Group Demonstration of Falun Gong Exercises
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19 (Falun Dafa Information Center) Thousands gathered in Washington, D.C. today to mark the two-year anniversary of Chinas brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and to send out an urgent call to rescue practitioners being persecuted in China. Events included a large-scale demonstration and press conference on the Mall.
Over 2,000 practitioners demonstrated Falun Gongs peaceful, slow movements to the backdrop of the Washington Monument before embarking on a march to Capitol Hill. For some, the march concluded a three-week journey to DC on foot and by bicycle from as far away as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Orlando, plus others who had caravanned from San Francisco and Los Angeles for the event.
The press conference, held on the steps of the Capitol Building and hosted by Nina Shea, Director of the Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House, commenced in the afternoon as the marchers arrived at Capitol Hill. In the opening statement made by Ambassador Mark Palmer, board member of the newly-formed Friends of Falun Gong (www.fofg.org), Palmer called on international leaders to hold Chinese president Jiang Zemin responsible for the ongoing atrocities carried out under the communist regime, just as Milosivic is now being held accountable for his crimes against humanity.
Speakers included members of the House and Senate from both Democratic and Republican parties, calling for support for joint resolutions condemning Chinese president Jiang Zemin for the escalating cases of rape, torture, and death in police custody of Falun Gong believers in China. Spokespeople from Amnesty International, National Organization for Women (NOW), the Family Research Council as well as other advocacy groups for human rights made statements in support of Falun Gong.
Human rights lawyer Cary DAvino also read a statement regarding the legal summons served to a high-ranking Chinese Government official who was staying in New York City. Mr. Zhao Zhifei is head of the Public Security Department for Hubei Province in China and second-in-command of its notorious 610 division a special office setup by the central government in China to carry out the crackdown against Falun Gong. Mr. Zhao is being charged under the Torture Victim Protection Act and Alien Tort Claims Act for numerous crimes against Falun Gong practitioners in China, including murder, torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, crimes against humanity, and false imprisonment.
Three survivors of torture in Chinese labor re-education camps, now in the US, recounted their ordeals and the abuses carried out daily in efforts to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs. Mr. Alan Adler, spokesperson for Friends of Falun Gong, said that tens of thousands are illegally detained, hundreds abused in psychiatric wards, and over 250 innocent people are known to have died due to maltreatment while in police custody. The killing under Chinas totalitarian regime continues to escalate, and were calling for urgent action to rescue the practitioners held in labor camps and deprived of their basic human rights.
Falun Gong supporters and practitioners covered the capitol lawn, surrounding brightly-colored mats spelling out their message of S.O.S. and held large banners reading, Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners in China, Jiang Zemin Killed These Innocent People, and Stop the Killing.
Mr. Adam Montanaro, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Center (www.faluninfo.net), described the goal of the press conference: It is vital that we use our voices here in Washington today to speak on behalf of the thousands persecuted in China who have no voice. It is our duty as free citizens to break though the PRCs information barricade and expose the ongoing, deadly policy of extermination at any cost being carried out against Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin and his associates.
NEW YORK -- A senior Chinese law enforcement official has been sued in U.S. federal court for allegedly directing the torture and deaths of practitioners of Falun Gong, lawyers for the banned spiritual group said.
Zhao Zhifei, head of the public security bureau for the Hubei province in China, was served the civil complaint on Tuesday at a New York hotel, said Carey R. D'Avino, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit, which seeks $50 million in damages, accuses Mr. Zhao of crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and falsely imprisoning members of the spiritual movement. It was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on behalf of Peng Liang, whose brother and mother were allegedly killed by Mr. Zhao's officers.
"Today in New York, we remind Chinese officials that United States can and will hold them responsible for violating international law," Mr. D'Avino told about 80 members of Falun Gong protesting outside the hotel where Mr. Zhao is reportedly staying.
Mr. D'Avino said Wednesday he did not know why Mr. Zhao is in the U.S., but added he is not in the country on official government business.
A telephone message left by The Associated Press at the Chinese Consulate in New York was not immediately returned.
Under U.S. law, foreigners accused of crimes against humanity or violations of international law can be sued in federal court, Mr. D'Avino said. The accused individual, however, must be served a civil complaint in the U.S., he said.
The complaint was handed to Mr. Zhao on Tuesday night in the lobby of the Manhattan Plaza Hotel, Mr. D'Avino said.
Mr. Zhao has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit, Mr. D'Avino said. If he fails to do so, a default judgment could be made against him.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Zhao is second-in-command of a special task force set up by the Chinese government to crack down on Falun Gong in Hubei. Officers under his command are accused of burning, torturing and killing practitioners.
[]
Thousands of followers have been sent to labor camps, []
Outside the hotel in New York, dozens of Falun Gong practitioners slowly exercised to ethereal music while others held signs reading, "SOS: Urgent Rescue, Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China" and "50,000 Plus Arrested and Persecuted."
"This is about standing up for someone who can't stand up for themselves," said Terri Marsh, a Falun Gong practitioner and the lead attorney on the case.
NEW YORK, Jul 19, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The Falun Gong spiritual movement said Wednesday it had filed a civil suit here against the visiting Public Security Chief of China's Hubei province alleging torture, murder and crimes against humanity.
The complaint was served to Zhao Zhifei in person late on Tuesday by Falun Gong practitioner Peng Liang, spokesman Adam Montanaro told AFP.
Falun Gong says Zhao serves as the second-in-command of the "610" office for Hubei Province, a unit set up by the central government to carry out and crackdown against Falun Gong and other spiritual practices.
Zhao is being targeted under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Claims Act and the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the southern district of New York, Montanaro said.
The legislation allows American jurisdiction over acts of torture committed outside the country. A lawsuit can only proceed, however, if defendants are served with legal papers while in the United States.
Falun Gong members planned to gather at a rally outside Zhao's New York hotel later on Wednesday to official publicize the suit.
Since the Chinese government banned Falun Gong [] in July 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong members have been sent to "reeducation through labor" camps, the practitioners say. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse)
http://www.europeaninternet.com/china/news.php3?id=549566
July 18, 2001
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the determination and perseverance of the Falun Dafa, a peaceful movement seeking freedom to think as they wish and believe as they choose.
But freedom they cannot have, as long as the Chinese-dictatorship government remains strong; i.e., as long as the rest of the world is willing to ignore the pervasive human rights abuse ongoing throughout China.
The Chinese government is "cracking down," i.e., executing as many followers they can capture, while much of the rest of the world looks the other way. Unbelievably, the world even awards China as host of the 2008 Olympic Games -- Games meant to celebrate life and the human spirit. China celebrates neither; rather, China bathes in blood. As Amnesty International recently reported, more people have been executed in China during the past three months than in all the rest of the world during the past three years.
I support the efforts of the Falun Dafa to realize freedom, and pray that the day may soon come when the citizens of China, and all the world, will be free to worship the religion of their choosing and enjoy the basic human right of religious freedom. That is what the Pilgrims came to America for, and it is disheartening that freedom remains elusive for so many people nearly four-hundred years since the Pilgrims perilous departure across the seas.
It is past time for America and the world to take a proactive stand against the alarming human rights abuse in China. As we speak, another will likely be executed, or as the Chinese officials may report, another will commit "suicide."
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are looking down the fangs of a dragon. There have been forty-nine Falun Dafa deaths reported in the past month; tens of thousands are suffering in labor "re-education" camps where the use of torture, forced confessions, arbitrary arrest, rape, and denial of due process are reportedly rampant. We must stop this death and dying at the hand of Communist Chinese dictators. I hope that the world will soon unite in proactive support for the freedom of mankind that so many have given their lives for. Let them not die in vain.
I appreciate this opportunity to lend my support to the efforts of the Falun Dafa Practitioners to realize freedom, and I wish them well in their quest for this ideal. May this serve as an opportunity for the world to do right.
Thursday, July 19, 2001
I continue to be deeply disturbed by China's human rights record. Today, authorities in the People's Republic of China systematically violate the most fundamental human rights, and the brutal crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners is only one example. From suppression of religious freedom and press freedom to violations of labor rights and the rights of Tibetans, China continues to be one of the most oppressive states in the world.
Our national values demand that these human rights issues play a primary role in our bilateral relationship with China. I urge the Administration to raise them consistently at the highest levels.
I am Mrs. Lantos, Director of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, representing my husband, Congressman Tom Lantos, who is the founding democratic Chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and top democrat on the House International Relations Committee. He wants all of you to know that his fight against the outrageous persecution of Falun Gong members will go on with renewed vigor following the appalling decision of the International Olympic Committee to grant China the right to host the 2008 Olympics.
