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Facts of the Persecution

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Bringing Jiang and his Accomplices to Justice

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

The persecution of Falun Gong and the tremendous scale of human rights violations going on in China and outside of China since July 1999, the painful and humiliating consequences for millions of peaceful people in China and the deaths of (to date) at least 869 practitioners of Falun Gong are a concern to many people around the world.

So in January 2003, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) was founded in Boston, USA. The Asian and the European Branch followed, with the European branch centered in Germany.

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong carries out the following mission:

• To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong;
• to bring such investigation to full closure;
• to exercise fundamental principles of humanity;
• and to restore and uphold justice in society.

My own country, Germany, is a very special place regarding the disaster of the Holocaust under the Nazi regime. History is teaching us, and we should keep this lesson in mind regarding the recent situation in China. We want to stop having this kind of history repeated in the form of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, which, corresponding to Article II of the UN convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, can clearly be called Genocide.

The persecution needs money, of course. Where does the money come from, how can it be generated? What might be the role of big companies, especially those which are investing from abroad? How is the Chinese regime abusing people in forced labor camps? A few weeks ago, we received information that about one dozen Falun Gong practitioners working in the Volkswagen Joint Venture in Changchun, the capital of Jilin province in China, have been dismissed from work because of their belief. Recently, another similar case has been confirmed.

On our request, we received a letter from Volkswagen headquarters in Germany three weeks ago, affirming that they are not discriminating against employees for their beliefs and that they will bring this issue up in their Chinese branch. We will keep on investigating this case.

The pressure on companies in China with regard to employees who are practicing Falun Gong, has become obvious. In October of last year, it was learned that the US based Mary Kay Corporation, which employed about 120,000 Chinese women, forced them to sign a standard statement, in which they had to guarantee not to practice or support Falun Gong. In this action, several of the employed women were dismissed from work because they would not sign this statement. This message was extremely disturbing.

The Mary Kay Corporation is well known because of its upright principles and values and, I am quoting the Washington Times from December 12th last year, "has been repeatedly selected by various respectable organizations as one of the best companies to work for in America. The International Women's Forum gave the company its Award of Corporations that Make a Difference". Referring to this required statement of guarantee, the Washington Times continued: "What kind of difference will Mary Kay make in China?"

Will the Chinese government coerce Mary Kay into abandoning its founding principles; will this company give up its moral standards in order to keep on with its business in China? The Chinese branch of this company changed its policy slightly and made its Chinese employees sign a statement saying that they are obeying Chinese law. Does it really make a difference? We did not get any evidence that the formerly dismissed women were reemployed.

What about the products of forced labor camps in China?

Products of labor camps represent huge profits, because the detainees usually receive no payment, working as many as 10 hours to more than 16 hours per day, often including the weekends, and sometimes even continuously overnight.

Labor camps are encouraged by government to build up companies. These companies are exempt from corporate income tax and the land inquisition levy. Advertisements are even promoting labor in areas where there are prisons and labor camps as a way to attract foreign investment. This reads like this: "Our business is a special enterprise that enjoys an amicable relationship with the local government and relevant offices, and it is a recipient of various preferential policies granted by the government. We provide a flexible, harmonious investment environment. Xinsheng Coal Mine warmly welcomes both domestic and overseas investment."

Evidence shows that companies like Beiying Mickey Toys Co. Ltd, Lanzhou Zhenglin Nongken Food Ltd., Jin Printing Co. Ltd., and Qiqihaer Siyou Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., have worked together with different labor camps.

Meanwhile in the labor camp, 57 year old Falun Gong practitioner Wan Guifu worked for Lanzhou Zhenling Nongken Food Ltd. and was forced, like many others, to crack the shells of large water melon seeds with his teeth and peel the husk off by hand to get the kernels. In winter, they had to do this work outside in the freezing cold. Many of the detainees suffered split and bleeding hands. When Wan Guifu could not fulfill this task any more, labor camp officials encouraged prisoners to torture him, which resulted in his death; others where tortured to death as well for the same reason.

Lanzhou Zhenling Nongken Food Ltd. has become the largest producer of roasted seeds and nuts in China. Their main product, Zhenglin hand-picked Melon Seeds, are exported into places such as the US, Canada, Australia and others. Currently, WOIPFG is investigating and verifying more such cases.

This initial report only begins to expose the illegal prison labor in the labor camps and how they are related to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. What I have reported is just the tip of the iceberg.

Falun Gong practitioners Amy Lee and Jennifer Zeng gave testimony of their situation in Beiying Xin'an Female Labor Camp and working on 10,000 toy rabbits for Beiying Mickey Toys Co. Ltd. which turned out to be subcontracted by Nestl? These rabbits were found to be part of a promotion for Nesquick in 2001 and have been identified by these two practitioners. Jennifer Zeng reports: "The processing fees went to the labor camp. We didn't get anything. Usually we began work at 5 o'clock in the morning and worked until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning the next day. Sometimes, we had to work overtime; otherwise we could not finish the job. I was so exhausted that I could not count clearly from 1 to 9. Long hours of intensive work and severe lack of sleep made me feel for a long period of time, that the only thing I needed in my life was sleep."

World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong is recently doing research on Henan Rebecca Hair Products, Inc., which uses slave labor in forced labor camps. Xuchang City in Henan Province is a major production center for wig products in China. When the Henan Province No. 3 Forced Labor Camp was on the verge of bankruptcy, the labor camp abducted many Falun Gong practitioners and forced them to do slave labor making products for export. The camp survived and prospered this way. Qu Shuangcai, the former labor camp head, was known for eagerly persecuting Falun Gong. In May 2003, he was transferred to the Shibalihe Female Labor Camp in Zhenzhou City and put in charge of that labor camp. Right away he signed a contract with Henan Rebecca Hair Products, Inc., in Xuchang City. In addition, within several months, three female Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death.

The chairman of the board of Rebecca Hair Products, Inc., who is the general manager and distributor, resides in the US. Guard Shen Jianwei from No. 3 Labor Camp often said: "A while back, when the labor camp was short of funding and was about to be shut down, many Falun Gong practitioners became available. The government allocated 20.000 Yuan to "reform" each practitioner. The labor camp used eight million Yuan of government to funding to construct residential buildings to encourage the guards to persecute these practitioners." Right now the labor camp "buys" practitioners from other places for 800 Yuan each, as slaves to increase the volume of products. None of the illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners ever got payment for their forced labor. Henan Rebecca Hair Products, Inc., is a joint-capital entity owned by Sun Ah Company in the US. Its products can be directly shipped and sold in the US. Rebecca Hair products are very popular in more than 30 countries and regions including North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Where does the money go? WOIPFG is investigating this issue. Companies should be very careful and realize that currently part of the Chinese society is completely devoted to attacking Falun Gong. Investing in China is supporting this persecution. Exposing such cases will help stop investments in the wrong places, and help stop the persecution in China.

Money is a reason why small countries all over the world keep quiet, when it comes to preventing this persecution, and when it comes to political resolutions against China, e.g. in the UN. One of our common values, according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, is freedom of belief. The goal of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong is to stop the persecution of people because of their belief, to stop the persecution of Falun Gong completely and everywhere. Our goal is the release of all detained and tortured practitioners in China, and of course, the freedom to practice Falun Gong.

Upholding justice includes having the awareness of how this persecution works and not supporting it by any conduct in the commercial sector.

Thank you.

(Clearwisdom.net) The final trial stage of the La Presse Chinoise defamation lawsuit began on February 23, 2004 in the Quebec Superior Court and will end on February 26, 2004. Many practitioners encountered interference in different forms during this lawsuit. Canadian practitioners are hoping more Dafa practitioners will pay attention to the progress of this lawsuit and join with them to eliminate evil elements in other dimensions that cause interference and to save people with their powerful righteous thoughts .

Below is a summary of some Canadian practitioners' thoughts on the lawsuit.

Significance of Les Presses Chinoises lawsuit

A practitioner said in a sharing meeting, "After overcoming numerous difficulties, the lawsuit has finally entered the last phase. This [event] is closely related to the cultivation state of our Dafa practitioners, so we should never take it light-heartedly before the final verdict, just because of the result of the previous phase of the trial was in our favor. Other than the preparation work we did, Dafa practitioners' effort in the three days [leading up to the last phase] of the trial directly influences the court's decision."

Practitioner C pointed out that if we miss the three days between February 23 and February 26, we'll have missed this opportunity. One single case will not affect Fa-rectification as a whole, but it will determine certain people's futures. Regardless of the outcome, every lawsuit will have its social impact. Therefore it is directly related to the salvation of people inside and outside China. We are not attached to the results, but it doesn't mean we don't want a good result. We pay attention to the process, but it doesn't mean we ignore the outcome, because the process naturally leads to the result.

Current Issues We are Facing

Practitioner W said, "Although the majority of Dafa practitioners taking part in the lawsuit are practitioners outside Montreal, many practitioners unconsciously think this lawsuit is the responsibility of practitioners who live in Montreal instead of treating it as the responsibility of all Dafa practitioners as a whole. Practitioners who are directly involved in the lawsuit face great pressure and interference. For instance, two practitioners who are directly involved in the lawsuit nearly had a traffic accident on their way to Montreal."

Practitioner G said, "In order to do well, it's very important to know ourselves as well as the party we are dealing with. We know about ourselves, but do we know well the whole situation of the lawsuit and the other party's situation. This case reversed once [in a disadvantageous position], which shows us we can't relent one bit at any time. Since the last time when we presented the witnesses, the overall trend has been good. However, if we look from another perspective, these periodic results could easily cause us to relent, and the evil would do everything within its power to take advantage of our omissions."

