HONG KONG (FDI) -- 71-year-old Mr. Chan stands quietly by the side of a Burmese road. He unfolds a little yellow banner that reads "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" as he patiently waits for Jiang Zemin's motorcade to drive by.
Within seconds he is pounced upon by local police. Under the gaze of the Chinese Embassy, and with presence of neither lawyer nor family, the elder is secretly sentenced to 7 years in prison and taken away.
Mr. Chan's case was exposed publicly for the first time yesterday. A permanent resident of Hong Kong who practices Falun Gong, he was visiting his family during the holiday season of 2001-2002 when he learned that Jiang Zemin was scheduled to visit the country.
Since launching his campaign against Falun Gong in 1999 (about), Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin has become known for pressuring foreign governments to act illegally, particularly during his visits. While Jiang was in Germany last April, his secret service assaulted Falun Gong practitioners (news); in Iceland last June, Jiang pressured authorities to use an illicit blacklist and barred practitioners from entering the country during his visit (news and news).
South East Asian countries, like Burma, have been particularly susceptible to the duress. Last August, in nearby Cambodia, an elderly couple was abducted by Chinese Embassy agents and clandestinely taken to a labor camp in China.
Falun Dafa Associations in Hong Kong, North America, Europe, and Australia have begun efforts today to appeal for Mr. Chan's release. They have delivered letters to Burmese officials in the capital Rangoon, as well as to Burma's consulates in Hong Kong and the United States. The case is also in the process of being submitted to the United Nations and Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.
When Mr. Chan was first arrested for displaying the principles of Falun Gong in public, he was held for over a month. While in detention, officials from the Chinese Embassy supervised as local Burmese police repeatedly demanded that Mr. Chan present a written promise to forsake practicing Falun Gong, a demand commonly imposed on practitioners in China. In exchange for acting against his conscience, they offered him personal freedom.
Mr. Chan refused.
On January 31, 2002, 71 year-old Mr. Chan was secretly sentenced to 7 years in prison and warned his family against contacting Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong.
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.
With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 557 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labour camps, typically without trial.