The right to practice one's religious beliefs is one of the most fundamental rights of all citizens in any decent society. While China may be admitted to various international organizations, it will not be a member of the civilized world community until it stops persecuting members of Falun Gong and other religious groups, and accords all its citizens the dignity and respect every person in China is entitled to.
We shall stand with you in your fight for religious freedom in China and we shall prevail.
July 19, 2001
What a terribly ironic confluence of events we have had this month: As the second anniversary of the Chinese government's campaign of terror against the Falun Gong community approached, the United States celebrated our freedom and independence and the International Olympic Committee, without a single word of protest from the United States government, awarded the 2008 games to China.
All who practice Falun Gong in China are being targeted by their government for brutal attacks, and women practitioners are being singled out for particularly vicious rapes and sexual assaults.
The world has long seen the use of rape as a weapon of war, oppression and genocide. Finally, this year for the first time in history, three military men were convicted of crimes against humanity for the systematic rape of women.
And yet in the case of China, our government and governments around the world not only look the other way, but actually allow the Chinese government to be rewarded, and international businesses and financiers continue to make deals with a regime that has blood on its hands.
The U.S. government should be taking strong action against the religious persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese government. The White House should be taking the lead. Since they will not, we must.
The National Organization for Women joins with all those gathered here today, and people of good conscience everywhere, in a campaign to end the Chinese government's unprovoked, uncivilized and unimaginable violence against those who practice Falun Gong, and the savage sexual brutality against women practitioners.
Thursday, July 19, 2001
Physicians for Human Rights joins Members of Congress, the faith community, and human rights organizations in denouncing gross abuses committed by the Chinese authorities against Falun Gong practitioners, and appeals to those authorities to end such persecution and to bring to justice those who engage in it.
As an organization of medical professionals dedicated to using the scientific tools of the medical community to investigate and expose abuses of human rights, Physicians for Human Rights is particularly alarmed by the practice of torture against Falun Gong adherents and others imprisoned on political grounds within China. We respectfully appeal to the Government of China to uphold its obligations under international human rights law to end the practice immediately and to set in place effective restraints to prevent its recurrence.
Now that China has achieved its long-sought goal of hosting the 2008 Olympics, the spotlight of world attention will be on the country as never before. There is no practice that degrades China's stature around the world more than the practice of torture. The continued use of barbaric cruelty against the Falun Gong and others inevitably becomes known internationally and prevents China from being received as an honorable member of the international community.
The Government of China can immediately enhance its international esteem and respectability by taking simple steps to eradicate torture. First, it must provide immediate access to all those in detention to independent physicians, family members, and advocates. Medical care is a particular necessity for those who have been tortured or who have spent long years in detention; medical parole on humanitarian grounds for such individuals would be welcomed in the West. Second, the Chinese authorities should take immediate action by publicly announcing that torture and ill treatment are illegal and that persons engaging in such cruel acts will be prosecuted. Third, the Government of China should invite neutral humanitarian organizations as well as the U.N. Rapporteur on Torture to China to carry out unhindered investigations of all places of interrogation and detention so as end abuse and provide services to the victims.
Physicians for Human Rights commends those members of Falun Gong for their faithfulness in gathering in Washington on behalf of their imprisoned colleagues in China.
á
Be
it hereby known to all that
The
Senate of Maryland
offers
its sincerest congratulations to
Followers
of Falun Gong
in
recognition of
the
practice of Falun Gong, and in commemoration
of
the month-long walk throughout Maryland to
Washington,
D.C. to raise awareness about the two
-year
persecution of Falun Gong in China.
á
The
entire membership extends best wishes on
this
memorable occasion and directs this resolution
be
presented on this 18th day of July 2001
á
(Thomas
V. Mike Miller, Jr.)
Signed
by President of the Senate
á
Senator
Ida G. Ruben
Sponsor
á
Senate
Resolution 517
Falun Gong practitioners are going to Malta to highlight the persecution in China while Jiang Zemin visits there. To date, at least 255 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death, 10,000 sent to labour camps, 500 sentenced to up to 18 years in prison, 600 sent to mental institutions; thousands of people have lost their homes, jobs, schools, universities, etc. In June alone, over 35 Falun Gong practitioners were killed by the police. Please see the following information: Around June 20, 2001, at least 15 female Falun Gong practitioners died in a spate of violence and torture at the Wanjia Labor Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, China. Over ten male practitioners of Falun Gong were beaten to death at the Changlinzi Labor Camp 9 days later in the same province. Over the last two years, Jiang Zemin's regime has used every possible means to defame Falun Gong in order to 'destroy it completely'. The persecution has gone to an incredible extent. For instance, Chen Zixiu, a 58 year old woman, died after 4 days of constant beatings and torture. Her daughter was sent to a labor camp because she disclosed details about Chen Zixiu's death to foreign media. Su Gang, a 30-year-old engineer, was injected with psychotropic drugs and died soon afterwards. Liu Xuguo, a young man, died from being force-fed. A fatal infection occurred after his lungs were punctured. Zhao Xin, a young lecturer in Beijing, had her neck vertebrae fractured by the police, and died 6 months later. Wang Lixuan and her baby son were both tortured to death: her neck and the bones in her hands were broken, her skull was crushed and there was a needle stuck in her waist. There were two deep bruises on her son's ankles, two black and blue spots on his head, and there was blood in his nose. It was deduced that the bruises may have been caused when the thugs handcuffed little Meng Hao's (a less than 8 month old baby) ankles and hung him upside down. Instances like the above are too many to count! The persecution has extended to practitioners overseas, with many having been arrested, detained, even sentenced to prisons and labor camps. Zhao Ming, a post graduate student in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, has been subjected severe torture in labour camps after being arrested while on holiday in China. His current whereabouts are unknown after he was taken away by the police in May 2001. UK postgraduate student Ms Mo Zengfang's UK born baby still remains stateless because the Chinese embassy refuses to register the baby because of Mo's persistence in practicing Falun Gong. After learning that the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin is visiting Malta, some Falun Gong practitioners have decided to go there to ask him to stop persecuting their fellow practitioners in China. Practitioners from the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US, plus probably two from Italy are preparing to join the candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy, and they will be granting interviews. Among the practitioners going to Malta are Dr. Zimmy Zhou, a US citizen who was arrested and tortured for 6 days while on holiday in China, and Ms Qianling Song, a graduate student in the UK, who was also arrested and beaten by the police during her visit to China in 1999. For more information, please visit www.faluninfo.net, or contact Dai Dongxue at 00353 1 279 7103, 00353 87 9596370, email: dai66@iname.com
NEW YORK, Jul 18, 2001 -- (PRNewswire) People who support and practice Falun Gong are holding a press conference at the United Nations, Wednesday, July 18, 2001 at 3:00pm, marking the two-year anniversary of the crackdown by China.
Bus loads of supporters and Falun Gong practitioners will leave New York City en route to Washington, DC to join cross-country walkers, cyclist, and other practitioners and supporters who are gathering in Washington to ask our government to help rescue Falun Gong practitioners that are persecuted in China.
Before leaving New York City on Wednesday, the supporters and practitioners will gather at the United Nations to ask that body to help rescue Falun Gong practitioners that are presently being held in labor camps and jails in China.
The group will carry the message, "S.O.S.! URGENT CALL TO RESCUE THE FALUN GONG PRACTITIONERS PERSECUTED IN CHINA", walking west on 47th street to the Chinese Consultant (W. 47th St.) to again ask that China stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The press conference will consist of speeches from Falun Gong supporters and practitioners.
WHERE: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47nd St. at 1st Ave
WHEN: 3:00 pm, Wednesday, July 18th
CONTACT: Scott Chinn, 347-524-8160
For more information about the crackdown against Falun Gong, visit http://www.faluninfo.net. For information about the rally in Washington DC, visit http://www.fofg.org or http://www.walktodc.org.
http://www.europeaninternet.com/support/article.php3?id=547380
[(Clearwisdom.net)]
1. [Wuhan City, Hubei Province] Hewan Labor Camp Uses Riot Police to Beat the Family Members of Falun Dafa Practitioners
Family members of the Falun Gong practitioners detained at the Second Brigade of Hewan Labor Camp were scheduled to visit them on July 6th. People heard that the date was postponed to the 13th. They also heard that a Falun Dafa practitioner in his or her thirties had been beaten to death at the camp. Many family members, being extremely anxious, requested that they be able to visit the Falun Gong practitioners on time. When faced with so many requests from these innocent family members, several policemen actually beat them very brutally. They beat an elderly person in public so badly that there were wounds all over his body and head. Two other elderly womení s hands became black and blue from the beating. They even used riot police to suppress the people. This is the bitter experience of the Falun Dafa practitionersí family members in the so-called "best time of human rights". All evil people are warned. Good and evil must be requited.