Practitioner M used the lawsuit against the Tsing Dao Daily as an example and said, "When the verdict was about to come out, most practitioners only sent forth righteous thoughts at set times, and some practitioners even forgot to send righteous thoughts. In our mind we didn't have enough space for this case, and the final result gave us a heavy blow! We all know from studying Fa principles that right now every day is created for Dafa practitioners, everything that happens in this world is caused by Dafa practitioners' mentality. We have already seen the outcome of the Tsing Dao Daily lawsuit, so what kind of mindset should we have toward the Les Presses Chinoises lawsuit? What will be the corresponding result?"

Practitioner L said, "In the two months since the last court hearing, most practitioners didn't keep close contact with our lawyer because they were so busy, and the lawyer met great interference and was in a less-than-optimum state. We made several appointments with him to discuss the preparation work regarding the February 23rd lawsuit, but our lawyer had to be in court and couldn't meet with us. When we finally met, the lawyer asked, "Why do you want to see me?" The things he said didn't sound like the words of someone he has learned the truth of Falun Gong, and his state of mind was so much different with what was during the last court hearing. When we again told him the truth he said, "If China stops slandering Falun Gong today or tomorrow, then no one in the world would oppose Falun Gong." Master said,

Canadian practitioners also shared their experiences and opinions regarding truth clarification, sending forth righteous thoughts and Fa studying.

About Truth Clarification

One practitioner went to a police department to clarify the truth and exposed the crimes of the Chinese consulate, and the police promised to do something to help Dafa practitioners. The practitioner went home and waited, but nothing happened for a long time. When he went there again, the police's attitude changed to an opposing position, which greatly surprised him.

Through Fa study he realized that non-practitioners' kindness and sense of justice are their individual reactions and Dafa practitioners cannot rely on them. If we don't actively put the situation under control, and instead wait for things to happen, or hope that non-practitioners would do things for us, that would be a great omission and the evil would have the excuse to make a non-practitioner turn bad.

The same goes for the Les Presses Chinoises lawsuit. The judge showed conscience and a sense of justice, which is the best personal choice the judge has made. However, no matter what we do, Master has clearly told us that we should pay attention to the process, not the outcome. Our efforts are based on truth clarification and leading people to salvation. If we think the judge will do such and such for us, and if we mentally depend on a non-practitioner, that would be our attachment. Even when the evil made up fake scriptures in China, it took advantage of our fundamental omissions. If we pay attention to the result and overlook truth clarification, including our own improvement through truth clarification, and overlook the fact that our dependence on non-practitioners are having adverse effects in our minds, wouldn't we provide the evil with another opportunity to interfere with us?

When talking about truth clarification, practitioner J said, "Looking back at our loss with the Tsing Dao Daily lawsuit, it seems our work stopped after delivering legal documents, and many practitioners thought all that's left to do is to send forth righteous thoughts. Didn't our passive attitude and lack of diligence contribute to the loss? Similar things happened once with the Les Presses Chinoises lawsuit, and I think it's also because we relented on truth clarification. Other than attending court hearings and sending forth righteous thoughts, if there were people to whom we should clarify the truth to and didn't, that would be a potential barrier."

Practitioner B mentioned using a telephone survey and to clarify the truth using Pan Xinjun, the Chinese Deputy Consul General. He also prepared a questionnaire survey table to help clarify the truth to the Chinese community and collected some phone numbers in Montreal for practitioners to call. Some practitioners agreed this would be a good method. A practitioner from Toronto said, "Master said,

Can we find more "different kinds of opportunities, ways of handling things, and formalities" and think about them?

The above-mentioned practitioner and other practitioners learned his lesson and were no longer satisfied with a good change [of attitude] in the police after they clarified the truth to them once. Instead, they wrote letters to the police department right after they returned, and delivered more facts. They immediately did truth-clarification on a large-scale The outcome was fantastic.

Fa Study

Practitioner G said, "Master said,

Aren't we currently in a situation where we have an urgent issue that needs to be solved? If the answer is yes, then I think, aside from regular Fa-study, we should find scriptures that target our own attachments and our current issues and read them repeatedly."

Practitioner L said, "If we can really study the Fa well, any Fa-rectification work will necessarily lead to a good result. On the other hand, if our cultivation state is not good during the process and we don't pay enough attention, and we use the excuse that we aren't attached to the result, then we would be irresponsible. When faced with numerous tasks, if we study the Fa well, we would be able place the priorities of these tasks in a superior position. We are all busy; but if we study the Fa well, we'll be steady and not hasty. If we don't study the Fa well, we would feel physically and mentally exhausted, our work would seem entangled and we would make lots of mistakes. If we can't calm down and study the Fa, it's also easy for us to be moved by human sentiments. When it reflects into the ordinary society, abnormal things would happen.

Practitioner L also said, "Because our cultivation states are different, we would have different takes on different things. We must believe the Fa can harmonize everything, because it is also a test of our faith in Dafa. Master told us to cherish every second we have. Fa study is the fundamental base for everything for a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period. I hope we can all cherish our time, study the Fa well and be a disciple that lives up to Master's requirements for us."

On Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts

Practitioner D said, "It seems all Dafa practitioners can send forth righteous thoughts, but there must be the issue of quality 'overall. It's been three years since Master first wrote a scripture regarding sending forth righteous thoughts, but we still get frequent interference from the evil in other dimensions and the old forces. It has become obvious that the overall quality of sending forth righteous thoughts for us as a whole needs improvement."

"I think it's useful to review this part of Master's scripture,

Practitioner W also realized, "Righteous thoughts are most important. Even if we don't have much time left, we can still clarify the truth to a lot of people."

Practitioner L said, "The state of the lawyer's mind is directly related to us, which reminds me of what happened with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When I clarified the truth to them, their response was very good. However, in the two weeks following our meeting I was overjoyed and waited for the 'good news.' As a result, when we again met with the police officers, they had turned into completely different persons. Although we changed the situation by clarifying the truth, this incident still exposed my impure mindset and my dependence on others."

On Cooperation as a Whole Body

Practitioner C said, "The Montreal case is not the duty of a few people or of practitioners in a small area. It is the responsibility of all Dafa practitioners. Practitioners who can attend court hearings should definitely go, and those who can't should support [the case] by sending forth righteous thoughts. We all know about this. However, cultivation is different from the daily affairs of non-practitioners. We may not understand things to the extent we should at the time we should. The key to that is how we treat the problem and on what we base our views."

"Some practitioners think the existence of different opinions is the result of intolerance. I think it's normal to have different opinions during cultivation, and it's abnormal if we agree all the time. However, if we can fully perceive the beneficial parts of other practitioners' opinions after we express our own and cooperate with fellow practitioners in Dafa work, if we complement and support each other, we would then reach the level of true cultivators."

Practitioner G said, "If we do well in the Les Presses Chinoises lawsuit, the lawsuit will have an influence in countries around the world. The final court hearing requires our cooperation as a whole body, and we need to send forth righteous thoughts together to eliminate the evil. The last hearing will be a great opportunity for us to clarify the truth and save more people.

(Clearwisdom.net) On February 23, 2004, Les Presses Chinoises Falun Gong slander/hate case enters the last phase. The lawyers from both sides will present final arguments before the judge. According to pronouncements from Zhou Jinxing, the head of Les Presses Chinoises, as well as from related facts it becomes obvious that Jiang's group is systematically exporting hate propaganda abroad while it is persecuting Falun Gong in Mainland China. Why is Zhou Jinxing hiding the facts?

Zhou Jinxing said during cross-examination that he had an office in Guangzhou City that didn't have any actual business dealings, and it closed in late 2001. From then on, he stated, he didn't have any other business besides Les Presses Chinoises. The plaintiffs' lawyer, though, presented evidence that shows the trademark of a company called Crescent International once appeared on the Les Presses Chinoises website. Crescent is Zhou Jinxing's English name, and the company was doing immigration business in Guangzhou City. Why was Zhou Jinxing hiding the existence of this company in court?

When questioned by his attorney, Zhou Jinxing stated before the court that Les Presses Chinoises has no political backing and no connection with any Chinese consulate in Canada. Zhou even claimed the newspaper's website does not even contain a link to the consulates. The newspaper was very firm in its claim. After this particular court session, Zhou Jinxing argued that there were various numbers in the phonebook of Les Presses Chinoises, including those of Chinese consulate, but he still denied any direct connection. The plaintiff's lawyer provided reliable evidence that showed Les Presses Chinoises website did have a direct web link to the Chinese consulate, but it was taken off a few months after the trial began. Why did Zhou Jinxing hide this fact?

When the plaintiff's lawyer asked whether Zhou Jinxing had followed any code of ethics in guiding the writing of his social commentary articles, Zhou Jinxing, who had been in the newspaper trade for 23 years answered "no." Les Presses Chinoises has never published reports by a third party on anything regarding Falun Gong, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, the US government, Canadian government or any other official agencies. Zhou Jinxing himself once wrote a commentary to attack Falun Gong, but he had never interviewed any Falun Gong practitioners.

Zhou Jinxing admitted he knew the reality of the persecution of Falun Gong since its beginning. He also learned about the ruthless torture Falun Gong practitioners at labor camps and prisons are subjected to from pamphlets Falun Gong practitioners had given him. Zhou also admitted he didn't read any Falun Gong books prior to publishing a slanderous article by He Bing in December 2001.

After the court issued two safeguard orders prohibiting Les Presses Chinoises from publishing further anti-Falun Gong articles, Les Presses Chinoises continued to publish Falun Gong-slandering articles almost verbatim from the ones the Chinese government uses and publishes.

According to a certain investigation, the Chinese government blocks many overseas Chinese media. The Chinese government approves of only few overseas Chinese media; Les Presses Chinoises being one of them. The Falun Gong-attacking articles published in their paper in Canada can be read in major papers and websites in Mainland China several days after they are published in Les Presses Chinoises. Considering the strict censoring system of the Chinese propaganda machinery, ordinary overseas reports would not take up space in the government-controlled media so quickly if there is no special "looking after."

Zhou Jinxing said in court that he knew that the media in Mainland China routinely reprinted Falun Gong-attacking articles from Les Presses Chinoises. He also admitted that the People's Daily used his social commentary attacking Falun Gong as a reference.

