbed my hair, and slammed my head against a wall and then onto his desk. He then asked a few guards to drag me up and drop me on the floor. Many times, he also shocked my head with a high-voltage electric baton and spit in my face. Still, I was not moved.
For a period of two months, I did not say a single word. Not knowing if something was wrong with me because I was not speaking, the deputy officer sent me to the hospital. The result of the hospital checkup was unknown to me, but later they sent me to Sanyou Hospital for another checkup.
By the end of March the branch team education officer, Wang Guosheng, and the middle team chief officer decided to send me and some other Dafa practitioners to the Shijiazhuang Prison, where my father was being held. They were trying to find more excuses to persecute me all the time. When they finally heard me speak, Huang Hao lined up about six people (former practitioners who submitted under pressure and now assist the evil to persecute determined practitioners) to try to talk me out of practicing Falun Dafa. I told them, "With all these lies, you know that you've committed a huge crime against Dafa." Upon hearing my remark, they kept quiet.
After sending me back to Jidong prison, Huang Hao again used the above mentioned people to talk to me several times, trying to get me to give up my belief. I briefly explained some contents of Teacher's articles, including "Path," "A Suggestion" and "Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference" to them. With no success, they went back and reported to Huang that "Chen Aili would not give up his belief."
Later on, Huang instructed someone to read newspaper articles that slandered Teacher and Dafa. I told them, "Don't read any further. I won't believe those lies." They replied, "It's our job." I told them, "If you continue reading aloud, then I will too." I then cried aloud, "Falun Dafa is a righteous Way!" Thus for the rest of the day they tried overwhelm me with their reading. Later, they kept quiet and started recording the number of times I shouted that statement. Out of fear that other prisoners might hear me, they locked me up in a cellar. A prison officer came to visit me one day, "Aren't you tired, shouting like that every day?" I answered, "I'll carry on even if I am tired." Later, everyone in the prison seemed to know what had happened. They changed their attitude towards me and some of them even greeted me. I had been shouting for a whole month.
I recall that in early June of 2002, there was a prisoner who said to me, "You kept saying Falun Dafa is good, but why don't you practice the exercises?" That question awakened me. Ever since then, I began practicing the exercises, as well. The next day, however, one of the prisoners saw me practicing the exercises and reported it to the guard, who then tried to stop me by tying up my hands and feet. That night I went back again to repeating, "Falun Dafa is a righteous Way!" When midnight came, I stopped, out of the realization that my voice would disturb others' sleep. Yet, I still shouted out four times again during my sleep (I had found this out afterwards from a log). The next day, instead of the usual six, the prison sent 15 people to monitor my every move. I protested their unreasonable actions with a hunger strike.
Five days after I had gone on hunger strike, Sanyou Hospital sent some people over to force-feed me. They purposely left the feeder in my mouth for one whole week, after which I noticed that even the color of the feeder had changed from yellow to black. I lost my voice as well. Forty-five days after starting my hunger strike protest, Huang decided to keep me occupied by asking me to stitch up soccer balls, which I refused. I told him, "I've done nothing wrong and I'm not required to do any labor."
Finally on January 8, 2003, I was released. My father was also released at the same time. Before I returned home, I was first taken to the "610 Office," where one officer named Yang asked me, "Do you still want to practice?" I replied firmly, "Of course, it's such a wonderful thing!"
(Clearwisdom.net) For a long period of time I was in a very poor cultivation state. Although I was unhappy with my cultivation state, all sorts of human notions hampered me from pulling myself out of it. I felt my mind was not very clear and was often filled with many doubts about Dafa.
Teacher said,
"At present, the old forces have already been completely weeded out. From the ones in the highest forms all the way down to the so-called Gods and warped beings who have, as arranged by the old forces, taken part in the Fa-rectification and affected the Fa-rectification at different levels, all of them have been weeded out entirely. They're gone. And those dark minions who actually carry out specific tasks are being completely weeded out, too." (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference)
When I came across this passage of the Fa, I thought, "Since Teacher has already weeded out the old forces, why do the cohorts of the old forces in the human realm appear to be as rampant as ever? Why do the depraved police in China continue to persecute Dafa practitioners? Who is manipulating these depraved police?"