2. [Dalian City, Liaoning Province] Teacher Liu Shan from the Japanese Department of the Dalian Foreign Language Institute Is Kidnapped; His Whereabouts are Unknown
On the morning of July 9, a group of plainclothes police broke into Falun Dafa practitioner Liu Shaní s dormitory and kidnapped him.
Liu Shan is widely recognized as a good teacher at the institute. This kind of persecution of good people will surely arouse discontent among the students.
3. [Shenyang City, Liaoning Province] Falun Dafa Practitioner Liu Yantao from Shenyang City Is Forced to Jump out of a Building and Is Severely Injured
On July 7, 2001, the police forced Shenyang Falun Dafa practitioner, Liu Yantao, who had resisted persecution, to jump out of a building. He was seriously injured. The police initially intended to kidnap him. However, seeing how severe his injury was, they dared not take him away. Later Liu was rescued by his family members and taken to a hospital.
Liu Yantaoí s condition is extremely serious. His vertebra is fractured and he is incontinent.
4. [Qingdao City, Shandong Province] Using Righteous Thoughts to Resist Evil
On July 4, the north district of Qingdao city notified many Falun Dafa practitioners that they should go to a symposium. The practitioners, thinking that they should resist the evil, decided to attend. Fifteen practitioners went to the meeting. As soon as they arrived, they started to promote Dafa and clarify the truth. They announced that all their previous words and deeds that did not conform to Dafa were invalid. After they suffocated the evil with Falun Dafa practitionersí righteous thoughts, all returned safely. Soon after, however, Jiang Fenglan and Yu Huili were sent to a brainwashing class by the evil forces.
5. [Tangshan City, Liaoning Province] Tangshan Party Committee Escalates the Suppression of Falun Dafa Practitioners
On June 29th, 2001, Wang Chuntian, the Tangshan City Vice Secretary ordered the police to arrest the practitioner couple Lu Xuejun and Liu Xinmei during their trip back to their hometown. The couple was taken to the Yanshan Police Substation under the suspicion of distributing truth-clarifying materials. Wang Chuntian interrogated them in person and instructed the policemen to use implements of torture on them.
We want to warn those who persecute Dafa practitioners: stop pursuing the wrong courseí it will be too late to regret when you receive retribution.
Phone to Yanshan Police Substation New District Tangshan City: (86) (315) 324-1942 Wang Chuntianí s residential phone: (86) (315) 324-6988
6. [Wuchang City, Hubei Province] Brainwashing Class Brutally Tortures Practitioners
The Wuchang City í 610 Officeí (an office formed to persecute Falun Gong) held yet another brainwashing class, brutally beating Falun Dafa practitioners. When the practitionersí relatives saw their wounds and injuries, they told the guards, í What you have done to the practitioners is illegal!í The guards responded by saying, í You can go anywhere to accuse us, but we still want to brainwash and reform them with forceful methods.í
Five practitioners from Macheng City were arrested while distributing truth-clarifying materials and they were severely beaten. Two of them were beaten most severely, and one of them is still in an emergency room in critical condition.
7. [Dongguang County, Hebei Province] Authorities Force Falun Dafa Practitioners to Buy a Book Slandering the Great Law
Since July, the í 610 Officeí (an office formed to persecute Falun Gong) of Dongguang County, Hebei Province began to force practitioners to buy a book defaming and slandering Falun Dafa. In addition, the book was sold at an extremely high price. The office also pressured the practitionersí work units to buy the book. This caused many negative feelings among the people and all the practitioners completely resisted. On the other hand, people can clearly see who is making money on this.
8. [Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province] Practitioner Jin Shengrong Is Being Deprived of the Right to an Education
Falun Dafa practitioner Jin Shengrong is a student in the Department of Chinese at the Harbin Normal University. On December 19th, 2000, he went to Tiananmen Square to unfold a banner and validate Dafa. He was arrested and later detained in Harbin No. 2 Detention Center for over half a year. He was detained past his designated term because he refused to break away from Falun Dafa or write the so-called í three letters (repentance letters).í Jin has endured the inhuman tortures in the detention center. When he was detained, the University submitted the application to dismiss him. In addition, the Department Director and Vice General Secretary of Party Committee cursed Teacher Li as well. The other practitioners gave them truth-clarifying materials but they followed Jiangí s regime closely and didní t feel any regret for their wrongdoings. As of now, the University still has banners defaming Falun Dafa hanging on campus.
9. [Jinan, Shandong Province] Jinan Police Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners
Around 2:00 AM on July 2, 2001, about one dozen plainclothes policemen were searching for Falun Gong practitioners nearby the buildings where Falun Gong practitioners were living. At about 5:00 AM police caught practitioner Nie Gang on the stairs as he was going out. Another practitioner was arrested on the street and practitioner Li Xiaoping was arrested in his room. The police confiscated a laptop computer, a printer and some other Falun Gong materials in his room and all the money that the practitioners had.
Address of Police Station Responsible for this Action: Construction New Village Police Station Construction New Village 156 Shan Ave, Lixia District Jinan, Shandong Province Phone: 86-531-8930324
10. [Shiyan, Hubei Province] Brainwashing Class in the No. 2 Automobile Manufactory
In order to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, a brainwashing class is being held by the No. 2 Automobile Manufactory in Shiyan City, Hubei Province.
Practitioner Yao Yongfan, male, 25 is a technician of the Technique Institute of the No. 2 Automobile Manufactory. He was arrested in his dormitory at 4:00 am on December 24, 2000 and detained in a detention center. Prior to the 2001 spring festival, he was sent to the Brainwashing Class. He has been on a hunger strike since June 4th. On July 10th, the brainwashing class sent him to a hospital because of his seriously ill physical condition. His supervisor requested that the brainwashing class release him and hospitalize him for medical treatment. However, the Public Security Division of the factory rejected the request.
Huang Lizhao, a practitioner from the No. 40 Plant was sent to the hospital due to his hunger strike.
The brainwashing class was held in the visitor lodge of the factory where 15 practitioners are illegally detained.
Medical personnel who joined the brainwashing class 5 days after practitioners went on a hunger strike have now withdrawn. The word was spread around and the order was to, í List this as a suicide if their death was due to a hunger strike.í
All Dafa disciples who read this report, please send your righteous thought to eradicate evils. All kind-hearted people, please offer your justice and conscience to stop the inhumane crackdown in China. We are warning all police, í Please have benevolence in your heart, otherwise your will be punished.í
People responsible for the brainwashing class, Maio Yu, the General Secretary of the Party Committee, and the General Manger of the Manufactory, phone: 86-719-8263538 Li Youquan, the deputy secretary of the Party Committee, in charge of Falun Gong issue, phone: 86-719-8263006 XXX, the secretary of the Discipline Committee, phone: 86-719-8224885 Ding Xueming, the director of the Public Security Division, phone: 86-719-8224108 Wei Huanxin, the deputy director of the Public Security Division, phone: 86-719-8225426 Qiou XX, the director of the Political Security Section, phone: 86-719-8221143 XXX, the director of the Technique Institute, phone: 86-719-8220634 86-719-8224171 11. [Dezhou, Shandong Province] Practitioner Zhang Changzhi Sent to Labor Camp
Practitioner Zhang Changzhi, became destitute and homeless due to the persecution. Plainclothes policemen tailed her and then arrested her when she was distributing truth-clarifying flyers in the Town God Market in Dezhou City, Shandong Province. She has been sent to a labor re-education camp.
12. [Linze, Shandong Province] The List of Units Persecuting Falun Gong in Linze City
Linze Passenger Transportation Company, Linze Teaching School, Linze Knitting Factory were awarded as í Advanced Unitsí for their closely monitoring of Falun Gong practitioners for two years.
Luo Village arrested, monitored, punished and beat Falun Gong practitioner during the period of July 22. Practitioner Li Dayong was detained in a mental hospital for three month.
Linzhe Mental Hospital illegally detained 5 to 6 Falun Gong practitioners and spread evil propaganda on the media.
(Translated on July 14, 2001 from an edited version of http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2001/7/12/13297.html)
(Clesarwisdom.net) During the past two years, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally detained, sentenced to labor "reeducation," imprisoned and fined by a few vicious officers from the district government and Public Security Bureau in Dagang District of Tianjin City. I am one of those being persecuted. The following is what happened to me.
On April 30, 2001, about ten policemen, led by Wang Dashui from the Dagang Security Bureau and Zhao Wanmin from the Gangbei police station, illegally pried open the door to my house and searched it without letting us know beforehand. They found Falun Gong materials in my house, so they forcibly took my four-month old baby and me to the police station.
