Ottawa Citizen: A Vigil against repression

Michael Petrou

Gerry Smith has been camped outside the Chinese Embassy to Protest the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners.

July 20, 2001

Gerry Smith planned on spending his summer vacation at the cottage with his daughter. Instead, the 54-year-old Nortel employee has spent the last two weeks camped outside the Chinese Embassy to protest the Chinese government's crackdown on Falun Gong, a meditation and exercise movement.

Mr. Smith, who has practiced Falun Gong for two years, said he decided to begin his vigil after 15 female Falun Gong practitioners were allegedly tortured to death in June at China's Wanjia Labour camp in Harbin City.

A Hong Kong-based human rights groups said the women were murdered. Chinese officials said they hanged themselves.

"My first thought when I heard this is that we need to do something to stop the hundreds and perhaps thousands of practitioners in the labour camps from dying," Mr. Smith said.

"We wanted people in the world to know the truth about the cruel persecution of Falun Gong in China."

Mr. Smith began his protest on July, 6. Since then he has spent, his days under a tent across the road from the Chinese Embassy and his nights in a van parked at a nearby school.

Fellow Falun Gong practitioners bring him food and sit with him during the day.

Mr. Smith will end his vigil today at 1:00 p.m., when Bill Guan, a practitioner from Montreal will take over.

Mr. Smith said he does not know how long Mr. Guan's protest will last.

"If people continue on, it will be on a volunteer basis," said Shawn Li, a Falun Gong practitioner who sat with Mr. Smith yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Smith's vigil coincides with the two-year anniversary of China's campaign against Falun Gong.

On the night of July 19 and 20, 1999, the first Falun Gong members were arrested. The movement was declared illegal two days later.

To mark the anniversary, Ying Zhu, a Concordia University student and Falun Gong practitioner, is walking from Montreal to Ottawa.

Ms. Zhu, a landed immigrant, was imprisoned for 33 days in a Chinese jail this May and June.

She said she was "mentally tortured" and was released only after promising not to tell anyone what happened to her.

Reached by the Citizen yesterday afternoon in a small town 80 kilometres east of Ottawa, Ms. Zhu said her walk is exhausting. But she said she has a "responsibility" to publicize the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

"I want to take this opportunity to make people aware of the truth of the persecution," she said.

Ms. Zhu said she plans to arrive in Ottatwa on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the head of public security for the Chinese province of Hubei was sued in a U.S. district court this week for allegedly overseeing the torture and murder of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Peng Liang,, a Falun Gong practitioner reportedly in hiding somewhere in China, brought a suit against Zhao Zhifei, who presides over the police force in Hubei. The civil suit accuses Mr. Zhao of "murder, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," in addition to other charges.

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