During my dark period, I also avoided reading the Minghui Weekly Digest [a Chinese-language website] that contained many facts of the persecution occurring throughout China. It was not just because I couldn't bear to know that my fellow practitioners continued to suffer the most insufferable and appalling tortures that I didn't want to read Minghui Weekly Digest. It was because I was afraid that the same thing might happen to me. Whether it was everyday people's work or Falun Dafa truth-clarification work, I was constantly vigilant and kept reminding myself, "Be careful! Be watchful! Otherwise, I might be abducted by the police and suffer from the same persecution!"
After I sent forth righteous thoughts today, I was suddenly inspired with a new understanding about the source of the evil that has been manipulating the depraved people in the human realm to persecute Dafa practitioners. Teacher has told us in Zhuan Falun that matter and mind are one thing. It follows that, every time I fear the persecution, I generate some matter in the human realm, or perhaps in other dimensions as well. This matter will then side with the persecutors, which reinforce their evil energy field and weakens my positive energy field.
Teacher said,
"As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don't have those thoughts they can't do anything." (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.)
Teacher also said,
"...real Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos." (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference)
Every time I imagined how frightening the depraved persecutors were, wasn't I reinforcing their dark energy? I failed to be responsible for the righteous elements, and I assisted the evil elements. The minute I was enlightened to a new understanding on this issue, it became clear to me what I must do. In addition to differentiating the righteous from the evil, we must keep the righteous thought in our minds that no evil should exist. We shouldn't follow our attachment of fear and keep imagining how horrible those depraved people are and how capable they are of persecuting Dafa practitioners, because that would increase their dark energy . Instead, we should eliminate their dark energy with our powerful righteous thoughts.
It is my understanding that one must eliminate one's attachment of fear to meet the standard of consummation at different levels. Teacher said,
"This time he became scared and reminded himself in his mind: "I shouldn't get excited. Otherwise, I'll fail again." With this fear, he failed again. Fear is also a kind of attachment." (Zhuan Falun.)
I think that, during the Fa-rectification period, I must eliminate my attachment of fear, not just to attain a higher level of cultivation, but to be responsible to the Fa and to the sentient beings as well. For a cultivator, eliminating the attachment of fear is also a process of assimilating to the Fa.
I think it is of supreme importance to rectify each and every one of my thoughts while doing truth-clarification work. After all, to rectify oneself is to deny the old force's arrangements and to cut off the evil's supply of dark energy.
January 28, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) During four years of Fa-rectification, because of the evil persecution by Jiang's regime, the environment of group Fa study and exercise for mainland practitioners has been destroyed. At present, while I share my experience of Fa study and cultivation with fellow practitioners, I notice that a small proportion of practitioners are not clear on some Fa principles. They are more and more reluctant to do the three things that Master tells Dafa disciples to do well, namely, clarify the truth, send forth righteous thoughts, and study the Fa. They also do not practice the exercises that often. After sharing, I realized that the results are due to long-term sloppiness in Fa study. This will be very dangerous for a practitioner if it continues.
I have very strong feelings on this. When I was in the labor camp, I recited Master's scriptures in the evening and sent forth righteous thoughts, recited the Fa, and clarified the truth during the day. My righteous thoughts were enhanced this way, my human attachments did not influence me very much, and the karma in my mind diminished gradually. On the contrary, a few fellow practitioners in the comfortable outside environment, influenced by laziness, in addition to all kinds of chores and duties in everyday life, did not pay enough attention to Fa study. Their human attachments therefore grew day by day. Master emphasizes each time during his teachings to study the Fa more and more. I hope that while clarifying the truth, fellow practitioners can give more attention to those practitioners who do not cultivate diligently. Group study and practice is best. The place should be flexible. It does not matter if we do not have a lot of people in the group. Our purpose is to help fellow practitioners improve and enlighten as one body. I hope every fellow practitioner can help others improve as one body, and truly form a Dafa particle group that can't be destroyed.
February 3, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) Last year, Clearwisdom.net published an article entitled "Why a Policeman Said, 'Falun Gong Practitioners Are All Wise People.' " The article discussed about how a policeman had witnessed an elderly woman's hunched back of over 20 years becoming straight after she practiced Falun Gong for three months. I tried very hard to find this woman. The following is the story she told me:
I read the article published about me on Clearwisdom.net. What the policeman said was largely true but not accurate. After practicing Falun Gong, my illness was healed in three days, not three months. Really, in only three days, my twenty-year hunched back became straight! Falun Dafa is so wonderful. I am a vivid example.