In the afternoon, under the name of a "Learning Class," they kept us in the Shihua 2nd Guest House and tried to find out where the Falun Gong materials came from. On the first night, the interrogation went on until 4 o'clock the next morning. On the third day, the chief policeman ordered me to stop breast-feeding my baby, and said that they would not let me sleep for the next five days. If I still refused to tell them anything, they would sentence me to more than three years in jail.
After not-sleeping for two nights, I refused to follow the evil's order. I went to tell the chief policeman that they would be completely responsible if they kept on persecuting me in this way. But the chief policeman said that they didn't care. So, they kept me there for 6 days and then released me on bail, to wait for interrogation.
On May 30th, my 58 year old mother was arrested while she was posting Falun Dafa posters with the words: "The Fa rectifies Heaven and Earth, immediate retribution in this lifetime." After overnight interrogation, she was sent to the Dagang detention center. During the detention, she was interrogated continuously. They didn't let her do the Falun Gong exercises, so 20 days later, her arthritis recurred, half of her body became paralyzed, and she couldn't take care of herself.
After arresting my mother, the Dagang Security Bureau asked the neighborhood community and the police station to keep a 24-hour watch on my house. This disturbed my family members a lot. A few days later, my mother's sickness became worse. Then the police notified us that we had to take some money to the hospital for her treatment. I went to the hospital and asked them to release my mother. Meanwhile, I also clarified the truth to people in the hospital and told them about the goodness of "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance."
Unexpectedly, the chief of police from the Gangbei station came to the hospital with some other officers. They took us to the police station, despite the fact that my six-month old baby was frightened and cried all the time. The next day, they kept me in the 2nd Guest House again. Because I refused to give up Falun Dafa, they didn't let me take my baby out to get sunshine, and they told me that if I didn't give up Falun Dafa, I would be sentenced to 3-7 years in jail.
My husband couldn't bear the mental suffering, and he wanted to divorce me. Three days later, I could not bear the persecution any more, so I walked out of that place with my child. I am told that those perpetrators are looking for me all the time.
Now, under the burning sun, my baby and I have to wander around. We cannot go back to our own house, and we cannot contact my family members either. My mother is still in custody. I appeal to kindhearted people in the world: please pay close attention to and support Falun Gong practitioners who are under the vicious persecution in Dagang District, Tianjin City.
Following are the phone numbers:
Dagang Public Security Bureau: 86-22-6322051 ext.: Chief officer Mr. Li's office Yao Jiawang - Vice Chief of Political and Security Section: 86-22-63220514 (W) 86-22-63222219 (H) Liu Jinyuan - Director of Yingbing neighborhood community: 86-22-25990567 Chief officer Mr Wang - Gangbei police station: 86-22-25980496
June 28, 2001
[Clearwisdom.net]
I am a Dafa practitioner in Shaanxi Province and also a 50 years old peasant woman. I went to Beijing to appeal in early June. The police illegally arrested seven other out of state Dafa practitioners and me in Tiananmen Square and detained us at the police station. One female Dafa practitioner was so brutally beaten that she could not even stand up straight. Another female practitioner was roughed up and bruised all over her face. The police even put some left over watermelon rinds over the head of a practitioner. Beating and cursing seemed to be part of their natural activities.
Not long after, the police transferred me and another practitioner to a different place. The police demanded that we reveal our identities. Not wanting to cause trouble for our home district governments, we refused to divulge where we came from. In addition to beating and cursing, the police even stripped off our clothes to search us. What they were after was our money. Everyone detained over there has been stripped of all his or her money. Strangely, there were 500 Yuan RMB in my pocket that they failed to find after repeated searching.
The police locked me into a steel cage about 5 to 6 feet high. Inside there was a young man. He looked like 17 to 18 years old but he sat there wearing just shorts, in a daze. I was told later he became this way after he was severely beaten.
When I was interrogated the second time, the police were even more atrocious. They cursed Dafa, cursed our Teacher, beat me on my head and threatened me with their batons. After a while they locked me in another cage. This time there was a 40 year old male convict inside. I started practicing my Falun Gong meditation exercise. After half an hour that convict summoned the police and said, "You locked me up together with a woman, what will happen if she utters rubbish and frames me?" Unexpectedly the animal like police yelled, "We gave her to you as a gift. She is all yours so do whatever you want to do with!" "It's up to you; she is all yours!" They intended to have the convict abuse me and stop me from doing my exercises. They even provoked the convict, "Don't expect to get a reduced jail term if you do not cooperate!" Under this coercion, the convict suddenly showed his lewdness and started laying his hands on me. I rebuked him sternly, "If you act like a pervert, I will die right here and now!" He was stunned. Failing to take advantage of me, he changed his tactics and started talking obscenely and humming some lewd songs for the rest of the night.
When I was interrogated for the third time, I was physically very weak due to my hunger strike and two days of hideous treatment. I had difficulty walking and had to lean against the wall. If I could not hold on to it by myself I would bend down and collapse onto the floor. The police immediately pulled me up. Since I just could not stand there they ended up handcuffing me and literally hanging my body up with the handcuffs. My wrist was swollen. Both my wrist and arm were hurting all over. After several hours, I realized that I must not cooperate with the evil. I protested and demanded them to lower me down so that I could go to the rest room. Only then did they release me. Since I was hung for quite some time I collapsed onto the floor and hit my tailbone hard. The pain was nearly unbearable. I finally crawled into the rest room.
Later, a doctor working for the police came over and said, "If you still refuse to tell us who you are, I will administer shots to you and then you will sing like a canary. Right there and then I made up my mind: I would rather die than go to the hospital. I held onto a concrete pole with all my strength. Four or five policemen tried as hard as they could to pull me away but could not move me. I never thought as a 50 years old woman I could hold on with that much strength. Finally they lifted me up, put me into the car, and forcibly transported me to the hospital. At the hospital they put me down with my hands and feet cuffed to the bed. I could not move at all. I knew that a righteous thought is powerful. Even if they gave me shots I would not allow the drugs to take effect. I would rather die instead of doing things harmful to Dafa. Under my strong protest they never did give me the shots. Teacher said, "disbelieve[s] that psychotropics could play this kind of role." [About Psychotropics, November 24, 2000] Another female Dafa practitioner in the same room at the hospital was brutally beaten. She had bruises all over her body and even had difficulty speaking. Even though she was given drugs via IV transfusion she did not say anything wrong. She remained firm and resolute. She was very clear headed with her main consciousness.
The police did not want to be liable if we should die there. On the fourth day they dragged me and the other female practitioner onto the train (since we could not walk at all). We were finally released. We split the 500 Yuan I had and returned home. My home has been ransacked twice by the police, and I am now homeless and living like a nomad.
1. Freed from surveillance, I go to Beijing to appeal legally
The Conference of the National People's Congress was held on March 5, 2000. The People's Congress is supposed to speak for the people. As a legal citizen of the country, I have the right to voice my aspirations to the People's Congress.
To speak out the truth to the people regarding Falun Gong, I decided to go to Beijing to appeal again. At around 10 AM on March 4, 2000, the Zhentou Police Station of Shijiazhuang City sent militiaman Zhao Jingchen to my home to keep watch on me. I left home quickly during the break when he was out, and arrived in Beijing after a smooth trip. In the afternoon of the day that I left, Zhentou Police Station authorities kept forcibly questioning my husband about my whereabouts until 11PM.
At about 3 PM on March 5, I met a few fellow practitioners in Beijing, including two third grade pupils with their grandmothers, mothers, and Chinese practitioners from Australia. On stepping out on Tiananmen Square from the underground tunnel, we saw military police standing around and patrolling in large numbers, and plainclothes agents were everywhere. Before we could complete 30 meters on foot, two military policemen stopped us and asked if we were Falun Gong practitioners; we replied, "Yes." The military policemen pushed us to one side of the square. I told them, "You are so young, please don't beat and curse Falun Gong practitioners. We are all good people. Falun Dafa is the righteous way." Using the chance that they might not be paying attention, the Chinese practitioners from Australia and I opened a "Falun Dafa is good" banner, which the military policemen immediately snatched away before escorting us to the police vehicle.
They sent us to the Shijiazhuang City Office in Beijing; it was full of arrested Falun Dafa practitioners. Policeman Tian Xiaosuo from Zhentou Police Station of Shijiazhuang City and the militiaman Zhao Fengyu had been waiting there for me for a long time. Tian Xiaosuo let loose a torrent of abuse before I even got out of the vehicle. He fiercely grabbed my bag and threw it away twice and kept threatening me, "We wont let you off this time. Well see about this!" On the highway to Shijiazhuang, Tian Xiaosuo cursed me for about an hour until he got tired.