According to a report dealing with the first 2003 issue Guangzhou Wah Shing, between December 1 and December 7, 2002, the Guangzhou City Office of Overseas Affairs and the city news office jointly invited people from the overseas Chinese media, including Qiao Bao in the Western U.S., Ming Bao in Western Canada, from Les Presses Chinoises, Chinese Daily in Australia, and New China in Thailand. The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) has discovered through independent investigations that, aside from Les Presses Chinoises, the other four papers also have strong political connection to the Chinese government. Qiao Bao, founded in 1990, is directly controlled by the Chinese government, and its modus operandi is to quickly and "objectively" report official Chinese news. Ming Bao is a media outlet "heavily influenced by the Chinese government." The founding of the news outlet Chinese Daily in Australia was reported by China News Net, the widely known state-run news agency that once attacked New Tang Dynasty TV, which supports Falun Gong. In late February 2001, New China published a social commentary attacking Falun Gong, which China News Service wrongly had used as "proof of an anti-Falun Gong trend abroad."

"How China's Government Is Attempting to Control the Chinese Media in America," is the name of a chapter in a publication called China Brief. It was prepared by the Jamestown Foundation. It states: Four main tactics characterize the Chinese government's effort to influence the Chinese media in America. First is the attempt to directly control newspapers, television stations and radio stations through complete or majority ownership. Second is the government's use of economic ties to influence independent media who have business relations with China. This leverage has had major effects on the contents of broadcasting and publishing, effectively removing all material deemed "unfavorable" by the Chinese government. Third is the purchase of airtime and advertising (or more) from existing independent media. Closely related to this is the Chinese government media's provision of ready-to-go programming and content. Fourth is the deployment of government personnel to work in independent media, achieving influence from within their ranks.

In terms of attacking Falun Gong, Les Presses Chinoises used exactly the same methods as Jiang's group: lies and propaganda followed by the incitement of hatred. When people began to resent the page after page of gory so-called "news and reports" that were used to defame Falun Gong, Jiang's group staged the "Tiananmen Self-immolation Incident," which the international community put into the spotlight. From then on, hate propaganda has been spread on a large scale. Let us look at the Chinese Department of Education as an example: on February 1, 2001, the Party Committee of the Department of Education and the Youth League Central Party Committee headed by Chen Zhili, had issued a notice (Education-party [2001], No. 1), ordering all school organizations in China to hold activities to attack Falun Gong. After the order was issued, the education system first promoted the "one-million signatures" campaign. People in authority forced students to sign their names to oppose Falun Gong as "anti-cult;" they then reported this activity through the media and promoted it throughout society. Later, the signatures were taken before the United Nations and were used as "proof" of "the people's will" to suppress Falun Gong.

On February 6, 2001, within one day, under direct influence and orders from Wang Maolin, head of the central "610 Office" and also from Zhou Qiang, secretary of central Youth League Party Committee, eight million young people in 100 cities and nearly 1000 districts throughout the nation participated in anti-Falun Gong activities. The report claimed that more than 500,000 propaganda pictures were posted, over 10 million flyers were passed out, more than 200 gatherings were held, and more than eight million young people including children took part in these activities. The official report stated, "Young people in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jilin, Jiangsu, Shandong, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Fujian, Neimenggu and other areas walked into the streets and into different

districts to take part in these large-scale anti-Falun Gong activities...by posting bulletins in public places, distributing flyers, broadcasting videos and audiocassettes..."

Now let's take a look at what Les Presses Chinoises did. While repeatedly violating the Safeguard Order issued by the court, Les Presses Chinoises collected signatures in the Chinese community. They used people's kind nature to incite hatred. Zhou Jinxing said in court he had "collected 5,000 signatures supporting Les Presses Chinoises."

Mrs. Lucy Zhou, a Dafa practitioner, testified in court that Les Presses Chinoises took an appeal letter to a meeting of elderly Chinese people in Ottawa, Canada and publicly asked for signatures. When Mrs. Zhou clarified the facts and told the people at the meeting that Falun Dafa is good, a Chinese person quietly said to her, "I am aware of the things you are saying, but don't say them here, because people from Chinese consulate are here."

(Clearwisdom.net)

As a result of Dafa practitioners actions to clarify the truth of the persecution, many people in Chenxi County, Hunan Province have become aware that Jiang Zemin is being sued in many countries and is included on the RCMP watch list in Canada. They also know that Falun Dafa is good and do not want to help Jiang do evil things any more. When Jiang Zemin fled to Chenxi County to instigate hatred, most officials with conscience resisted.

Li Huimeng is Deputy Head of the Chenxi County 610 Office (an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems). Although he developed cancer as a result of retribution, he was awakened by Dafa practitioners' clarifying the truth. He declared that he would no longer persecute Dafa. Most of the employees in the 610 Office were not willing to persecute Dafa, and some of them even dared to say that Falun Gong is good. It is said that some people from the Police Department have begun to practice Dafa.

A big fire occurred after Jiang Zemin came to Hengyang, Hunan Province. Jiang hid himself at the No. 2 Artillery Army Base in Huaihua. He also went to Chenxi where he defamed the founder of Falun Gong in front of the politics and law personnel. Many officials with conscience resisted it, and a planned mass arrest of Dafa practitioners did not take place.

(Clearwisdom.net) Dafa Practitioner Mr. Liu Zhichen of Dafangshen Town, Dehui City, Jilin Province was detained at the Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp in Jiutai City in 2002. He was released on February 6, 2003. Due to the long term persecution he suffered while in the forced labor camp, his health was in poor condition when he returned home. Still, the local police continued to harass him. As his health deteriorated, he could not be cured and died at Dehui City Hospital on October 7, 2003. He was only 32 years old.

Liu Zhichen lived at No. 1 Commune, Northwest Tian Village, Dafangshen Town, Dehui City, Jilin Province. On March 21, 2002, Dafangshen Town policemen Yu Chuanqiang and Zhang Shuai along with several policemen from Dehui City Public Security Bureau arrested Liu from his home. While detained at the local police station, he was brutally tortured. He was sent to the Dehui Detention Center for over a month, and then transferred to Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp in Jiutai City for one year.

In the forced labor camp, he suffered horrendous persecution, and contracted scabies. On February 6, 2003, Liu was released and in poor health due to the mental and physical suffering he endured from the persecution. Even in his state, Dafangshen Town local police still harassed him and illegally searched his home. His family did not have any peace. At the age of 32 years old, Liu died in Dehui City Hospital on October 7, 2003. This is another crime the Jiang's regime has committed on an innocent Falun Gong practitioner.

Relevant responsible units and people, and their telephone numbers:

Dehui City Public Security Bureau Political Protection Section

Chief: Zhao Yujie 86-431-7222053(Office), 86-431-7224923(Home)

Vice chief: Zhang Qingchun 86-431-7222053(Office), 86-431-7264567(Home), 86-13630545335(Cell)

Dehui City Dafangshen Town Local Police Station

Manager Dong Jiming: 86-431-7560010(Office),86-13630546200(Cell), 86-431-7279203(Home)

Police Chang Xiande: 86-431-7560010(Office),86-13089413476(Cell), 86-431-7560093(Home)

Police Yu Chuanqiang: 86-431-7560010(Office),86-13086827114(Cell), 86-431-7265296(Home)

Police Xian Honggang: 86-431-7560010(Office),86-431-7560093(Home)

Police Zhang Shuai: 86-431-7560010(Office),86-431-7227230(Home)

Police Xue Huanwen: 86-431-7560010(Office)

Police Dong Zhijun: 86-431-7560010(Office)

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Zhang Xuefeng was a Falun Gong practitioner in Qinghai Province. During her two-year incarceration in the Duoba Forced Labor Camp in Qinghai Province, she was forcefully administered drugs damaging to her central nervous system, and thus became mentally deranged. Ms. Zhang Xuefeng passed away within a year of being released.

Before Ms. Zhang started to practice Falun Gong, she was frail and afflicted with an illness in her uterus. She often had to go to the hospital because of her ailment. Her life and work was also compromised because of this ailment. Ms. Zhang's illness disappeared without a trace since she began to cultivate Falun Gong.

After Jiang Zemin's group started to openly persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Ms. Zhang Xuefeng and her father traveled to Beijing together to appeal for Falun Dafa. Unfortunately, the police abducted them and sentenced Ms. Zhang to two years in a forced labor camp.

While Ms. Zhang was incarcerated in the Duoba Forced Labor Camp, the prison police subjected her to severe torture and torment. They tried to force her to give up Falun Dafa, but she refused. The police then started to force her to take drugs that would damage her central nervous system. When Ms. Zhang refused to comply, they forcefully administered the drug, which caused her to become mentally deranged and to lose her cognitive functions. When her father and her husband visited her in Duoba Forced Labor Camp, she could not recognize either of them.

Ms. Zhang's parents are both Falun Gong practitioners. According to their testimony, their daughter was released in December 2002. During the few times when Ms. Zhang was clear-headed, she spelled out clearly that the police had forcefully administered the drugs to her that caused her mental derangement. Despite her health condition, Ms. Zhang persevered in studying the Fa and practicing the Falun Gong exercises at home. While she was studying the Fa with her parents, she appeared to be more clear-headed and mentally stable. However, she was still fighting with her mental trauma from the appalling torture in the labor camp. She was hard on herself for some of the things she had done against her conscience in the labor camp while she was not clear-headed because of the drugs. The memory of the horrid persecution in the forced labor camp continued to haunt and torment her. The painful memory was an unbearable burden on her mind. What had happened in Duoba Forced Labor Camp continued to bother her enormously and the damage to her central nervous system could not be undone. When she was alone she was not clear-headed and often became mentally deranged. When that happened, she was not herself. She would be confused, and say strange things and do strange things. However, she once said, "They tried to kill me, but I must not die. If I should die, I would have given Falun Dafa a bad name."