My name is Wu Weiyu. I live in Yishan Village, Liuzhou City. Since I was 50 years old, I have not been able to hold my back upright. For the last 20 years, I felt pain in my back every single day. My body was nearly at a right angle. I sought treatment everywhere. I took a lot of medicine and spent a lot of money. My son was very nice to me. Whenever he learned that there was a good Chinese doctor somewhere, he took me there for treatment. He also said that he was willing to spend tens of thousands of Yuan as long as it would cure my illness. At that time, tens of thousands of Yuan was not a small number [500 Yuan is equal to the average monthly salary of an urban worker in China].
One day, my neighbor Ms. Li Fengyun told me about a person whose hunched back of over ten years had become straight after he practiced Falun Gong for only one year. She asked me if I believed it. I said immediately, "I believe it, I believe it. Please teach me. I am willing to pay for it." Ms. Li said, "Those of us who teach Falun Gong are volunteers. We don't collect any fee." After she said that, she gave me some experience sharing materials from other Falun Gong practitioners.
I read all the materials that afternoon. That night, while I slept, I felt something rotating in my belly. I did not know what was going on at that time. Later, Ms. Li told me that I was very fortunate and had a predestined relationship with Falun Gong, "You already got a Falun merely from reading the experience-sharing materials." She then gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun [the principal teachings of Falun Gong]. She asked me to read the book carefully, and she taught me the exercises.
After I read Zhuan Falun, I understood many principles. Many questions that I could never understand became clear. In reality, I had no illness. My pain and tribulation came from karma because of acts I committed over many generations. I wanted to cultivate and repay my debts.
The third day after I started to practice Falun Gong was the most unforgettable day of my life. It was December 25, 1998. On that day, I got up very early. Although I had only learned two of the exercises, and I could not even sit with my legs crossed, I went to the park at 4:30 a.m. On the way to the park, I felt different from ever before; my body felt light and my stomach muscles were not as tight as before. There were over ten people at the exercise site. We stood in a circle listening to the exercise music. When we were doing Exercise Two, holding the wheel, my backbone suddenly made a sound, "crack, crack, crack." It was very quiet at that time. Everybody there heard the sound of my backbone. I felt that my body was slowly straitening up. A moment later, I could see the back of the heads of fellow practitioners. Before, I could only see other people's legs. For 20 years, I bore the humility and heavy burden of my hunched back; I often did not understand why I was even alive. It is our Teacher who delivered me from hell and gave me a healthy body. I could not describe what I felt then; thousands of words could not express my gratitude to our Teacher. I knelt down on the ground for a long time, "Teacher, your student kneels down to you. I could never repay your favor, even over the course of many lifetimes!"
After we finished our exercises, my fellow practitioners opened their eyes and asked what the sound was. When they saw me standing there straight, they were all shocked, "Ah! Ms. Wu, were you that tall?!" Even heaven and earth were amazed. Everybody at the site shed tears of happiness, pressed their hands together in the Heshi gesture [Heshi -- a sign of respect], and thanked our Teacher for his compassion.
About six months later, July 20, 1999 arrived. The persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners began that day. The Municipal Party Committee of Liuzhou City, the City Administration, the Police Bureau, and the police stations of all districts and neighborhoods took turns arresting Falun Gong practitioners, ransacking our homes, threatening us, and forcing us to give up Falun Gong. Policemen brought pen and paper and asked me to write a guarantee letter [to renounce Falun Gong]. I wrote, "My Teacher is the kindest person in the world. His favor to me is grander than a mountain. I guarantee that I will follow my Teacher all of this life, life after life, and forever."
I told my story to all the policemen. I gathered all my neighbors and co-workers as my witnesses. They all testified, "Wu Weiyu indeed had a hunched back for over 20 years. It was true that her hunched back was cured about half a year ago. We don't know which Qigong exercise cured her."
On July 28, 1999, two journalists from the column, "Current Situations of the Police," in a journal run by the Police Bureau of Liuzhou City, and two policemen from the police bureau came to my house with a TV camera. They demanded that I read a statement they had already written, saying that my illness was cured through taking medicine. Instead, I said directly into the camera, "For over ten years as a hunchback, I lived like a half human and half dog. Did the party care about me then? Now, my Teacher cured my illness without any pre-conditions; however, you want me to betray my Teacher and do things against heaven and my own conscience. I won't do it."