After they took me back to the police station, the township authorities and legal secretary claimed they were going to impose a fine on me during the interrogation. I replied, "If I really violated the state penalty clause, you could just fine me and I would have nothing to complain about. But if I didn't violate it and you want to impose a fine on me, that would be illegal activity on your part. Secretary Cui didn't say anything and didn't fine me, but took me into custody for fifteen days.
2. Resisting frequent, gratuitous harassment with righteous thoughts
On May 10, 2000, the director of the group security dispatched two militiamen to guard me at my house. They followed me on motorcycles when I was out on business. After I came back home, policeman Li Qiankun along with several other people from the local police station knocked on my door and ordered me go to the station. I refused and told them it was illegal for them to detain me several times with no warrant. Qiankun claimed they had the warrant this time and let me see it through the gap of the door. He said they would jump over the wall if I didn't open the door. They were smashing the door and threatening me outside, as well as disturbing the neighbors, who came out to see what was going on. I asked my neighbors in the street to watch what was happening. I asked, What kind of crime have I committed? What is wrong with us cultivating or with "Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance?" The police didn't let me explain, they pushed and dragged me into the police car, then illegally detained me for four days. After that, whenever there was a so-called "sensitive period," they would illegally take me into custody and put me on close watch for two days. The police are supposed to safeguard society, but now under Jiang's monopoly rule, the "People's Police" harass people for no reason.
At about 7 PM on June 30, 2000, the local policeman Fan came to my home. He said the police station chief, Yang Shengli, asked me to take a ride to the station. I turned him down by telling him just to speak up if he had something say. He said, "You will know what is going on when you get there." I knew it was a trick and refused to go. Policeman Fan Haiji used my telephone several times to call the station, then deputy chief Wang Qingchen, policeman Li Qiankun, and six to seven militiamen came. Wang Qingchen let Li Qiankun jump into my bedroom through the window. They pushed me and kidnapped me just like the Mafia. Furthermore, they snatched Teacher's photo. I would rather die than let them take it. When they dragged me, I suddenly took the photo back from Li Qiankun's hands. They pushed and lifted me, trying to put me into the police vehicle on the main street. Not cooperating with this illegal action, I just sat by the street. Many villagers were watching nearby. My two brothers and their wives questioned the police, "What crime did my sister commit? Why are you treating her like this?" Out of ignorance, the police responded that they had no choice because it was orders from the top and they were just doing their job. They lifted me up to throw me into the car. I resisted by grabbing onto the car door. I told Li Qiankun, "The worst thing you did was snatching Teacher's photo. You better stop doing bad deeds. Good is rewarded with good, evil is met with evil!" Qiankun said he didn't care whether "Good is rewarded with good, evil is met with evil!" He was going to take me and search my house. I told them, "Who dares to search my house?" Under the deterrent of a Falun Dafa practitioner's righteous thoughts, they quit. Then they detained me for twenty-six days until the evening of July 24.
The director of the group security, Zhang, always let militiamen guard my house. Once at midnight, militiaman Zhao Fengyu woke me up. I asked him why. He said nothing except that township secretary Cui made him check to see if I was at home. Then, coming to knock on my door became their routine, which continuously upset the neighbors. One night my son came home late. Seeing two ghost-like shadows at the door in the darkness, he was scared and dared not tell me for several days. At 1 AM another night, my son had been watching TV, then came to wake me up. He told me someone was knocking on the window of the smaller building. I told him not to bother about it and just go to sleep. The police constantly kept an eye on me either openly or under cover.
3. In Beijing I witnessed the Peoples Police trained by Jiang Zemins line, Ruling the country with virtue.
To clarify the truth and save people, my husband and I went to Beijing to appeal again on December 5, 2000. Once we opened a Falun Dafa is good banner in Tiananmen Square, four of the Peoples Police came who were trained by Jiang Zemins Ruling the country with virtue line. They punched and kicked me, then forced us over fifty-year old seniors half way down to the ground and pushed us into the police vehicle. Then, the vehicle full of Falun Dafa practitioners left for the Tiananmen Police Station. The practitioners were jailed in the iron cells, in the basement, and in the backyard. The fellow practitioners were all honest and serious with banners in their hands. They were reciting Lunyu and Grand Poem with bruises on their faces and with bloody mouths and bloodied bodies. Six of us were transferred to Chongwen district police station. The policemen first illegally searched us when we went inside. When they started to search my shoes where I kept some practitioners phone numbers, I quickly put the paper in my mouth to protect fellow practitioners. Two young cops threw me to the ground on my back, seized me by the throat, and pinched my nose to make me spit it out. I felt suffocated; it seemed like the worst way to go, yet I realized it was only death! I wouldnt give the numbers to them even if I died. Once the righteous thoughts came out, I didnt have the feeling of suffocation any more, and swallowed the paper. They confined us in the iron cell. We argued strongly on just grounds for our freedom and for a judgment of not guilty. They dragged us out of the iron cell to the backyard and handcuffed five of us to the big trees with our hands behind our backs. We were calling out, Return our Teachers reputation! Return the reputation of Falun Dafa! The cops cursed and gagged our mouths with cabbage twigs and rags. There is no virtue among todays Chinese police.
Because we refused to tell them our names and addresses, the policemen again illegally sent us to the Chongwen detention center. On orders of the police there, the prisoners fiercely beat and cursed the Falun Gong practitioners. In the cold of winter, the inmates poured basin after basin of cold water on us. They poured dozens of basins of water on one of the practitioners, while I was drenched with two. They forced us to fly like a dove. Because we didnt cooperate, the prisoners dragged us by our hair, punched, and kicked us until 2 AM. Without any clothes to change into, I had to sleep in a wet sweater, shirt, and pants. Those prisoners claimed the authorities gave the order that whoever could dig out the practitioners names might get a reduced penalty. Regardless of the consequences, the crazy prisoners beat us badly to try for shorter prison terms.
On December 19, we were escorted to Shijiazhuang City Office in Beijing. The policemen handcuffed us to a sofa and forced us to hand over everything we had. I had RMB (Chinese currency) about 190 yuan. The cops promised to return my money when I left, and I believed what they said. But the next day, they gave me a ferocious answer, Who would we return your money to? We confiscated it! Nowadays the Peoples Police are no different from the Mafia. It is really as Teacher says, Governments and bandits, one family(Ten Evils in the World, Grand Poem).
4. Be responsible for the family, for all life, and refuse to cooperate with the evils.
Zhentou stations policemen sent me back from the Shijiazhuang City Office in Beijing. They detained me illegally in the citys second detention center for twenty-eight days and later they forcibly gave me a physical exam. When the doctor learned that I had recovered from eight kinds of diseases including hepatitis B after starting the cultivation, he said to examine the liver the next day; thus I was escorted back to the police station. All of my relatives came, my sisters, my brothers and their wives, my son, my young nephew, and my niece. Some of them kneeled in front of me asking me to quit Falun Gong. The sisters cried and told me my mother was unconscious. When hearing that I would be sentenced to three years in a labor camp, my mother didnt want to live and took out the intravenous needle. I understood my relatives feelings; none of them would like to see me taken to jail and tortured.
Who among a hundred million practitioners has no relatives and friends? In this evil persecution, who hasnt been implicated? It is not just a problem of one hundred million people. Doesnt Jiang Zemin cause all of this suffering himself? He usurps the state machine to force the people to make false statements and vainly attempts with repression to force the Falun Dafa practitioners to renounce Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance. Even more vicious is using the affection between family members and practitioners to force cooperation with the evil persecution, destroying the family members wonderful future. If I conformed to the evil's demand, it would be irresponsible. It would affect family members and all of life, and furthermore, those who have a predestined relationship would lose the chance to hear and attain the Fa.
While all this took place, my husband was under custody in the Zhanhuang County detention center and my son was ready for his wedding and waiting for us to handle it. Relatives wanted me to write the guarantee not to practice Falun Dafa, but I refused to do it. I knew I must follow teacher closely, steadfastly cultivating Dafa. 5. With indestructible righteous thoughts, crush and eliminate the evils intentions
I couldnt sleep on the night that the relatives left. I didnt think I should be imprisoned. I had to go out to spread Falun Dafa further, to expose the evils and save the people. I should upset the intentions of the evil forces. I started to think about what I remembered Teacher saying, something like Every test must be passed, everywhere there are demons. I was shaken in my heart, Pass the test! I thought. So I calmly swept the yard in the police station. The militiaman guarding me was still so I closed the door lightly and walked confidently to the main entrance. I stepped out with dignity after opening the big iron gate. I was thinking, it is about time to make myself a veteran and learn to protect myself. From that moment on I would never allow the evil people to catch me. I have been living a vagrant life ever since then.
