Douglas Quan

A BBC film producer who is documenting the Falun Gong movement says the Chinese government is pressuring the broadcaster to kill the project.

"The Chinese government has put pressure on the BBC not to do this program," Stuart Tanner said yesterday. Tanner, along with a reporter and cameraman, have spent the past three months documenting the meditation movement, which has been brutally suppressed in China.

The crew was in Ottawa this week to cover an international Falun Gong festival.

"Falun Gong is an international organization that is part of a wider Spiritual renaissance that the (Chinese) government is trying to crush," Mr. Tanner said.

"They'll accept no competition for people's hearts and minds!"

Mr. Tanner said the BBC has every intention of completing the 45-minute documentary, which will air on the program Correspondent. He also believes it is only a matter of time before the [party name omitted] government buckles to internal and external pressures to take a more lenient stand. Officials at the Chinese Embassy could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, several hundred Falun Gong supporters wearing bright yellow T-shirts took part in a massive parade that snaked it's way down Elgin, Gladstone, Bank and Somerset streets yesterday.

Some participants came from as far away as Australia, Sweden, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. The movement, which promotes gentle exercises and meditation, has surged in popularity, attracting an estimated 100 million followers worldwide.

Festival organizer Grace Wollensak said she has not run into any interference from the Chinese Embassy during this week's events.

Following yesterday's parade, more than 100 Falun Gong practitioners gathered on the lawn of Parliament Hill to demonstrate meditation and exercise techniques before throngs of bewildered tourists.

They also sent an urgent appeal to the Canadian government to take a tougher stand against China. Practitioners circulated a petition calling on the Canadian government to increase awareness of the-persecution happening in China and to demand that all detained practitioners be released.

Among those making the appeal was Kunlun Zhang. Mr. Zhang, a Canadian citizen, was sent to a Chinese labour camp for practicing Falun Gong last fall. He was released in January after Federal Affairs Minister John Manley pressed China to release him, and just days before a Team Canada trade mission was to begin."

"Those are painful memories," Mr. Zhang said yesterday. "For me, I don't want to look back at those experiences."

"However, there are still thousands of practitioners still suffering. I think we should be trying our best to appeal for them."

His daughter, University of Ottawa student LingDi Zhang, said she hopes Canada will take a "stronger stance."

"We want the Canadian government to help put this to an end."

Several of yesterday's parade participants were overjoyed when exiled Falun Gong founder, "Master" Li Hongzhi, made a surprise appearance at the Ottawa Congress Centre on Saturday.

"It's really meaningful. We're thankful to him for passing down this teaching to us,"said Lucy Zhou, a Kanata software engineer who says Falun Gong helped heal severe back and neck aches she suffered after a 1996 car accident.

Mr. Li moved to the U.S. in 1998, when Beijing began to take a critical view of the movement.

A year later, fearing that the movement posed a threat to [party name omitted] party rule, the Chinese government banned the practice, deeming it an "[Chinese government's slanderous term omitted]," and unleashed a violent crackdown on the movement.

Since then, Mr. Li has made few public appearances and has only occasionally spoken out to denounce China's actions.

During his 20-minute speech in Ottawa on Saturday Mr. Li devoted most of his time to talking about the main principles behind Falun Gong: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance...

Posting date: 5/23/2001
Original article date: 5/22/2001
Category: News & Media Reports

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