A policeman threatened to send me to a forced labor camp if I did not cooperate. I said, "Kill me with a knife or a bullet if you dare." Thus, the videotape could not serve their purpose. This incident was simply forgotten with time.
In the last five years, I have been persistently studying the Fa and practicing the exercises. I have not taken a single pill or medicine of any kind; yet, my body becomes healthier and healthier. I don't care what other people say; my personal experience has proven that practicing Falun Gong can make one's body healthier. I will never give up cultivation -- not ever.
(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners in Norway joined practitioners around the globe to inform people about what happened in Paris during the Chinese New Year celebrations. On Friday February 6, they assembled outside the French Embassy in Oslo to distribute flyers, perform the Falun Gong exercises and deliver a letter to the embassy. A Norwegian practitioner was among those unjustly arrested in Paris, so she delivered a statement about her arrest. The practitioners tried to talk to representatives from the embassy, but they refused to talk.
On the following day, the practitioners distributed flyers in front of Stortinget (the Parliament). Many people accepted the flyers with pleasure, and some stopped to talk. The practitioners had brought an exhibition detailing the persecution in China with them. The pictures in the exhibition caused many people to stop and find out more.
One practitioner had a chat with two Chinese ladies who were passing by. After talking with them for a while, she gave them a leaflet and Video-CD. One of the ladies said that she would like a second VCD for herself. The other lady said "No, we can share this one, and then you can give the VCD to someone else". The practitioner smiled and said, "You already put others before yourself!" The Chinese ladies asked for details about local classes where they can learn the Falun Gong exercises for free.
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Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/17757.html
(Clearwisdom.net) We heard that there would be a series of activities celebrating the Chinese New Year in Paris and maybe Falun Gong would also participate in the parade on the famous Champs Elysees Avenue. It was to be a grand meeting and there would be a lot of Chinese people watching the parade. In order to use the opportunity to clarify truth to the Chinese people, some of us, a group of teachers and students who rarely traveled abroad, decided to use our New Year vacation to take a meaningful trip.
After a long journey of over ten hours, we arrived in the famous city of Paris, at about 6 a.m. January 23, 2004. Before we put down our luggage, a practitioner notified us that the parade organizers had refused Falun Gong's application to participate in the parade because of pressure from Chinese officials. Although we were disappointed by this news, we understood that the purpose of the trip was to clarify the truth in order to stop the persecution. We also understood that the Chinese people deceived by Jiang's regime were our first priority to tell the facts.
The same afternoon at 2 p.m., our Falun Gong practitioners had a grand parade from Plaza Republique to Bastille. It was windy and cloudy, but we only had one thought in our minds: to let more predestined people see the beauty of Falun Dafa. Just as expected, our parade attracted a lot of people. After the parade, the sky became clear and sunshine was cast into the streets. In the evening, we went to the Eiffel tower, formed the Chinese characters for Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, and practiced exercises. We sent "Happy New Year" greetings to Teacher from there.
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| Lion Dance | Falun Gong decorated float | Falun Gong exercises before Eiffel Tower |
The next afternoon, we went to "Place des Innocents" to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong. Many French people were attracted by our peaceful exercises and looked at the display-boards. Because there were so many people, our printed materials in the French language soon ran out. For those did not get a newspaper, we had to give them the bookmarks, which included the Falun Dafa informational websites. From time to time, some Chinese people passed by. The practitioners took the opportunities to talk to them. Many accepted the truth-clarification materials. Some said they had already learned a little about the persecution on the Internet.
Some practitioners felt that they should clarify truth to Chinese people so they went to Champs Elysees Avenue. In the evening, we heard that some practitioners were arrested by police near Champs Elysees Avenue because they wore yellow scarves. It was obvious that Jiang's Regime extended the persecution of Falun Gong to France.
In order not to miss any chance to clarify the truth to Chinese people, we decided to go to Chinatown, Chinese residential areas, Rove Palace, the Cathedral and duty-free stores near the Galleries Lafayette Department Store. In the evening of January 26, we heard that over ten practitioners were arrested because some of the practitioners in the group had a small yellow triangle flag with the words, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" on it. The police could not give any reason for the arbitrary arrests and in the end had to release the practitioners. We felt sad for the few officials of the French government who betrayed their conscience for the economic benefits offered by China.