Later I heard my husband was sentenced to two years in a labor camp. He was sent to the second group of the Shijiazhuang labor camp. Only my son lived at home, but it was not over yet. The suburban district police department kept my son as a hostage for several days to catch me. The deputy chief trespassed in my house; he searched it several times and took it over, staying there for a month. Jiang Zemin destroyed a good family like this! In China there are many more families far more broken up and ruined than mine.
Good is rewarded with good, evil is met with evil is the eternal truth in the universe. All kinds of natural and manmade calamities and abnormal climates are not by chance. These are caused by the evil's slandering the Universes Fa and by the apathy of the people. It is a warning from the gods. All benevolent people, the mercy of the Lord of Buddhas is incredibly immense. As long as you keep benevolent thoughts in your mind and safeguard justice in the world, you will get the chance to be saved. Wake up! Please make the right choice!
(Translated on July 17, 2001 from an edited version of http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/7/16/13504.html)
Back in 1996, Teacher Li Hongzhi published two articles in succession to explain that cultivation practice and politics are two different things on two different levels. Falun Gong practitioners will never get involved in politics and they will never be taken advantage of by politics. Teacher Li repeatedly talked about this issue in his later lectures also.
Since the 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners began appealing to higher authorities on April 25, 1999, the media in Mainland China and the Jiang Zemin gang that has ulterior motives began spreading slanderous rumors about Falun Dafa, claiming Falun Dafa had a political background and would be a threat to the state power of the X Party. Shackled by traditional notions and deceived by rumors, many people in China worried that Falun Dafa practitioners were getting involved in politics. Falun Dafa practitioners' spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa during those two years were considered to be involved in politics by some people who did not know the truth. Here, to clarify the truth and restore the reputation of Falun Dafa, I would like to talk about my personal understanding of why Falun Gong practitioners will never get involved in politics.
In the article Cultivation is not Practice, Teacher Li said, A cultivator does not need to mind the affairs of the human world, let alone get involved in political struggles. I think Teacher Li is talking about two things in this sentence. One is that politics is a concern of human society, but that Falun Dafa practitioners are not ordinary people and should not divert attention to such things. Our purpose as practitioners is to let go of ordinary human attachments, assimilate to the characteristics of the universe--Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance--through cultivation practice, until in the end, we return to our true selves. Teacher Li also exhorted us not to get involved in political struggles, because as Teacher Li said, taking advantage of our Dafa to get involved in politics is an act born of a filthy mindset that desecrates Buddha and the Fa (Cultivation is not Practice). Ever since human society started to have classes, ordinary people have had the attachments of reputation, self-interest, and feelings; this causes fighting with each other over reputation, self-interest, and feelings. What is politics? Politics has a close connection with political power. I think that today, politics refers to those strategies and activities which are at bottom struggles initiated by some parties, organizations or individuals, in order to seize or strengthen political power.
Within the boundary of humanitys politics, all those political ideologies, political strategies, political activities, and political movements are fundamentally the same, because their goals are all to fight for or strengthen political power. There are no political things going on without power struggles. When people had similar self-interests, peaceful political activities emerged, but when peaceful means could not solve the political disputes, wars took place. People only remember the brutal, horrible, and fierce wars but forget the filthy and hypocritical politics behind them.
Teacher Li has already made it clear in the article Dafa Will Forever be Pure like Diamond that practitioners should Never get involved in politics, nor interfere with state affairs. Truly cultivate and become benevolent. Keep Dafa pure, unchanged, and indestructible like diamond, and it will thereby exist forever. Then why did some people still take practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa as getting involved in politics? I think there are two reasons. One is that some people that have ulterior motives, like Jiang Zemin and his associates, spread slanderous rumors to confuse people, to confuse right and wrong, to smear Falun Dafa, and to frame up Dafa practitioners; their aim is to protect their political goal of dictatorship. Secondly, many people have not heard the truth of Falun Dafa. Shackled by traditional notions, they could not see through appearances to get at the essence. Besides, the political propaganda of the X Party deceived them so that they simply echoed the views of others.
Actually, Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is not getting involved in politics. Rather, it reflects much deeper meaning within Fa-principles. The following is my understanding about this.
1. The fundamental difference between practitioners and ordinary people lies in whether they are attached to reputation, self-interest and feelings. Practitioners try to get rid of these attachments to assimilate to the principles of the universeTruthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. Throughout history, genuine practitioners have never been interested in human politics.
2. The universe has a principle called mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition: where there is righteousness, there is evil (For Whom do You Practice Cultivation?). Falun Dafa is righteous. Therefore, when the righteous Fa is being spread tens of thousands of demons are in the way. (Poem, Being Calm in Tribulation) Falun Dafa practitioners have to safeguard the Fa because the evil force is trying to damage and concoct lies about the Fa. This is a contest between right and wrong, kindness and viciousness. Falun Dafa practitioners safeguarding the Fa is a resistance against the evil force.
3. Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is fundamentally different from political struggles. It is with benevolence in their hearts that Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully tell others about the Fa; they lay bare the evil and clarify the truth. They have no personal motives for reputation, self-interest or feelings, and their actions have nothing to do with the power struggles of human society. Many Falun Dafa practitioners achieved total selflessness while spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa. Some even gave their lives. The political struggles of human society are just the opposite, because they serve the self-interest of the few that are holding the power (or fighting for power). Their means to realize their goals are filthy and vicious.
4. Freedom of belief is one of the basic human rights. However, defying world opinion, the corrupt Jiang Zemin political gang framed up and fabricated a charge against our Teacher as well as willfully trampling on Falun Dafa practitioners human rights. Falun Dafa practitioners going to the Appealing Department, Tiananmen Square, other governmental departments, Geneva, and the United Nations is not for the purpose of seizing power from anyone, but to clarify the truth, disclose the evil and call for an end to the malicious behavior of the Jiang Zemin regime.
5. Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is a necessary part of assisting Teacher in his journey in this world (Poem, Assisting the Fa). The Fa created the world that we are living in. Now Teacher has come to this world to spread the Fa and is using the Fa to rectify peoples hearts, save all sentient beings and rectify the cosmos. Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is assisting Teacher to rectify the Fa. Through this, people will awaken and the evil force will not deceive them any more. Eventually, Falun Dafas reputation will be fully restored.
6. Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is a part of our own practice in this human world. Genuine practitioners can improve their xinxing and levels only through stepping forward to experience various tribulations in society. When facing the evil force or experiencing different tribulations, only those who are consistently resolute are genuine practitioners.
7. Falun Dafa practitioners spreading the Fa and safeguarding the Fa is to save ordinary people; practitioners help people to know the truth. Then, ordinary peoples xinxing (heart/mind) level will be revealed in their attitudes towards the Fa and how they acknowledge the Fa, and this will determine their future.
In summary, cultivation practice and politics should not be mixed up; they are two different things in two different realms. Genuine Falun Dafa practitioners will never get involved in politics. Political forces cannot take advantage of practitioners, nor will we will ever get interested in any political trickery.
(Translated on July 16, 2001 from an edited version of http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/7/15/13468.html)
(Clearwisdom Net) As reported by Apple Daily on July 11, mudslides caused by thunderstorms and typhoons during the monsoon season occur very frequently. This leads to the loss of thousands of lives as well as hundreds of millions of Yuan (Chinese RMB) every year.
Statistics show that over ten thousand villages and four hundred cities and towns (about one third of the cities and towns in China) have been threatened by mudslides and seismic shifts. About twenty-three provinces or autonomous regions have serious problems with sections of the earth sinking.
On May 1st, a massive mudslide covered a nine-story building in Wulong County, Chongqing City, and caused seventy-nine deaths. Yet, deaths caused by natural phenomena have not proved an effective enough warning to other Chinese citizens. In the last two months, nearly a hundred people have died in mudslides all over China.
The Epoch Times reported on July 10 that a massive landslide occurred in the Dongchuan District in Kunming City. Six offices and residential buildings were damaged and forty people were buried alive.
As of this morning, twenty people have been rescued from underneath the rubble and thirteen dead bodies have been exhumed. There might be another six or seven people who are still buried underground. Rescue efforts are still underway.
Xinhua News reported that the disaster area was about one hundred kilometers away from the downtown Dongchuan District. The total volume of the landslide is over 30,000 cubic meters. Since May, continuous rainfall in Kunming City has seriously threatened many areas of the Dongchuan District.
Inspiration
Lets take a look at what is behind these disasters:
Dafa Practitioners Are Illegally Detained and Tortured in Chongqing City, Sichuan Province
He Youli, male, has been detained since August 2000 for distributing truth-clarifying materials. He has been brutally beaten during the detention.
He Xiurong, female, was arrested around October 2000 and has been detained ever since. She, too, has been severely beaten.