The "610 Office" in Qinghai Province and the Duoba Forced Labor Camp have tortured and mutilated Ms. Zhang Xuefeng to a point beyond repair. Even time had failed to ease her physical and spiritual trauma. After nearly a year since Ms. Zhang returned home, she decided to end the painful memory that Jiang Zemin's regime had inflicted upon her with death. She killed herself by jumping out of the building on November 20, 2003.

[The "610 Office" is a Gestapo-like 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. Due to pressure from the international community, the Chinese Communist government has renamed the "610 Office" on October 15, 2003, and lied to the world, stating that the "610 Office" has been "disbanded."]

That day, the Public Security officers in Qinghai Province came to check the case and tried to shift responsibility for her death from them to Falun Gong. "Was she a Falun Gong practitioner?" Her mother replied, "She was persecuted to death! She practiced Falun Gong for several years and had always been healthy. Why did she become mentally deranged after she was released from the forced labor camp?" They fled without a reply.

This is the true story of Ms. Zhang about her illegal incarceration in Duoba Forced Labor Camp, her release, and her death. Our group is currently investigating the physical and spiritual torture that Ms. Zhang Xuefeng had been subjected to.

(Clearwisdom.net) January 5, 2004

To Shan County, Henan Province's Prosecutor-in-Charge:

I am the mother of Falun Gong practitioner Wu Zhongmin. I am writing to you to report the savage persecution that my son has been suffering. I hope that you will uphold justice.

I am hereby suing Li Fengrui, chief officer of the Bureau of Public Security in Shan County, Henan Province. The government is bound to abide by the regulation that nobody should be imprisoned beyond their jail term. Recently the government also reiterated that the person who is responsible for the extended imprisonment of a person must be investigated and held accountable. My son was sentenced to two years of forced labor. It has' been over four years now, and he is still not released. I am requesting you to realize the government's pledge to the people.

My son Wu Zhongmin was arrested on August 17, 1999 when he went to Beijing to legally appeal for Falun Gong. On August 23, 1999 Wu Zhongmin was taken to a jail in Shan County. In October he was imprisoned in a detention center. In May 2000 he was imprisoned in jail. Originally he was only given two small steamed buns to eat for a day, and was given no vegetables at all.

On December 1, 2000, I went to Xuchang City to meet with my son. I discovered my son's hair had turned white. I asked Li Fengrui for the reason, why did this happen? Chief officer Li said they did not torture my son. But my son's hair was black before and he was only in his 30's. What happened to him during the last few months? What types of suffering and tortures could cause one's hair to turn completely white?

On October 22, 2000, my son Wu Zhongmin was sentenced to two years of forced labor. On October 26 he was imprisoned at the Third Labor Camp in Xuchang City, Henan Province. As soon as he arrived at the labor camp courtyard, his head was hit so severely that he bled. The scar and scabbing on the left side of his forehead was still there when I went to see him. The cut was more than one inch long.

They beat Wu Zhongmin mercilessly at the Xuchang City Labor Camp many times. Furthermore, the labor camp willfully extended or changed his forced labor term. It had been planned to release him from the labor camp in August 2001, but with no explanation, his release was utterly delayed and he was not released until April 27, 2002.

'Unbelievable as it seems, it turned out that the so-called release was rescinded and he was not permitted to go home after all. Officials from the Shan County Police Branch in Henan Province sent someone to the Third Labor Camp in Xuchang City and handcuffed my son in the labor camp's courtyard. Then, he was taken back to and imprisoned at the Shan County Prison. So far, my son is still imprisoned at a brainwashing class.

In December 2003, I, the mother of Wu Zhongmin, I called chief officer Li Fengrui to ask about my son's injuries and to inquire about his release from the labor camp. Chief Officer Li still said that my son was not tortured. How could Chief Officer Li ignore the facts and tell lies? How could I trust them anymore?

Not too long ago, my oldest son and daughter went to see Wu Zhongmin. They learned that Wu had difficulties walking and he was physically weak. If the vegetables tasted slightly salty, his stomach would feel extremely uncomfortable. Imprisoning Wu for more than a two-year illegal extension and unwilling to release him, the labor camp insisted on forcing him to "be transformed" (give up practicing Falun Gong).

According to my personal experience, after my son started practicing Falun Gong, he learned to become a good person. After that, he became very healthy, and became very gentle and docile as well. Furthermore, he also worked more earnestly. I do not understand what could be wrong with this [becoming a good person]? He hasn't harmed anyone. Certainly he hasn't harmed the society. He is an extremely sensible and rational person. I wonder what they want to "transform" him into?

I was told that chief officer Li Fengrui is the head of the "610 Office." He said to me on the telephone, "The country has banned Falun Gong, but you are just determined to practice... only your son has not been transformed."

Officer Li wanted us to do him a favor. He said he was a communist party member, therefore he must listen to what the party ordered him to do and he must accomplish the tasks the authorities assign to him. Li Fengrui also said that, "we simply have to crack down on this kind of people." I asked what they were trying to crack down on, that my son was not a counter-revolutionary. He then changed his ploy and said that they must "educate" him. I said, "How did you educate him? He is a good person, and in which direction do you want to guide him? Did you really educate him? Education is supposed to be voluntary. You are persecuting him! You used the label of education to actually persecute him. We do not want it."

Chief officer Li Fengrui unexpectedly threatened me and said, "you are a very stubborn old woman," and when the time came they would go to my home and handle my son's matter together. He could not predict what would happen then. He also insisted to get my name and repeatedly said that I was very stubborn. In addition, he said that I was a very competent person, and I should take care of all Falun Gong issues of the country.

Li Fengrui knowingly violated the law. It is absolutely wrong to persecute my son! Section 40 in the Chinese Constitution clearly states that citizens have the right to appeal, and to freedom of belief. Their deeds are trampling human rights. They illegally imprison innocent people, even extending their terms, and willfully carry out physical and mental tortures. It is a crime.

Shan County Prosecutor, please investigate and process this matter. Please solve this problem as soon as possible. If you do not solve and process this matter, please inform me in an official letter as soon as possible, so that I will report this matter to even higher authorities.

(signed) Wu Zhongmin's mother

Phone number of Shan County Police Station: 86-398 -- 3833900

Additional Note:

As we were about to post this letter, we were told that with the help of other practitioners' righteous thoughts, Wu Zhongmin ingeniously escaped from the jail at Shan County in Henan Province and freed himself from the police. He then re-joined the immense Fa-rectification current. A few days ago, several police broke into Wu Zhongmin mother's residence and arrogantly demanded to know Wu's whereabouts. Only then did the mother learn that her son had escaped from his captors. The police told the mother that her son was not "transformed," but that he had ran away.

Wu's mother asked the police to show her their IDs. She gave them paper and pens, and asked them to write down their names, work units and phone numbers in order to contact those places to confirm the information of her son's tortures, illegal imprisonment and the extended imprisonment.

The police were scared. They dared not to tell her their names, nor were they willing to show their IDs and asked, "Are you going to expose us on Minghui?" Afterwards, the police quickly sneaked off, which made Wu's mother feel strangely odd.

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Xu Yunfeng, forty-seven years old, was a Dafa practitioner in Chongqing City, Sichuan Province. Ms. Xu was detained for a long time in the Jinkou brainwashing center in Shapingba district of Chongqing City where she died from the persecution on April 29, 2003.

In May of 2002 the police seized Ms. Xu and locked her on the second floor of Dizhi Boarding House in Xianfeng Street, Jingkou in Chongqing city to brainwash her. This brainwashing center was tightly sealed off to the outside world. Tang and Wang of the Political and Judicial committee of Shapingba district "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] run the brainwashing center along with other personnel, including team leaders Yan Liping and Chen Yanyan, who were originally "instructors" at Maojiashan women's forced labor camp; policemen Peng Yun, Yang Ze, Chen Shixia who were transferred from Xishanping forced labor camp and reformatory center. Wu from Chongqing Second Steel company also transferred to the brainwashing center as "assistant tutor."

Immediately after Xu Yunfeng was in the brainwashing center, they attempted to force her to write the three statements [Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.] sign guarantees, and watch videos which slandered Dafa and Teacher. When Ms. Xu refused to write the three statements, policeman Peng Jun said to her, "Even though you refused to write, we have our means to break you, if you do not write, we will send you to forced labor camp. What does it matter if we beat a Falun Gong practitioner to death? The death of Falun Gong practitioners is nothing. At present time only Jiang Zemin's orders count. Even though Falun Gong is good, there is nothing we can do. Jiang Zemin has said if beaten Falun Gong practitioner to death, we will use the story as propaganda and broadcast on CCTV. We would say that the death was because of cultivation insanity from practicing Falun Gong and that you committed suicide. Who will listen to you?..."

The police would not let her sleep. Every night they and the instructors took turns to interrogate her until 2-3 am. They did not give her any food or drink, or let her take a bath in the hot summer month of June. Ms. Xu protested the persecution with a hunger strike. The police took Xu to Shuangbei hospital in Shapingba to conduct barbaric force-feeding (total 8 persons participated in the force-feeding Xu Yunfeng: 3 police, 3 "610" officers," 2 assistant tutors. Later they locked her up in a small cell to torture her and forced-fed her numerous times until she died.

(Clearwisdom.net)

February 16, 2004

Thank you for your recent fax regarding the celebrations of the Chinese New Year in Paris.

I have contacted the French embassy in Dublin on this matter and will revert to you once I receive their response.

I would point out that the European parliament has repeatedly expressed concern at the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. In a resolution adopted last year, the EP urged Chinese authorities to recognize that the great majority of practitioners in no way threaten the authority of the government and also urged the Falun Gong to pursue its right to practice in a responsible and non-confrontational manner.