Early in the morning on January 27, we took a subway to the Chinatown district where there are many Chinese stores. We went into stores one after one to distribute flyers and VCDs. Many shop owners asked us many questions about Falun Dafa. After we answered their questions, they happily accepted the materials and said they would watch the VCD.
At the tourism sites and duty-free shops, we took out the pamphlet Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice and started conversations with Chinese people. We asked them if they had read the book. They were curious and opened the book. We told them that Jiang and other officials who directly committed crimes against Falun Gong were sued in six countries. One Chinese person was brave and said he wanted to have a book. Then another one wanted a book too. One after another, we gave out over ten books in the afternoon. We told them to treasure the book and materials because they were printed with our own money. A group of Chinese people from Mainland said they could share one book.
On January 28, we met a group of young Chinese students in Rove Palace. We showed them the book. They eagerly discussed the issue. Some raised the question of how probable it was that Jiang would be tried in the court. Some thought quietly. We told them that Chinese practitioners were detained and tortured because they didn't give up their belief. So far, over 800 people have been killed, and thousands are still in prisons and forced labor camps. In the end, they agreed that the society needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.
In the afternoon, we went to the duty free department store Galleries Lafayette . We met a group of Chinese tourists who exclaimed, "Falun Dafa is great" to us. They said that their group leader practiced "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" too. One old lady saw the book Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice and asked if she could have one. Other people reminded her, "Don't you want to go back?" She replied firmly, "I can read it here. What's the problem?" We could feel that the Mainland Chinese were eager to learn the truth.
On January 29, we went to the Cathedral and met several groups of Chinese wearing black suits who looked like cadres. The practitioners clarified truth to them. Some felt afraid and didn't want to listen. Some of them secretly told us that they could bring the CDs back to China and they also wanted our paper materials. Some of them walked alone and when we told them sincerely, "Here are some valuable truth-revealing materials," they accepted it and thanked us. Some even said to us seriously, "I know about this matter. They (Jiang and his followers) went too far." A group leader was very mean to us at the beginning. After several practitioners clarified the truth to him, he understood that we used our own money to travel to France and simply wanted to tell them the facts. He said that he admired the Falun Gong practitioners for being so unselfish as to wait for Chinese people in such cold weather just to explain the truth about the persecution.
During the short vacation, we valued every chance for meeting predestined people, no matter whether he was French or Chinese. At "Invalide", I saw the policemen treating a group of practitioners rudely because they believed the lies from Chinese government that "Falun Gong wanted to protest and make trouble." If a country like France, which promotes ""Freedom, Equality and Fraternity " can be manipulated by Jiang's regime to illegally arrest peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, where is the place for justice in the world? But we, the practitioners, treat everything with compassion. Just like the policeman who stopped me in the street--when I turned back and smiled to him, he smiled and said, "You must be Falun Gong!" Yes, anyone who knows Falun Gong knows that honesty and compassion are the common characteristics of Falun Gong practitioners. With their tireless effort to clarify the truth to the world and appeal to end this brutal persecution, we believe the world's people will understand that Falun Dafa will bring a beautiful future to mankind.
(Clearwsidom.net) On February 1, 2004, UK Falun Gong practitioners were invited to attend a Health Fair in Port Talbot, South Wales. During the fair, the Falun Dafa stand and exercise demonstration received an enthusiastic response. Practitioners also used this opportunity to clarify the truth to everyone at this fair and expose the persecution happening in China. The entire activity went very well.
The Health Fair was set up in an attractive manner. Practitioners hung a Dafa banner on a stand, displayed poster boards to let people know more about Falun Gong and the persecution, and also used a computer monitor to play a recording of the five sets of execises. A lot of people wanted to know about Falun Gong and took the leaflets. One gentleman stopped and watched the Video-CD on the computer until it finished and waited as if he did not want to leave. Another lady wanted to learn the exercises immediately after she read the brief introduction to Falun Gong. She also said she will attend the free exercise class in Swansea.
Although the activity was mainly for health-based information, practitioners still used this opportunity to hand out a lot of truth clarification materials. People were shocked when they heard the truth of the persecution. They could not understand why this brutal suppression of human rights has lasted for four and half years. They all volunteered to sign a petition to show their support.