Wang Yan and her classmate were arrested at home by the police in December 2000. They have been held in the detention center since then.
Peng Xiuling, female, was arrested at home by the police in December 2000. Her whereabouts are unknown.
Chen Li, female, was arrested at the end of December 2000 for distributing truth-clarifying literature and sentenced to one year in jail.
Zheng Xiaoqin, female, was arrested at the end of December 2000 for distributing truth-clarifying literature and was sentenced to one year in jail.
Pu Zhangzhi, male, has been illegally detained since the end of October 2000. As revealed by Yu Bei Regional Police Office' internal sources, he has died from persecution while in custody. Falun Dafa Practitioner Pu Xinjiang, a woman over 50 years old from Chongqing City, Sichuan Province, was sentenced to labor "re-education" and detained at the Maojiashan Women's labor camp in Jiangbei City, Sichuan Province. Here, she was persecuted to death. On April 3rd, police notified her family members in order for them to pick up her body. She was cremated on April 6th. Although her family is grieving, there is no place where they may file a compliant.
Falun Dafa practitioner Kong Qinghuang, male, 33 years old, resident of Jianshui, Yunnan Province, graduated from the Economy Department of Yunnan University. He became a licensed financial analyst who worked for the government. He was also a Party member and had served as the vice-president of the party in Linan Town, Jianshui County for over five years. He started practicing Falun Dafa in August, 1997. He diligently followed the teachings of Falun Dafa with strict self-discipline while displaying great compassion toward others. He said, There would be no self without Faun Dafa; it is Falun Dafa that created the universe as well as all sentient beings. Everything of mine has been given to me by Master Li, including a healthy body and a pure and compassionate heart. I understand that I cannot go against the principles of Falun Dafa because this would be self-destructive. One must strictly conform to Master Li's teachings and always treat ones self as a genuine practitioner. Kong Qinghuang was illegally arrested in April 2000 for stepping forward to clarify the truth and validating Falun Dafa. Kong Qinghuang's father died from the shock caused by his anger at hearing the news in the middle of April that his son had been detained.
Kong Qinghuang began a hunger strike right after he was detained. He hoped that the government could understand that Falun Dafa was good, and he was willing to use his life to validate Falun Dafa. After he had gone on a hunger strike for more than ten days, he was force-fed for the first time and later once every four to five days. In early August, he was given injections instead of being force-fed every five to six days. Around August 25, he was sent to the hospital for treatment. For unknown reasons the hospital drew one or two units of blood from Kong Qinghuan every day. Therefore his physical condition deteriorated drastically and he became extremely weak. On September 1, Kong Qinghuang agreed to eat. Then, on September 2, he fell into coma. At 9:00 pm on September 3, he died. On September 2, the doctors assigned to diagnose Kong Qinghuang suspected that he had suffered from poisoning since his skin turned yellow. Actually, the doctor didn't know that large amounts of blood had been taken from Kong Qinghuang on a daily basis in the past month.
At least fifty innocent Falun Dafa practitioners have been detained in Yunnan Province in the Dabanqiao Labor Camp for Women and Labor Camp No. 2 in Lufeng County. It is against the highest justice that Jiang Zemin has adopted the most inhuman and sinister thugs to brutally persecute compassionate and moral Falun Dafa practitioners.
In order to avoid the natural disasters, all Chinese people must stop Jiang Zemins regime from slandering and persecuting Falun Dafa. This is the most fundamental advice for China in order to avoid disasters and enter a new epoch in human history.
(Translated from an edited version of http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/7/13/13307.html)
The SOS-march reached Stockholm today. Seven Falun Gong-practitioners walked the whole way from Falun to Stockholm, about 250 kilometers, and more have participated parts of the way. Towards the end of the march, 35 practitioners participated. One marcher was a non-practitioner who walked for two days with us! We had good media coverage. Four different TV-stations, some of the big newspapers and also some radio channels were there. In Stockholm City at "Mynttorget," three politicians gave us their support, among them the Vice Prime Minister of Sweden, Lena Hjelm-Vallén, who received our open letter to Prime minister G ran Persson and also our petition with more than 9000 signatures.
After receiving them she gave a short speech:
"I just want to say, on behalf of the Swedish government, that it is with great respect that I receive this petition. Respect for your manifestation and of course (for) the march that you've done. This will further strengthen us in the Swedish government to take the necessary steps to make China follow human rights. It is unfortunately a very miserable situation concerning the respect for human rights in China, and we're in need from the Swedish government and all other governments who guard human rights, we need to do more and you inspire us to do so.
Thank you very much."
Detta meddelande r skickat via http://www.worldonline.se
We held a press conference on July 13, which opened the prelude of our
van tour to DC. Several influential media conducted interviews and reported the
event positively. On July 16, twenty of us started the van tour. Soon we arrived
at Greenville, SC and held a press conference in front of the City Hall. Three
local media including the Greenville Journal, Greenville News and CBS TV station
conducted interviews. After lunch,
we headed to Charlotte, NC for the 4:00pm press conference, which was very
successful. Tomorrow our next stop is Greensboro, NC.
2. Ireland SOS Bike Tour Began on July 16 Three
practitioners from Ireland, after delivering an appeal letter to the mayor of
Dublin, began the SOS bike tour. The bike tour will cover major cities and towns
in Dublin. Practitioners plan to Hongfa and clarify the truth along the way. 3.
LA-DC Van Tour Arrived in TN; Mr. Gandhi hosted Falun Gong Seminar The LA-DC van tour arrived in Memphis on Friday afternoon. At 7:00pm, a
non-violence seminar titled "China's fight over Falun Gong" started
with Mr. Gandhi's speech. The two-hour seminar was held in a classroom in Gandhi
College. All the seats were occupied. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed. The next day, a press conference was held in the beautiful Farm Park. TV
Channel 5 and FOX13 conducted interviews. FOX13 reported the event on the 9:00pm
news. 4. Montreal Practitioners Ms. Zhu Ying and Mr. Zhang Haocheng Begin
SOS Walk In order to raise awareness of the
persecution of Falun Gong, Montreal practitioner Zhu Ying, who has just been
freed, and Zhang Haocheng plan to walk to the Ottawa Chinese Embassy. At
10:00am, they read a press statement in the opening ceremony and accepted
interviews from the media. After they delivered an appeal letter to the mayor,
they started the walk. 5. Seattle SOS Walk On July 14, Seattle practitioners held a 20-mile walk for the SOS urgent
rescue. At 8:00am, they first did a one-hour group practice in Kirkland Park. At
9:00am, they started the walk from Kirkland Park. Along Washington Lake, they
passed hills and bridges, crossed downtown, went through Chinatown, and arrived
at their destination: Waterfront Park. (2)
SOS Walk group
(3)
Sending forth righteous thoughts during the break
(4)
Old woman with determined stride 5. Japan SOS Bike Tour Starts in Tokyo At 11:10am on July 16, three practitioners from Tokyo and one female
practitioner from Utsunomiya started the SOS bike from the Chinese Embassy in
Tokyo. They plan to bike 500 km over five days, and arrive at Sendai on July 20
to attend the truth-clarifying event. 6. Sydney-Canberra SOS Walk: Assemblyman Came to Encourage
Practitioners July 16 was the 6th day. Practitioners walked 34 km. Every
day, there are media interviews and reports. At 4:30pm, after the walk was over,
practitioners saw Falun all over the sky. The scene was magnificent, and lasted
until they arrived at Caravan Camp after
5:00pm. An Assemblyman came to encourage practitioners. 7. San Francisco -- DC Van Tour Reaches Indianapolis Practitioners held a press conference at 1:00pm. Two local media came to
conduct interviews. Local newspaper Indiana Star reported the event. 8. SOS Bike Trip to DC from Orlando 9. SOS Walk to Toronto
We practiced this morning on a grassy area at the Indiana University Campus, then headed downtown, about a half hour's drive away. Downtown has a very interesting blend of old and new architecture. There are massive granite or stone government buildings, a Post Office in the Greek Parthenon style, the Capitol Building with its gold dome, and numerous monuments, next to modernistic edifices. The streets are laid out in a wide grid pattern, creating spacious avenues. In the center of town is a town center, the location of our media event today, where a number of streets converge. In the middle of this is a war memorial monument, dedicated to the "silent victors" of war. Steps lead up to the monument museum. We set up on the steps, and positioned our picture gallery on the sidewalk proceeding the steps rimmed by shade trees. We came in contact with many concerned citizens. We were moved by how attentively they listened to the persecution story of our practitioners in China. It was another glorious day, similar to yesterday in St. Louis, which I again confirmed with local people was highly unusual. Two people from the press showed up a little before our starting time of 1:00. I was able to speak to them. One was a photographer from Fox, Channel 59, and the other a reporter from the main newspaper, Indianapolis Star. From a practitioner's perspective, I feel that we need to remind ourselves that everything exists for the Fa, and things are in Teacher's hands. I feel that there is no need to get excited about this issue of Beijing hosting the Olympics: we need to hold steady to our firm conviction that our issue is ending the persecution in China. There had been a short article, a few paragraphs, printed in the Indianapolis Star, mentioning our event. Three nice people who support an end to the persecution of Tibet showed up. They wore signs for support for spiritual beliefs in China. I found in my talking points that I was often able to incorporate the fact that not just Falun Gong, but all spiritual practices in China are in a very dubious and vulnerable position. This usually will bring the point closer to home to people that care about freedom of belief, as most Americans do. The Chinese government is also renouncing a part of China's illustrious heritage when it persecutes Falun Gong practitioners, demolishes and destroys forever Buddhist temples, etc. Our program consisted of press statements, two government proclamations, a Li Hongzhi Day award, a City of Indianapolis proclamation, and a personal testimony by an Ohio university student, whose mother is detained in China. In the background, our practitioners were sitting in the meditation pose. After that, we left for Cincinnati. The lushness and greenery of the countryside is quite a contrast to that of California. We were please when we got to our host practitioner's house in two hours, before 8:00 (and then we lost an hour, due to the time zone change). Driving through her sedate neighborhood lifted our spirits. The comfortable homes and manicured lawns seemed a world away from the suffering in China. Later, as a few of us were strolling through the neighborhood, we talked about how this was our challenge here, in the States. Living in such comfortable circumstances as we do here, for the most part, can seriously distract us from the fundamental issues at hand. It made me think of what Teacher has said, in the recent article "No Politics" written on June 4, 2001. "Human society is a good place for cultivation, since everything here can induce attachments. Precisely because of this, a person who is able to step out of this and get rid of all his attachments to human society is magnificent and able to reach Consummation." We had a good Fa study session and brief meeting to discuss the following day's events. It was a good ending to another rewarding day of assisting our beloved Teacher, in service to all sentient beings.
