Letter to President Bush In Advance of the APEC Meeting in Shanghai

(Clearwisdom.net)

October 15, 2001

Dear President Bush:

We were glad to hear that you are going to attend the APEC meetings in Shanghai, China. First, please accept our best wishes that you have a safe, smooth and successful trip.

The wickedness of and the destruction caused by the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the US have infuriated all kind-hearted people around the world. These acts highlighted to the whole world the existence of the dangerous terrorists who constitute a serious threat to world peace. We deeply believe that under your leadership, the global anti-terrorism movement will succeed, as goodness has always proven strong enough to crush any kind of evil, anytime.

In other parts of the world, however, another kind of terrorism also persists. This is state-run terrorism, which involves a government abusing the state apparatus against its own citizens. For example, in Mainland China, if a person openly acknowledges his belief in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, or publicly admits that he is a Falun Gong practitioner, he will immediately lose his job and be put into a labor camp, where he will endure torture and brainwashing. At present, nearly 300 people in Mainland China have been persecuted to death by the authorities because they refused to renounce Falun Gong as their faith. Before they departed, all of them were subjected to unimaginably brutal and barbaric torture and agony. Compared to the genocidal crimes by Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia, this reign of terror is even scarier, because not only were these practitioners murdered, they were tortured in the most arbitrary ways before their death; and not only were they victimized, but their family members and relatives were also extorted and threatened, including even elderly parents and innocent children. In addition, over 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested and an additional 20,000 have been sent to the so-called "re-education facilities" without any legal proceedings. Over 1,000 healthy Falun Gong practitioners have been forced to receive "treatments" at mental hospitals. The state-terrorist policies of the Chinese government have not only denied Falun Gong practitioners any access for appeals or redress, but also have placed their lives in constant danger, in a way that is reminiscent of the Nazi's treatment of the Jewish people during the Second World War.

The Chinese government is using every conceivable pretext to further persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Unfortunately, they are even using your visit to this end. To our chagrin and sorrow, the Shanghai police have escalated their persecution of local practitioners using the APEC meetings as their excuse.

Falun Gong is a peaceful practice for the mind and body. Ever since the Chinese government banned it in July 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have been seeking to regain their freedom of belief through peaceful means. Their actions have also been documented by the world media, who have reported extensively on their peaceful protests in Tiananmen Square, and captured the arresting and beating of Falun Gong practitioners in broad daylight by Chinese police. However, in spite of the arrests, labor camps, brainwashing, torture, brutal murder and the damage to families, not once have any of the millions of Falun Gong practitioners resorted to violence. What they are safeguarding is not only their God-given right to their faith, but also the collective human conscience and morality. Bearing this in mind, Falun Gong practitioners in China continue to strive to preserve this essence of humanity, in the face of an unprecedented, most vicious campaign against them by their own government.

Humankind needs peace, and a beautiful world requires kindness, benevolence and tolerance--all fundamental ingredients in Falun Gong teachings.

It is appalling to slander and denigrate the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and it is a crime against humanity to brutally murder Falun Gong practitioners, the most steadfast believers and followers of those principles. We believe it is a typical act of state-run terrorism to use propaganda and deceit to stoke hatred nationwide against practitioners of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and to subject Falun Gong practitioners to arbitrary torture and brainwashing. If this is allowed to continue unchecked, its most immediate consequence will be the destruction of a nation's morality. Once this happens in the world's most populous emerging power, it will bring a disaster to the world community, the effects of which no one will be spared.

How can a government that openly tramples on its own Constitution be counted on to abide by international treaties and trade agreements? How can a government that brutally persecutes innocent, peaceful citizens who live by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, be counted on to treat other nations and people well? In truth, a hostile government, desperate to pit its citizens against each other, will not bring peace to the world. Instead, it is very likely to join the ranks of terrorists in sowing the seeds of hatred and terror worldwide.

Mr. President, we hereby make our most earnest request to you, the representative of the justice-minded and peace-loving people of America, to use your prestige and powerful influence to exert pressure on the Chinese government in order to secure the release of the detained Falun Gong practitioners. We also request that you pay special attention to the case of Ms. Teng Chunyan, an illegally imprisoned Falun Gong practitioner and permanent US resident who was sentenced to three years in prison only because of her efforts to reveal to the world the truth about the Chinese government's abuse of mental hospitals to persecute Falun Gong. Meanwhile, we are calling on the international community to immediately undertake an independent investigation of the Falun Gong issue.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to you for all that you have done to uphold justice and world peace.

Yours truly,

Falun Gong Practitioners in the US

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