Practitioners were invited by the event's sponsor to demonstrate the exercises on a stage. The beautiful and peaceful movements of Falun Dafa attracted the whole audience. After this demonstration, a lot of people came to our stand to ask for leaflets and find out more. Some of them started to learn the exercises immediately. With the practitioners' help, they grasped the essentials and some could even do the double lotus position [A sitting meditation position with both legs folded on top of one another].
This activity lasted until the evening and was a complete success. Practitioners felt really happy for those people who heard the truth about Dafa. In the meantime, they also felt that the opportunity to let people know the facts is rare and valuable. As practitioners, we should seize each opportunity and do it well.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
At the end of 2003, when the whole Western world was celebrating the Christmas and New Year holidays, the tragic death of a man named Cheng-jiu Liu shed darkness onto the joyful season.
Mr. Liu was an upright Chinese citizen who was killed because of his belief in Falun Gong and his involvement in transmitting the truth about the government's persecution. Mr. Liu, with other Falun Gong practitioners, had successfully intercepted the government controlled TV system that is virtually the only source of news that the Chinese people are permitted to see.
The Western world already knows that there is no freedom of speech, freedom of belief or freedom of inquiry for ordinary Chinese people inside of their own country. This situation was exacerbated after the former dictator, Jiang Zemin, launched an unprecedented scale of persecution against Falun Gong in July 1999.
Dictator Jiang saw the 100 million peaceful Falun Gong followers, who believe in truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, as a primary threat to his dictator supremacy. Hence, he abused his position.
Jiang used judiciary and military power to set off a nationwide brutal persecution. He defamed Falun Gong through the "610 Offices," a Gestapo-like organization especially created to persecute Falun Gong. The authority of the 610 Offices lies outside the Chinese legal system and thereby is not subject to any kind of restraint on its power.
Jiang also used embassies and delegations worldwide to extend hate against Falun Gong practitioners overseas. There is no legal avenue for Falun Gong practitioners inside of China to tell the truth to the public.
Under such a circumstance, in March of 2002, Mr. Liu along with a group of Falun Gong practitioners from Changchun, intercepted the state-run TV system and broadcast Falun Gong's message to the Chinese people. All who had been involved with this event were arrested.
When Mr. Liu was captured, the policeman deliberately shot his leg after he was already cuffed with both wrists and ankles. In the detention center, he was mistreated and was forced into sitting in the "Tiger chair," an extremely awkward position, for 52 days. During his trial, he had to be carried into the courtroom. Later, he was brutally beaten and tortured in jail to the point he was not recognizable and had difficulty speaking. He was not allowed to receive any treatment at the hospital. Unfortunately, after suffering one year and nine months, Mr. Liu passed away in late December.
On the day of his death, the prison officials gathered a large group of policemen and forcefully cremated his body without autopsy, despite the protests of his family.
This persecution is not unrelated to the experience of an American.
In January 2003, U.S. citizen Charles Li was imprisoned in China. He was jailed and sentenced for three years because Chinese officials claimed that he had the "intention" of intercepting the Chinese TV system. Charles Li has been in Chinese prison for more than a year and suffers physical and emotional torture every moment.
More Americans should stand up and say "No" to Jiang's persecution against Falun Gong. This persecution is contrary to the most basic standards of goodness and human decency and tramples human rights.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Source: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/02/11/news/opinion/3see11.txt
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 5, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from the cities of Tucson and Phoenix in the state of Arizona, took the opportunity of David Bowie's concert tour date in Phoenix to tell people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China by Jiang's regime.
David Bowie, a famous British rock'n'roll star, is giving a concert tour around the world. His drummer, Sterling Campbell, who has worked with other famous bands, has been a Falun Gong practitioner for six years. Sterling and about sixty other western Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Tiananmen Square and unfolded a banner saying "Falun Dafa Is Great" in the year of 2001. Every time David Bowie held a concert, Sterling would arrange a booth for Friends of Falun Gong at the entrance of the concert. He would have interviews with media to tell his experience of being arrested in China for supporting Falun Gong. David Bowie, a supporter of Amnesty International himself, has been very supportive of Sterling's efforts.
Local Falun Gong practitioners took this opportunity to tell music fans about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the detention of Charles Li. Many people got flyers and signed their names to support the rescue of Charles Li. Some people joined Friends of Falun Gong. Some stopped by to ask more details. They were shocked by the situation in China and Charles' experience. Many music fans were curious about the Chinese words "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" written on Sterling's drum. They were eager to find out the story behind these words.