The European Parliament has been repeatedly informed by the Commission and the Council that "the EU, in all political dialogue meetings with China, underlines the importance it attaches to respect for human rights, including the freedom of religion and belief and that it will continue to do so on every possible occasion. At every session of the human rights dialogue with China, the EU urges the Chinese authorities to respect the human rights of the followers of Falun Gong. In addition, the EU Heads of Mission in Beijing and in Hong Kong follow developments in the human rights area very closely."(council's answer to parliamentary question on Falun Gong in China, 26 March 2003)

Yours Sincerely,

Proinsias De Rossa MEP

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/18007.html

(Clearwisdom.net)

Swiss practitioners send forth righteous thoughts near the Chinese Consulate in Zurich	Candlelight vigil near the Chinese Consulate in Zurich in memory of practitioners died as a result of persecution	In front of the Chinese Embassy in Bern, asking that Jiang, Luo, Liu and Zhou be brought to justice

Sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bern	A young practitioner sending righteous thoughts with his parents
Clarifying the truth in the centre of Bern	Practitioners' activities drew large crowds

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/18014.html

(Clearwisdom.net) On February 17, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from Germany and the Ukraine gathered at the Chinese Consulate in Munich to protest against the recent escalation of the persecution of practitioners in China by Jiang's group. Practitioners appealed to bring the criminal behind the persecution and his main accomplices to justice, displaying a Chinese-German banner reading "The Law is Against Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang." A photo display showed pictures of Falun Gong practitioners who were tortured to death.

Apart from the Chinese and German people who were visiting the Chinese Consulate on business, several busloads of Chinese people arrived. These people, especially the ones from Mainland China, were very surprised to see people practicing Falun Gong. Some of them read the banners out loud. Others gazed at practitioners in amazement for a long time until the bus took them away.

Throughout the day, passers-by wanted to find out more about the persecution. Some offered to donate money; practitioners thanked them, but declined. Moreover, some asked what they could do to help the practitioners in China. Others prayed for the persecuted practitioners.

A German businessman waiting for a visa looked at the persecution photos and told practitioners he was shocked. Attracted by the prospective market in China, he had been to China twice. He had seen a lot poor people and strange sights, and he didn't believe the things that appear in the state-controlled media. At first he worried that the Consulate would not grant his visa after he talked with Falun Gong practitioners. However, after talking with practitioners for a while, he said he didn't care about his visa any more and wished good luck to all Falun Gong practitioners.

Dafa practitioner Chen Gang from Munich recently welcomed the arrival of his mother from China. His mother is a Falun Gong practitioner who the "610 Office" had tried to abduct and take to brainwashing classes. She had to abandon her home for more than two years. German practitioners petitioned to rescue her, and were pleased when she safely arrived in Germany. Now she also stands among the practitioners, protesting the suppression by Jiang's group.

Falun Gong practitioners appealed for the chief culprits responsible for the persecution to be immediately brought to justice. Practitioners hope that all levels of Chinese officials and international circles will get to know the facts of the Jiang group's kidnapping and torturing of Falun Gong practitioners, thereby helping to stop the persecution in China.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/18010.html

(Clearwisdom.net) On February 20, 2004, Swedish Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm. Their presence was once again to appeal for Jiang Zemin, the chief perpetrator of the persecution against Falun Gong, and his main accomplices, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang, to be dealt with according to the rule of law. The appeal called on all sectors of society to help stop the persecution of Falun Gong, and support the trial of these criminals. In the process of four years of persecution, the blood debts of these four criminals has grown and grown. The scale and scope of this persecution has been large enough to cover the whole of China and also affect many countries overseas, depleting the spirit of hundreds of millions.

For the purpose of eradicating Falun Gong, Jiang has used cruel brainwashing methods to destroy people's heartfelt beliefs and their sense of righteousness. If this intention cannot be achieved then the people are physically destroyed. Reports of over 890 practitioners being persecuted to death have been verified. However, Chinese Government estimates place the figure at over 1,600.

The Swedish practitioners unfurled two banners reading "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong Practitioners" and "Deal with Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, and Zhou Yongkang with the Law".

At 12 o'clock, two Swedish Dafa practitioners and Australian practitioner Dai Zhizhen went to the front entrance of the Chinese Embassy, together with representatives from a Swedish daily newspaper and reporters from the New Tang Dynasty TV Station, to deliver an open letter written by Swedish practitioners addressed to the Ambassador. The gates of the Chinese embassy remained closed. Faced with these peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, no one in the Embassy dared to answer the doorbell. After reading this open letter aloud, the Falun Gong practitioners placed the Chinese and the Swedish translations of the letter into the Chinese Embassy's mailbox.

After interviewing Falun Gong practitioners on the phone, Sweden's TT News Organisation swiftly released a news report.

People passing by approached practitioners and offered support. A lady gave the thumbs up sign and said, "You are brilliant, I support you." An old shop-keeper said, "You are reminding society not to bargain with human rights, you are doing a good job." A diplomat said, "I can never understand why the Chinese Government would fear your kind of people." Another gentleman who was walking with him interjected, "Maybe it's just your honesty and compassion that's making the Chinese Government feel afraid."

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/18012.html

(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom recently published an article "Panicked Authorities in Hebei Province Indiscriminately Arrest Falun Dafa Practitioners in Retaliation for TV Tapping Incident." The article said, "Certain lawless authorities were very panicked after Falun Dafa practitioners in Xingtai City and Shahe City, Hebei Province successfully inserted signals into a local TV program to clarify the truth about Falun Gong during the Chinese New Year. The Hebei Province Party Committee ordered Xingtai City to 'solve the case' by a deadline; otherwise the mayor would be fired. In the meantime, some officers from Hebei Province Police Department stationed in the Yongnian area have arrested several practitioners. Many Falun Dafa practitioners had no other choice but to leave their homes to avoid arrest and persecution." (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/8/44894.html) After reading this I was very moved. Our great fellow practitioners, one after another, have sacrificed all they have to save sentient beings!

Following Changchun area practitioners' pioneering deeds to explain the facts about Falun Gong through TV, truth clarification by pre-empting television broadcasts has produced good effects in many areas. This has strongly exposed and frightened the evil and let many people know the facts. However in many areas after the practitioners tapped into TV signals to broadcast Falun Gong documentary videos, the evil accumulated there to furiously persecute practitioners and caused some loss to the Fa-rectification work in those areas. In the Changchun area alone, almost 5,000 practitioners were rounded up after the first broadcasts, and some, like Liu Chengjun, have even been tortured to death. Other areas that have done TV tapping, for example, the city of Nahe in Heilongjiang Province, and the current cities of Xingtai and Shahe, and Yongnian area in Handan City, Hebei Province, also have suffered persecution to various degrees.

As Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners, everyone should think carefully about how to work together to eradicate the evil persecution and oppose the old forces' arrangement, and how to completely break the evil's blockage and interference with truth clarification through TV tapping, and how to break the evil's persecution of practitioners, so that truth clarification through TV tapping can more widely be used around the country to more effectively save sentient beings.

In 2002 when Changchun area practitioners tapped into TV signals to clarify the truth, we may not have had a clear understanding of the Fa principles, yet now two years later on the path created through the sacrifice of fellow practitioners' lives, we should become mature on this aspect. Hopefully, all practitioners can pay attention to and think about this issue.

Truth clarification through TV covers wide areas and has good effects. Thus the evil fears it the most and tries desperately to block it. Master also said that it is a disaster for the evil. In China 80% of the population are farmers who live in relatively poor areas that have very limited access to computers and other Internet sources. VCD players are not widely available either. Some mountain areas in particular have very little connection with the outside world and are ill-informed. However, since the people there have TV, they are also poisoned by the evil's lies and slanders against Dafa on the TV and radio broadcasts.

Dafa disciples have been using various ways of clarifying the truth such as giving out flyers, making phone calls and giving out CDs. However, there are places that Dafa disciples cannot reach because there are fewer Dafa disciples in those areas or other reasons. Therefore, using TV to clarify the truth can help reach these areas and this approach is particularly showing its strength during this last period of time in the course of Fa-rectification.

How can we break the arrangement by the evil old forces of persecuting Dafa disciples and truly attain the objective of offering salvation to all sentient beings? Is it that we will be severely persecuted by the evil old forces whenever we use TV to clarify the truth? I think that we should examine ourselves first and see whether we need to let go of some notions among Dafa disciples as one body or not.

In "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference," Teacher told us:

Therefore, we must be able to think independently, study the Fa more, develop more understanding based on the principles of the Fa and become enlightened along a Dafa disciple's own path. In this way Teacher can set his mind at ease about us.

In "Singing the Praises of Master and Dafa * With Master's Comment" (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/8/30/39707.html), the practitioner said, "The old cosmos's forces, within the realm of their power, created the manifestation of imposing their old, degenerated things upon Master and Dafa, and this manifestation looks 'solid and concrete' to the sentient beings within this realm. However, this is absolutely not Master's original will and true manifestation, and it is not the true image of Dafa. Instead, they are false illusions that the old forces created for the cosmos's sentient beings within their realm in the course of choosing their self-destruction. In the human world, those illusions manifest as countless vicious lies, and even as some 'solid and concrete' manifestations of cultivators' and practitioners' situations, and they even dare to do things towards Teacher. People in the world believe them to be true, many cultivators believe them to be true, but these sentient beings who have been deceived cannot truly know the real situation. All of these 'solid, concrete facts and phenomena' are precisely the acts by the old forces in the process of their self-destruction, and they are also severe tests for sentient beings' and cultivators' futures. The manifestations of what has been imposed upon Master, Dafa and Dafa disciples will be over with the passing of the old cosmos. ......... At this time when the last manifestations of the old cosmos are passing quickly, for the people of the world and especially the multitude of cultivators who have been deceived by all of the false illusions created by the old forces, they need to be ever more rational and clear-minded."