Roanoke was among the group's stops during their five-day journey to a rally in Washington, D.C. They are silent, rotating arms and bending wrists in unison. Their movements are precise, but not choppy. Instead, they flow to the sound
of gentle Chinese music. In downtown Roanoke, this exercise, performed either standing or sitting cross-legged, drew only the interest of a few passersby. But if
the 11 Falun Gong practitioners who stopped at Lee Plaza Wednesday were in China, they would be arrested, possibly tortured and
maybe even killed. The stop was part of a five-day journey the practitioners are taking from Houston, Texas, to Washington, D.C. They hope to raise
awareness of Chinese persecution of Falun Gong, a set of exercises and meditation introduced in 1992 and performed to refine the mind
and body. The practice, also called Falun Dafa, is based on an ancient Chinese form of exercise and meditation and has been compared
to tai chi. Followers estimate there have been as many as 70 million practitioners in China and about 30 million elsewhere. This group and six others traveling across the United States will meet today in Washington for a march and rally commemorating the
second anniversary of China's ban of the practice, which the government calls a spiritual movement. Practitioners said Falun Gong is not a religion, but a form of exercise. "It's similar to American people jogging and running in parks," said Hongyi Pan, a San Antonio practitioner. But the exercises alarm China, which banned them in 1999 after 10,000 practitioners assembled at government compound in Beijing.
The government saw this demonstration as a stand against Communist rule; followers say it was a peaceful attempt to gain recognition. [...] "He believed there was some force behind the scene, trying to overthrow the country," said Dakun Sun, a Dallas practitioner. Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi lives in the United States. On July 5, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it was
"deeply disturbed" by Falun Gong repression and calling for the end of persecution. Amy Lee, a former Chinese citizen who is part of the Houston group, has practiced Falun Gong for four years. The exercises she
credits with curing her heart condition led to her arrest and beating in Tiananmen Square. She had gone to Beijing at her local
government's advice to ask for tolerance. She said she was beaten unconscious, tortured and brainwashed at several jails and a mental institution. At one point, she was sent to
a labor camp and forced to make toys for export 15 hours a day. "If we refused to work, they would make our cellmates beat us," she said. The government asked her to choose between Falun Gong and her family. "I told them, I want both," she said. "I have the right to do both." But the government forced her to divorce, separating her from her husband and her now 6-year-old daughter, Doudou. "At the very beginning, I couldn't continue to talk when I gave interviews," Lee said. "I ran to the bathroom and burst into tears. But I
knew there were many practitioners who had faced more serious persecution than me and I wanted to help them." Daniele Wang, a University of Texas student, said she was distraught after her father was arrested in July 1999 for practicing Falun
Gong. She last saw him on televised court proceedings in December 1999. Now, she doesn't know where he is. "When I first heard the news, I just crashed," she said. "Every time I read his letters, I couldn't stop my tears. My father and I are really
close friends." Wang said returning to China after her vocal role in the U.S. Falun Gong movement would endanger her father's life. Instead, she waits
for a letter from him. She said the exercises keep her strong. "I still have the Falun Dafa in my heart," she said. "For 10 years, it has been a part of my life. http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story115086.html
18th July 2001 In recent months, many local Amnesty International (AI) groups in the UK have invited Dafa practitioners to talk about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. We would like to share our experiences from attending these meetings with you. Some practitioners found that an informal, less structured approach was best in informing the truth about the situation in China as well for explaining Falun Gong generally. For example, at one meeting, a practitioner had prepared some notes on the different aspects of the persecution, anticipating a more structured approach, and another practitioner had brought along a television to show a video. However, it was found that the equipment did not work and that the people at the meeting had lots of other questions that needed answering first. By answering their questions, practitioners were able to clear up any misconceptions about Falun Gong as well as any obstacles that they may have had to helping the practitioners in China. Some practitioners discovered that a brief introduction of Falun Gong and its history was sufficient, followed by questions. This leads to an interactive discussion in which all points are covered, the relevant information conveyed, any information gaps are filled, blockages are cleared and action is taken. In this way, nothing is imposed on anyone and the people asking the questions are satisfied that what they needed to know has been covered. Thus, the truth about the persecution can be told, the evil exposed and the principles of Dafa can be expressed. It is very important to listen to what the people are actually asking, and not be wrapped up in one's own thoughts about what you want to say. By genuinely listening to them, you can provide the very answers that will help people have the right thoughts and make the right decisions. If you do not listen, you limit your own compassion towards them. The members of the local AI groups themselves always asked us what they could do to help. Amongst our suggestions were writing to the government institutions in China and other relevant bodies. We had prepared a list of contact addresses. They could also sign a petition. We emphasized the case of Zhao Ming, a student from Ireland, who has been detained and tortured in China. We also took along additional materials and pictures of victims. Some groups agreed to send letters in support of individual Falun Gong practitoners imprisoned in China. The people at these meetings were very shocked by the extent of the persecution taking place in China. They were compassionate in their concern for the practitioners. One woman could not understand why the government was persecuting such peaceful people. Before a practitioner could answer, another AI member interjected that the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were "a slap in the face" that showed those bad people's corruption. When another person asked what kept the practitioners in China going, we were able to talk about the power of the principles of Dafa in the face of such terrible persecution. Some AI members were interested in really knowing about Falun Gong and learning the exercises. Local members of the Head Office were very supportive and took away the truth clarifying materials.
TAIPEI, Jul 19, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Taiwanese followers of the Falun Gong spiritual [group] on Wednesday denounced Chinese
President Jiang Zemin for suppressing the group in China, saying at least 250 practitioners had been killed there. The Taiwanese group is to hold a vigil in central Taipei on Friday, the second anniversary of the crackdown on Falun Gong in China. "Over the past two years at least 250 Falun Gong people have been tortured and lost their lives," said Chang Ching-hsi, head of the
Taiwanese group. "It is our obligation to underscore Jiang's evil practices and let the ordeals of the mainland Falun Gong practitioners be better known to the
world," he said. [ Three days after Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, Chinese vice premier Li Lanqing vowed to continue the government's
campaign against the group, justifying the actions in part by saying the award of the Games showed international approval of China's
"social stability". []
Since then hundreds of Falun Gong followers have been jailed and tens of thousands sent to reeducation camps. Human rights groups say
more than 100 have died in police detention. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) http://www.europeaninternet.com/china/news.php3?id=549593
San Francisco to DC Trip -- Indianapolis, IN to Cincinnati, Ohio, Saturday, July 14
The Roanoke Times : They're on a mission of enlightenment
Amnesty International Local Groups Invite UK Dafa Practitioners to their Meetings
AFP: Taiwan Falun Gong Practitioners Condemn Jiang Over Crackdown