The Story behind the Three Chinese Words on Sterling's Drum
Six years ago, American professional drummer Sterling Campbell was at the bottom of his life. After playing concerts, he indulged himself in the night life of New York and could not extricate himself from tobacco and alcohol and other habits.
One day, he happened to pass a park in New York where he saw a group of people practicing a very gentle exercise. He was fascinated and couldn't help joining them. A Falun Gong practitioner gave him a Falun Gong book to read.
Sterling said he was deeply touched by "Zhuan Falun," the guiding book of Falun Gong by the founder Mr. Li Hongzhi. He said he couldn't say enough about how "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" in the book had helped him give up smoking and drinking. Falun Gong had not only given him excellent health, but also brought him a big spiritual change. He said he became a happier person. He identified with "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" so much that he wrote these three words in Chinese on his drum to show his concert audience.
Vail Trail Issue
Friday, February 6, 2004
Most people would agree that no one should be imprisoned for surfing the web. Yet a recent Amnesty International report indicates that China is holding at least 54 Internet users for expressing opinions or reading banned information from the web. Amnesty's report also mentions four Falun Gong practitioners that died in police custody. The reason for their detention: downloading or posting information about Falun Gong, a spiritual meditation practiced in 50 countries but banned in China. Of the four was a 56 year old woman named Zhao Chunying, who was reportedly beaten to death by police for posting information about being tortured during a previous detention. China's crackdown on the Internet is only part of its strategy to control what people read, hear, watch or think.
As for Falun Gong's case, the state-controlled media hides human rights violations against the spiritual group while spreading slander intended to justify the ban on the practice. With no means to respond to unsubstantiated allegations, educating the Chinese populace has been Falun Gong's biggest challenge. As for those who believe China's one-sided propaganda, the persecution somehow becomes acceptable to an unknowing public. If more people knew that innocent people were being unjustly persecuted, things would turn around. Zhao Chunying lost her life while letting the world know of torture occurring behind closed doors. When Chinese citizens risk their lives to uncover human rights violations, those of us living in free societies should at least acknowledge their plight. Better yet, we should stand by them.
Leejun Ivie Avon
Source: http://www.vailtrail.com/letterdetail.cfm?OpinionID=287
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of the Persecution
1. Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Yang Zhu was tortured in the Xinhua Labor Camp in Sichuan Province. He had polio when he was young, and is very thin, and small in stature. Police purposely forced him to work around the brick burner, pull the heavy carts, go into the hot brick kiln, and so on. Under the physical and mental torture, Yang Zhu's four limbs sometimes became paralyzed, to the point where he could not even take care of himself on a day-to-day basis.
2. Police in the No. 4 Prison in the northern suburbs of Shijiazhuang City use many torture methods to try to force Falun Dafa practitioners to give up their faith, such as beating up practitioners, handcuffing them, putting ankle shackles on them, depriving them of sleep, punishing them with long periods of forced standing, forcing them to sit on small stools for long periods, etc. Mr. Yang Xiaojie, a Falun Dafa practitioner, was sent from the No. 2 Prison to the No. 4 Prison in July 2003. From October to December police took turns using all the above torture methods on him, and made him feel that living was even worse than dying.
3. On September 30, 2002, at midnight, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Qu Yanlai was falsely arrested and brought to Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai. So far, he has been on hunger strike for 440 days without water. He graduated from the Energy Resource Department of Shanghai Transportation University. His term has been extended to five years in prison.
4. The following are the evil deeds committed by police in the Wuyuan Labor Camp in the Inner Mongolia Automonous District: On July 16, 2003 Mr. Wei Yongchun, a Falun Dafa practitioner, was beat up for more than 10 minutes, at which time he passed out. On August 10, 2003 police officer Zhong Zhiyuan (male) beat up Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Yun Zhuyi. On August 11, 2003, police ordered prisoners to handcuff Dafa practitioners to heater pipes. The police then shocked practitioners with electric batons, while at the same time kicking and punching them. The villains tortured two Falun Dafa practitioners, Mr. Sun and Mr. Min, each for three hours. The villains also beat up Mr. Wei Yongchun until his head was bleeding, and he was vomiting blood. After this beating his mouth was so severely swollen that he could not eat for more than 15 days.