Comment from Master:

We can also re-study Teacher's article "Look at Things with Righteous Thoughts":

So fundamentally we have to look at things with our righteous thoughts and form a whole body to eliminate the evil's arrangements. Since tapping into TV networks is a large undertaking, it requires co-operation and participation from all of us as a united team. In the past, for safety consideration, only the few people who were actually carrying out the task knew what was going on. The majority of Dafa disciples did not participate and even did not know about it. Many disciples felt that clarifying the truth via TV did not have much to do with them.

This is similar to how we thought about the "Bring Jiang to Justice" effort at the beginning. We felt that it was the responsibility of local Dafa disciples in the United States. But after communication among Dafa disciples and many articles on the web discussing the significance of bringing Jiang to justice, Dafa disciples as a whole increased their understanding of the effort and hence everyone participated. So Dafa disciples became more as one body, and this dramatically speeded up the process of bringing Jiang to justice.

Therefore, regarding clarifying the truth through TV, all of our Dafa disciples should first eliminate concepts like being numb, having a wait-and-see attitude, passively waiting and having a not-my-business attitude. We all should realize the importance of the effort and treat it with righteous thoughts, strengthen it and participate in the effort with righteous thoughts as well (not everyone needs to be physically involved in the TV tapping). During the process, we should form a united, perfect and whole body. We all have to do well the three things that Master has asked us to do. At the same time, we should help the TV tapping effort by sending forth righteous thoughts and eliminate interference from the evil so that every region has a strong energy field full of righteous thoughts. When one area has a TV tapping event, all of us should support it with righteous thoughts and divine powers to get rid of locally accumulated evil forces. Hence the evil will have neither any reason nor any space to exist, and the best results of clearing the evil and saving people will be reached. The pressure on local disciples will also be reduced.

This is how the whole body can co-operate smoothly. Every Dafa disciple should stand on the basis of validating Dafa and saving human beings, and understand the significance and necessity of clarifying the truth through TV from the perspective of the Fa. When everyone treats the effort as one's own business and strengthens it with righteous thoughts, the false appearance of the evil persecution will be exposed, the goal of validating Dafa and saving lives will be achieved and the path of our Fa-validation will be forged. Just like the "sue Jiang" effort, it was our hearts (wishes) that stimulated the progress. External conditions were not the dominant factors. Co-operation with righteous thoughts and the will of Fa-rectification Lords determine the celestial phenomena (the fate and the outcome). So communication and exchange of our understanding based on Fa principles about TV tapping is very important to Dafa disciples.

If we completely understand it based on the Fa, we can also clarify the truth to the public. Since the evil has spread lies that our tapping into TV signals to clarify the truth is illegal, we can expose the evil's lies and tell people why we use TV to tell the truth. There have been many articles on Minghui and Clearwisdom discussing whether tapping TV is legal, reasonable, righteous and just. Our local practitioners also had open discussions and reached deep understanding on this issue. We now pay more attention to such events and form a very strong righteous field when they happen.

Now we Dafa disciples from Mainland China are extremely concerned about the situation in the cities of Xingtai and Shahe, and Yongnian area in Handan City. We are sending forth righteous thoughts and eliminating the evil's persecution together with disciples in the cities of Xingtai, and Shahe, and Yongnian area in Handan City. In the meantime, we hope that more disciples in China and from overseas will actively participate using various approaches like making phone calls, writing letters and exposing the evil to the local people in order to remove the evil more broadly and save sentient beings.

When we do what we should do such as breaking old concepts, clarifying the truth and co-operating and improving together as a whole, we will surely succeed in validating Dafa and saving sentient beings.

February 12, 2004

(Clearwisdom.net) Two years ago, I participated in a training course. The lecturer was a righteous and kind young man. One day, I took a Dafa truth-clarifying VCD with me and wanted to find a chance to give it to the lecturer. Unexpectedly, only several minutes after the class began, the lecturer who previously seemed to be very bright and wise began to lose his composure, and started to attack Dafa using innuendos.

I realized that the evil from other dimensions saw the truth-clarifying VCD that I had brought and was terrified, and therefore began to interfere with an everyday person's righteous thoughts in a frenzied way. However, my heart still felt very painful upon seeing others attacking Dafa. I began to fight with myself fiercely: "If this lecturer is so bad, should I still risk giving him the VCD? Is he still worth saving?"

Thinking that Master has always asked us to treat sentient beings with compassion, and to awaken the righteous thoughts toward Dafa from those whose minds have been poisoned by vicious lies, as well as to let them know the truth, my hand reached out to the precious VCD. Just when I decided to hand it out, the lecturer on the stage started to say some bad things again. I drew my hand back in anger. However, in my mind I kept on thinking of Master's painstaking efforts in saving Dafa disciples and sentient beings. I put my hand back in my pocket and held onto the VCD, and I made up my mind to .... well, then, the lecturer started slandering Dafa again. If I did not touch the VCD, he would teach the class normally. Once I thought about clarifying the truth to him, he would say something disrespectful towards Dafa. I withdrew my hand from the VCD subconsciously.

When the lecturer started to ridicule Dafa once again, I decided not to give him the VCD! At that time, I was filled with anger and sorrow and completely forgot about sending forth righteous thoughts. I stared at the bright forehead of the lecturer in anger. I imagined that a little angel with wings flew over and shot an arrow into his big forehead. (Actually I had already utilized my supernormal abilities and righteous thoughts to clean up the evil that was interfering with him). Miracles happened at that moment: as soon as I began to think, the rattling lecturer immediately shut his mouth as if choked and did not finish the second half of the sentence. He stopped for a little while, started to teach the class normally, and did not say anything bad until the end of the class.

I was amazed at the miraculous effects of such a 'casual' thought! Of course I knew that my thoughts just now could not be counted as sending forth righteous thoughts in a strict sense. It must be that Master understood my wish to help and did not want me to give up at that time, and so Master helped me. I did not hesitate any more and put the VCD into the lecturer's bag before the class was dismissed.

When the lecturer came to the class again, he faced students from all levels and from different places and said straightforwardly, "A student gave me a gift. It is a Falun Gong truth-clarifying video. I appreciate it a lot." Then he continued with positive opinions about Dafa and his resentment of the evil persecution. From the perspective of a teacher caring for his student', he reminded the class several times (of course he did not know who gave him the VCD) to pay attention to security issues.

Perhaps every fellow practitioner from mainland China would feel and be touched the same way I was. That was in 2001 in mainland China! The lecturer faced hundreds of strangers, dared to support Dafa and oppose the evil persecution openly. Once he knew the truth, the lecturer retracted all his previous words of misunderstanding determinedly, and spoke out for Dafa in public. All the students listened quietly. Nobody said anything against him or jeered him. The lecturer's positive attitude towards Dafa and his personal opinions must have put an iron stamp on the heart of all the students. When they understand the truth someday, they would remember and appreciate the virtue and courage of the lecturer.

The person who was completely shocked was me. I wrote a letter to the lecturer after the class, and expressed my deep appreciation for his virtue and courage as well as his concern and care. I also explained that as disciples who have been benefited physically and mentally from Dafa, we cannot ignore the insults from the evil to the most glorious nature of humankind, namely Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance; we also cannot overlook the brutal persecution of kind people and the trampling on and destruction of public conscience. The strength that has kept us strong in the unprecedented persecution comes from the straightforward, mighty power in our heart. The reason that we can risk our lives and tell the truth to sentient beings one after another is that righteous and sensible people like the lecturer have let us see the hope of lives and of our nation. We also love our lives, and also want to enjoy family get-togethers, but the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance deserve to be defended with our lives. Our fellow countrymen's righteousness and conscience, the fundamentals of a human being, are the most precious things, and are also what the Dafa disciples want to awaken and protect through truth clarification. If more and more people can be awakened this way, for those disciples who have given their lives already, their blood has not been shed in vain.

At the next class, the lecturer announced to every student that he had received the letter. He mentioned Dafa positively again and reminded me to take good care of myself in the evil environment. Although vicious lies were everywhere and the lecturer had some misunderstanding of and disrespect for Dafa, he retracted all his negative opinions once he realized the truth and stood on the righteous side to support Dafa and thereby opened up a bright future for his life. All this has come from the enormous compassion and dignity of Master's Dafa.

It is just like what Master has said in "Teaching the Fa at 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,"

(Clearwisdom.net) Lately I have read some pamphlets that expose local perpetrator's crimes. I have found out that many articles listing facts of the persecution focus on Dafa practitioners who were being persecuted. Although the facts of perpetrators' crimes were all there, it was still scattered around too much. In some of the worst persecution cases, there were no perpetrators' 'names listed. I think if there is no mention of the individual perpetrator's name who is directly involved in the persecution in the truth-clarifying materials that we send out, then it is not as strong as it could be in deterring them. I think the reason for this lack of focus is because the source of the firsthand persecution materials are practitioners' narratives of their personal experiences.

My suggestion is that we should prepare some truth-clarifying materials that are based on exposing the perpetrators'' crimes against practitioners. We can use materials that we already have currently, and directly target the perpetrators. Here is the crucial information that should be collected: a perpetrator's name, work unit, position, age, telephone number, other personal information, details of their crimes including time, locale, victim's name, what happened, etc.

In addition, I think doing this could also help reduce the psychological pressure on non-practitioner's relatives. Many people do not have upright thinking and cannot fully understand the facts surrounding the persecution of Dafa practitioners. For instance, I experienced tremendous tribulation after I went to Tiananmen Square to unfurl a banner and got arrested. Almost all my family members, relatives, and friends told me that I should not have gone to Beijing, and thus implicated them.

We are risking our lives to distribute materials exposing the persecution. If we underscore the fact that we are suffering from the persecution, then even though people might feel bad about it, they would also think we are just crying for help over our own plight. I think we should let people see that we represent purity and compassion. We don't resort to violence and revenge even under such severe persecution, and we still use the most peaceful means to distribute truth-clarifying flyers, tell people the beauty of Falun Dafa, expose the perpetrators, and protect justice in the human world.

Now that Falun Gong practitioners have started making global efforts to bring Jiang to justice, we should take action immediately to expose local perpetrators of the persecution to the public. This is something that currently needs to be done in the Fa-rectification. I think this is to show people the proper standard of righteousness, a reflection of the principle of "doing good brings good results, while doing bad brings due retribution," which is also the significance of the Fa-rectification in the human world.

"Through our experiences, we feel that letting local people, including perpetrators' family, friends, neighbors, and those who know them, learn about perpetrators' crimes in persecuting Dafa practitioners in their immediate area is one of the most effective ways to eliminate the evil and clarify the truth in a deeper and more thorough manner." (Excerpt from "Expose the Evil Happening Locally to Local People")

(Clearwisdom.net) Quite a few people in my village practice Falun Dafa. Since all have greatly benefited from it, they have been steadfast in their cultivation. And that has had very good effects in spreading Falun Dafa.

For instance, the villagers are eager to read and pass around Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials. Many of them even bought VCD players so that they could watch Falun Dafa video CDs. Many villagers changed their opinions about Falun Dafa after viewing these materials. As a result, even their health improved. When some villagers found out that different materials were left in front of different people's doors, they would collect all the different ones and watch them all. Some would borrow their neighbor's materials if other people had taken the materials left for them. On the day after receiving the truth-clarifying materials, villagers would gesture to Falun Dafa practitioners showing they had received them.

When officials from the township came to visit, the village head would show them the truth-clarifying materials. When the village doctor could not heal a patient, he would suggest to the patient that he should practice Falun Gong.

Some veteran practitioners have been consistently practicing Falun Gong exercises at practice sites. They also do well at the three things Teacher has specified. As a result, many people who have predestinated relationships with Falun Dafa started practicing. Many villagers who do not practice Falun Dafa also like to visit practitioners' homes because they feel comfortable there.

When the persecution first started, some people in the village tore down truth-clarifying posters. Now, nobody tears them down anymore. Posters with "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and "Falun Dafa is Good" can be seen everywhere in and around the village. A banner with "Bring Jiang Zemin To Trail Around the World" is hanging on a street lamp pole for people to see. Everyone in the village knows Falun Dafa is good.

February 24, 2004

More than 250 practitioners of Falun Gong and their supporters jammed into a Montreal courtroom yesterday to hear the start of closing arguments in what one lawyer described as "a historic case."

"This is a pivotal court case that could set a standard," lawyer Michael Bergman said after a full day of summations before Quebec Superior Court Justice Jeannine Rousseau.

Bergman is representing 256 plaintiffs suing a local Chinese-language newspaper for $100,000 each, claiming in the civil case that they were defamed by hate literature against the traditional spiritual discipline.

He told Rousseau that opinion pieces and advertisements published in Les Presses Chinoises between November 2001 and February 2002 were aimed at denouncing Falun Gong in "graphic and horrific terms."

While the articles depicted the practice as "an evil, demonic cult insidious to the Chinese nation," Bergman countered by presenting "the alternate reality and core values of Falun Gong: truthfulness, compassion and forbearance."

Twelve of the plaintiffs testified in November they were detained in Chinese labour camps and tortured for participating in the movement, outlawed by the Chinese government in 1999.

The vast majority of the plaintiffs are Chinese with Canadian citizenship or close Canadian ties. Western-born practitioners are also taking part in the suit.

Falun Gong followers handed out leaflets outside the Place d'Armes metro station near the courthouse yesterday morning encouraging people to hear the final summations in the civil suit launched two years ago.

Bergman's arguments are expected to end today. They are to be followed tomorrow by those of Julius Grey, lawyer for Les Presses Chinoises.

Epoch Times

Feb 24, 2004

LeeJun Ivie is shown meditating. Chinese officials interrogated Ivie and members of her family about Falun Gong activities in the U.S.

The National Security Agent issued a chilling warning to LeeJun Ivie before her return home to the United States: "Do not discuss this with anybody!"

The agent's threat was an attempt to conceal the illegal detainment and interrogation of a U.S. citizen.

Ms. Ivie's recent trip to China was more than just a vacation. "My father is very ill, suffering from Alzheimer's disease and lung cancer," Ms. Ivie told Epoch Times. "I felt it was important to travel to China and see him now."

On Jan. 24, Ms. Ivie was celebrating her 41st birthday at her parent's house, just south of Beijing. At around 9:30 a.m., the gathering was disrupted by a knock on the front door. "There were two local policemen, demanding to see my passport," Ms. Ivie said. "One officer wanted to take the passport away with him to make a copy. I did not think it was such a good idea to let the local police take away my American identification."

Her brother volunteered to go with the officers to the station to make a copy of the passport. Although the station was only five minutes away, it was an hour before her brother returned. "He said that there were six or seven local police and National Security Agents wanting to see me, and one of the agents wanted to keep my passport." Faced with the prospect of dealing with communist government agents, her unease grew. Ms. Ivie placed a call to the American embassy, leaving a message with the consul in charge of American citizen matters.

At about 3 p.m., Ms. Ivie left her parents' house to visit an older brother who had prepared a birthday celebration. While riding with her sister, she noticed a black sedan was following them. At that moment, her cell phone rang. "The American consul Greg Marcus called me back on my cell phone," Ms Ivie said. "I told him there was a black car following us, and before I finished the conversation with Greg, three black vehicles cornered us next to a bridge. All of a sudden the entire street was full of people." According to Ms. Ivie, several men approached the car and dragged her sister and husband out of the front seat. While she called for help over the phone to the American consul, another man reached in and pulled the phone from her hand. He then removed the battery, and placed both items in his pocket. Two more climbed into the back of the car, sandwiching her between them. "I asked the man to return my cell phone. I told him I was talking to the American Embassy when he took my phone away. He didn't seem to care. I also asked who they were and he wouldn't give an answer. I then asked him, 'Where are we going?' and he said, 'You'll see.'"

The convoy of vehicles traveled at very high speeds, she said, ignoring all traffic signals, and pulled up to the Daxing hotel. "There were at least 20 agents lined up at both sides of the front gate waiting for our arrival. They took me to room 718, and ordered me to sit in a chair," Ms. Ivie said. "There were four or five agents in the room. A man identifying himself as Mr. Liu opened the conversation by saying: 'I'm representing the country talking to you; it's for the goodness of you, your family and the country.' I told him I didn't understand what he was trying to say. He then asked if I knew why I was being brought in." She then recounted the events of that morning to Liu, including the visit by local police. The interrogation then took a sinister turn, and Mr. Liu's tone became menacing. "He said, 'We've been watching and spying on you for quite a while in the U.S., and we know everything you do.' I told him that I was an American, and he had no right to spy on me in my own country. I then said, 'If you know everything, why don't you tell me what I've done.' It was at this time that Liu said, 'Have you ever sent Falun Gong-related materials to China?'"

Falun Gong is a spiritual practice made public in China in the early 1990s. In Chinese, it is called "xiulian," meaning "cultivation." Cultivation practices were well known throughout China's history, and are woven into the fabric of traditional Chinese thought. Many of these practices vanished during the communist government's Cultural Revolution. When Falun Gong's popularity grew, the Chinese government was initially very supportive of it and recognized its contribution to improvement of health and character. Alarmed by the growing number of Falun Gong practitioners, however, in July 1999 Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin started a relentless campaign of persecution against practitioners. Completely reversing its stance of support, the government outlawed the practice and stripped away the rights of practitioners. China's propaganda machine then kicked in, introducing Falun Gong as a "cult" to the rest of the world in an attempt to portray it as a threat and justify its actions. More than four years later, the truth about this practice has emerged, and China's persecution of Falun Gong is condemned throughout the world.

Ms. Ivie has practiced Falun Gong in the United States since 1997.

"I told Mr. Liu that I sent materials to friends in China who questioned the government's portrayal of Falun Gong. All they see and hear is state-run media broadcasts. There were stories about people being set on fire on Tiananmen Square and mentally unstable people killing others. I told them these were fabrications; that there are large numbers of people in over 50 countries practicing Falun Gong, including Westerners and Americans. Why don't they behave that way?"

Ms. Ivie soon learned that she had been watched as soon as she had landed in China. "He asked what was in my plastic bag when I walked out of the airport. I told him the plastic bag was filled with items I purchased at Narita Airport in Japan." The agents were not satisfied with just questions.

"They wanted to do a body search and bag search. They continued to threaten me by saying they were going to ransack my parents' house. I wouldn't let them open my purse without a proper permit." One agent left the room, returning with a document labeled "Search Warrant." They demanded she sign it. She refused. The agents confiscated her purse and searched it anyway.

Turning their attention to other belongings, the agents found a digital camera. They examined her photographs and deleted ones that they felt were "Falun Gong related." Next was her MP3 player, which in addition to her favorite music and poems, contained Falun Gong lectures. "They started yelling at me, 'This is against Chinese law!'" They then tried to get into her handheld computer. After Ms. Ivie refused to provide her password, the men continued their attempts to break into the device. "They kept trying to crack my password throughout the interrogation."

Ms. Ivie was not the only member of her family to face questioning. She soon learned that other family members were being detained as well. "My sister and her husband were also being interrogated from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. the same day. They do not practice Falun Gong. My brother-in-law's car was being ransacked without notice. My sister had to go to the bathroom and a female agent followed her inside the bathroom, which made her very uncomfortable."

At about 7:30 p.m., some of her family members were released. But for another sibling, things had just begun. "They brought my younger brother in for further interrogation. His interrogation lasted from 7:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. This was very upsetting for my family".

As Ms. Ivie's ordeal continued, Mr. Liu demanded something more from the American. "He tried to force me to write and sign a "statement of guarantee" which indicated, first, I have to watch my actions in the [United States], otherwise they will do damage to me and to my family. Second, I need to guarantee not to get involved in Falun Gong activities in China. Thirdly, I have to report to Liu every time I return to China. I told him I would not sign the guarantee. What an American does in America should be of no concern to the Chinese government."