5. The following evil deeds were committed by former police officers from the Ziqiang Substation, under the Daqing City Longfeng Station in Heilongjiang Province: Police officer Wang Zemin (male) often called or knocked on the doors of Falun Dafa practitioners, to harass them. He bribed residential building janitors to keep an eye on Falun Dafa practitioners, and withhold practitioners' personal IDs. Director Qin Xiaodong was very rough when he dealt with arrested Dafa practitioners, and extorted 10,000 Yuan from each of ten Falun Dafa practitioners' families [500 Yuan in the average monthly income for an urban Chinese worker]. Director Sun Hengli slandered the Master of Falun Dafa, arrested 10 Dafa practitioners who were exercising in front of a store in February 2000, and sent them to detention centers.
6. On January 5, 2004 police from the Erdaobaihe Station in Antu County, Yanbian Automonous District, Jilin Province stormed into Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Fan Zemei's home in Tongyang Village, Yongqing Township. Police ransacked her house and abducted her and her daughter Zhang Xiaoxue. Now both mother and daughter are being detained in the Antu County Detention Center.
News from China
In August, 1999, two journalists from Langfang City News came to Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Cao Wenxia's home. Ms. Cao told them that she had a lot of health problems before practicing Falun Dafa, and there was a lot of tension between her and her mother-in-law. After practicing Falun Dafa, her health problems went away, and her family became peaceful. After several days, the newspaper posted the article. Ms. Cao was very shocked when she read it, because the reporters had turned the truth inside out and printed lies. It said, "Ms. Cao had no health problems before, but had more health problems after practicing. She had a good relationship with her mother-in-law before, but could not get along with her mother-in-law after practicing." "She will never practice Falun Gong again." Ms. Cao was so angry upon seeing such a fallacious article. She could not believe how these journalists and our country's newspaper could print bold faced lies, publishing the opposite of what she told them, and deceive the general public like that!
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of the Persecution
Falun Dafa practitioners Wu Guihua and Wu Guifang from Chicheng County, Hebei Province benefited physically and mentally from Dafa practice. They went to Beijing many times to appeal for Dafa. As a result, they were detained and sent to a forced labor camp and brutally tortured. Once, holding a handful of nails, a guard at Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp said to Wu Guihua, "If you don't write the guarantee statement [renouncing Falun Dafa], I'll nail you to the wall, the way Jesus was crucified." Every time they were tortured, the practitioners' faces became deformed and extremely swollen. Their whole bodies were black and blue, and they bled where they had been hit with electric batons. As several guards dragged the two practitioners back inside after a torture session, they left a trail of blood behind them in the snow.
On January 28, 2004, Dafa practitioners Ms. Shi Ning and Ms. Xia Deyun from Dongying City, Shandong Province went to visit Dafa practitioner Wang Shaohua in a brainwashing class held by the Shengli Oilfield Oil Extraction Factory. Wang Shaohua had been held there for a long time. The guards illegally detained the two visiting practitioners and sent them to a brainwashing class held by the Oil Transportation Company. The two practitioners resisted all the commands of the perpetrators and staged a hunger strike. They shouted out the window to expose the evil. Wang Ziqiang (male), head of the Oilfield "610 Office"* and head of the brainwashing class was terrified! He separated the two practitioners and sent them to a brainwashing class in the Shengli Oilfield Oil Extraction Factory.
My name is Huang Wenying. I was born in 1965 and I am a Dafa practitioner from Qianjiang City, Hubei Province. On October 18, 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa and was unlawfully held for more than one month. 3,000 Yuan was extorted from me before I was released [500 Yuan is equal to the average monthly salary of an urban worker in China]. On December 30, 1999, I was abducted and sent to the Shayang Forced Labor Camp where I was held for a year and a half. While in detention I was savagely tortured. The guards handcuffed me and forced me to kneel in the snow and kicked my legs until they turned black and blue. They continued to monitor me after I returned home. I have had to leave home to avoid the persecution.
News from Abroad
An open letter from Dafa practitioners in Mainland China to the President of France and the Mayor of Paris:
France is a democratic nation, a free society and the original upholder of human rights. We are extremely shocked and deeply upset by the arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in France. This incident is a replay of what took place in Iceland and Germany in 2002. We don't want to see the sovereignty of France cave in to pressure, nor be treated with disrespect and even violated. We don't want to see the treasured French principle of "freedom, equality, fraternity" being trampled, and the democratic and peaceful image of France being blemished and desecrated.
* 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.
(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.