She reiterated her reasons for being in China. "I stated that my sole purpose for coming to China was to visit my family. I haven't violated any Chinese law. I told Liu I have no intention of contacting him because he has never shown any identification. I don't know who he represents".

As the interrogation extended into the night, the unidentified agents changed tactics. "There were four or five agents in the room at all times. They sometime would send a different agent into the room to put pressure on me by saying that they had to move me to another place and keep the interrogation going until I showed some remorse or sign the guarantee." As Ms. Ivie was unwavering, they tried again. "One agent threatened me by saying, 'I'll deport you tomorrow morning.' Another agent would come in and threaten to not allow me to leave the country, or that I'll never be able to enter China again. Around 9 p.m., they began threatening me with statements about breaking into and ransacking my parents' house."

The agents filled out a report on the interrogation, asking her to sign it. "The agents' report was very deceiving and selectively stated. I read through the document but refused to sign, because the document and the signature can be taken out of context and used for further persecution against me and Falun Gong practitioners. I was concerned that this distortion could be used as a propaganda tool and mislead others."

Before releasing Ms. Ivie, Mr. Liu demanded two more meetings with her. "I told him I had nothing further to talk about, and they had ruined my birthday and disturbed my family and our New Year celebration. I wished him to leave me and my family alone." She was released at 2 a.m. the next day.

Ms. Ivie visited the American embassy on Jan. 27 to report the incident.

Upon hearing of Ms. Ivie's detainment, her fiance flew to China and hired an American attorney. It was at this attorney's office that Ms. Ivie received a call from Mr. Liu, demanding a meeting with her. "My lawyer told him he would be accompanying me to the meeting, but Liu responded that he couldn't do that, and that I should have a Chinese lawyer." Due to Mr. Liu's insistence, Ms. Ivie went to the Daxing hotel to meet him, accompanied by her lawyer. The sight of her arriving with counsel rattled Liu. "He told me that it was not the time to hire a lawyer. He said that when I was sent to jail, then he would tell me to hire a lawyer. He also said that American lawyers do not know the situation in China nor Chinese law. He went on to say that it was no use to hire an American lawyer, and that none of the Chinese lawyers dare to even take up such a case, saying that they 'were scared of me and my agency.'"

After several unsuccessful attempts to separate Ms. Ivie from her lawyer, Mr. Liu accused her of violating Chinese law by bringing her MP3 player and its files into China. "I asked him to show me what Chinese law he was referring to. He read articles that stated that it was against Chinese law to distribute or print Falun Gong flyers or materials. I told him I did not print or distribute flyers and that the MP3 was for personal use only." She then took the opportunity to further discuss the truth of Falun Gong's persecution. "I then told him the law was created after Jiang Zemin decided to ban Falun Gong in China, and it was written to persecute good people. I told him I was a lawful American businesswoman, I had no intention of doing anything against the Chinese government, and Falun Gong was not about politics." After a two-hour meeting, ms. Ivie and her lawyer left at 5 p.m.

On Feb. 2, Mr. Liu called Ms. Ivie again, demanding another meeting. "I told him he was wasting my time and his; I wasn't about to see him again." This angered the agent. "He gave me four options: to cooperate with them and provide information on Falun Gong activities in America (2) to offer this information to him every time I go back to China. Otherwise I will never be able to come back to China. (3) I have three months to consider this. After that, when the Chinese Embassy refuses my visa I will know why. He stated I would never be able to get a visa for China or any other country. I would be stuck in America. (4) He will make my family pay. He would make my family's lives miserable and no one in my family will be able to travel or leave China."

It was then that she was issued a warning. "He said my attitude towards this matter had violated Chinese law. His very last warning was 'Do not discuss this with anybody!'"

Ms. Ivie left China the next day.

http://english.epochtimes.com/news/4-2-24/20062.html

Translated from a Chinese language Radio Free Asia Report - January 31 (New York)

Human Rights in China, headquartered in New York, issued a news release stating that the detained Falun Gong practitioners Zhang Jun and Li Chiyue (mother and daughter) have been on a hunger strike for more than eight days. China's Ministry of Public Security prevented lawyers from meeting with them. They were also deprived of their legal right to seek the counsel of a lawyer.

It was reported that Zhang Jun and Li Chiyue's relatives asked Human Rights in China for urgent help, because the mother and daughter were already in critical condition. Police agents in Beijing are still refusing to accept the warm clothes Zhang Jun's husband Li Jinxi brought for his wife and daughter.

According to sources in China, on the evening of January 20, Zhang Jun and her daughter Li Chiyue were arrested while they were trying to put up small ads at Huatang Supermarket in Chaoyang District of Beijing. The contents of the small ads were Falun Gong practitioners wishing people a happy Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and condemning Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong. The next day, after their arrest, the police agents from Chaoyang District searched their home without a warrant. On January 30, the local police issued an arrest warrant for Zhang Jun and Li Chiyue. It was read to Zhang Jun's husband Li Jinxi and they did another search.

Human Rights in China immediately appealed to the Ministry of Public Security for the release of Zhang Jun and Li Chiyue in order to avoid further deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in jail.

February 24, 2004

The slight figure of Bin He suggests he is younger than his 30 years. Yet his careful and dispassionate telling of his story is the result of the bitter experience of imprisonment and torture; an experience which he says nearly killed him.

Seven years ago, Bin was studying for a masters degree in finance at the University of Wuhan, China's third city, when he began suffering from stomach pains and fever. He consulted several doctors, but none could find anything wrong. When he returned to the family home in Guangshei City, a friend of his father's suggested he try Falun Gong, a system of gentle exercise and meditation based on the principles of truth, compassion and tolerance.

An ancient form of one of the many thousands of Qigong, or exercise and meditation systems, it was opened to the public in China in 1992 through classes conducted by Hongzhi Li. By 1999, more than 70 million people were practising it throughout China.

[...]

Last week, five followers of Falun Gong were sentenced to up to 14 years in prison for saying that a practitioner was persecuted by the government. [...]

Bin took up the practice in 1997. "I learned the principles and got up one hour earlier and did the exercises for an hour or half-an-hour each day and two weeks later all the symptoms of illness had gone." The popularity of the practice was to undermine it. "In July 1999 my parents were told to watch an announcement on TV and make sure all their family watched it. We learned that it was illegal to practise Falun Gong and they followed the announcement with a propaganda programme which showed suicides and murders that they claimed were committed by Falun Gong practitioners."

He was sacked from his job teaching economics. It became impossible for him to get another, until the Bank of East Asia, which, because it was based in Hong Kong, did not apply the same interview techniques, gave him a job.

As practitioners were arrested by the thousand and the government under Jiang Zemin continued to put out lies and misinformation, he felt obliged to protest. He went to Beijing, where there were regular protests in Tiananmen Square, and met his brother Jian and a friend Li Changjun. Despite the presence of many plainclothed policemen, Bin managed to unfurl a banner in support of Falun Gong.

"We were arrested within seconds. They said they would teach us a lesson and in the police station they beat me up. Then they sent us to a detention centre, but I refused to answer their questions. They wanted to know who the organiser was and I kept saying there wasn't one.

"They handcuffed me and then stood on my hands. They whipped me with a leather belt and they used an electric-shock baton with 30,000 volts on sensitive parts of my body. Then they caused unimaginable pain by using the edges of a small wooden stick to press down on my toes. Finally they poured chilli powder into my mouth and nose. I still would not give them an answer and they all beat me together. The torture lasted from 5pm until 3am. Finally, they said if I gave them my name and address they would release me. I did, but they continued to detain me, so I went on hunger strike. After three days they tied me to a chair and force-fed me through a tube in my nose. I started to vomit and they realised that I might die and so took me to hospital.

"I was sent to a detention centre near my home town and my family was notified of my detention. From there I was sent to the 'transformation centre' which, was built for brainwashing and torturing people to give up Falun Gong."

Bin says there were about 70 or 80 Falun Gong practitioners at the centre, each of whom was kept in a cell with no furniture. "We were not allowed to leave the room or take any exercise and from 6am until 10pm we were forced to watch TV, listen to radio programmes and read newspapers all designed to persuade Falun Gong practitioners that it caused suicide and murder. Two people that I know of died in the centre.

"Then we had to write three papers repenting for following Falun Gong. I did not want to give up and they were going to send me to a labour camp, but my parents, who had already been forced to pay a lot of money for my 'board and lodging', paid a fine (which was illegal) and with the help of influential people, got me released on bail."

As Bin's passport was issued before he had any dealings with the authorities, he was able to get from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and then to London as a student. He has been granted asylum in the UK, and his wife and three-year-old daughter have joined him in London.

Bin is worried about his brother, Jian, 27, who is being held in a labour camp without trial, but is due to be "sentenced" next month.

His parents have been financially drained by being forced to pay expenses for Jian's treatment in hospital after he was tortured. Although Bin is able to phone them, whenever he mentions Jian, the line goes dead.

[...]

Yuyu Williamson is a Chinese woman, married to a Scot, who teaches Falun Gong classes in Glasgow and is providing accommodation for Bin, who is in Scotland to address Amnesty International groups. She says: "It consists of five sets of simple exercises, which include four standing positions using simple stretches to open energy channels and allowing energy to circulate and one set of meditations done from a sitting position. It is not just exercises but the interaction of mind and body which makes it powerful."

She claims that after practising it for some time she realised she was free of the rheumatic fever which had caused her suffering since she had been forced to work in the fields in bad weather as a teenager after her parents had been arrested during the cultural revolution.

"It makes sense to me that the body and mind work together," she says.

For more information on Falun Gong see www.falundafa.org or www.clearharmony.net

(Clearwisdom.net) On February 18, 2004, Mr. Zenon Dolnyckyj, a Falun Gong practitioner from Canada was refused entry into Hong Kong. He had planned to promote his book Coming for You. Zenon said that the reason for the refusal is because of Jiang Zemin's fear of people discovering the truth about