Ireland: Letter from Practitioner to MP on International Women's Day
5th March 2003
Dear Public Representative,
March 8th has been designated as International Women's Day each
year. It is a day to celebrate and commemorate the struggle of women to be
recognised and to have equal rights. It is named International Women's Day
because it is a day when women all over the globe can celebrate their rights and
peace.
However, everyone knows that this is not the case. Women in parts of Asia and
in the third world have very few rights and some have no rights at all. These
human rights are taken for granted by most of us here in Ireland and in Europe.
We are lucky enough to belong to a country that has a democratic system. I would
like to raise your awareness of the situation of Chinese women who are Falun
Dafa practitioners. As you are already aware China has a totalitarian government
system.
One of the most basic human rights is to be able to choose our own belief
system or religion. Falun Dafa is an ancient Chinese cultivation way. In 1992,
Li Hongzhi brought the practise to the public in China. Falun Dafa cultivates
the body, mind and spirit. It is based on the principles of "Zhen, Shan, Ren," -
"Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance".
It is important to point out that the Chinese government's persecution of
Falun Dafa is no deviation from its 50 years of continuous persecution of
intellectuals, labour activists, dissidents, Christians, Buddhists, and other
nonconformists. Various studies by western scholars have indicated that over
eighty million lives have perished because of the non-stop persecution under the
Chinese communist rule.
The persecution of Falun Dafa is still going on in China. However the
peaceful and persistent insistence on their basic rights by Falun Dafa
practitioners is already transcending the historic plight of Chinese human
rights. Their approach is peaceful, apolitical, and noble. Their suffering is
helping more and more people wake up to the Chinese government's heinous crimes
against humanity.
Many Falun Dafa practitioners have risked all to publicise the violations
they or fellow practitioners have suffered. Their reports must not be taken
lightly, lest the values of hope, courage, and the most fundamental human rights
be forsaken.
In sending you this letter, I now ask you to be a voice for those who have
none, and to ask you to do all within your power to challenge the injustice and
cruelty.
Because this is about International Women's Day, I will only mention the
crimes against, and suffering of, the women practitioners, although men and
children are suffering the same persecution.
Chinese laws and codes explicitly prohibit the jailing of pregnant women.
However, with the instructions from the central government that "No measure is
too excessive when dealing with Falun Dafa," the Chinese police not only
regularly jail pregnant practitioners, but also use their pregnancy to force
them to choose between their unborn children and their practise of Falun Dafa. Below are some cases of forced abortions. There are many more cases that have
been confirmed and many more unconfirmed cases. With the information blockade by
the Chinese government, we fear that the actual degree of atrocity is much
greater.
1. Zhang Hanyun, 33, resident of Hanzhong City Shanxi Province Pregnancy full
term Ordered to a "re-education class"--brainwashing. Ms Zhang hid to avoid the
persecution. The authorities closed down her father and brother's business. They
also handcuffed Ms Zhang's husband to the Jialing River Bridge of Hanzhong City
to humiliate him. When they found Ms Zhang they took her to the "re-education
class", and then to the hospital where they used the dilation-and-extraction
procedure to extract her full term baby.
2. Liu Qiuhong, 39, employee of Zhongce Pharmacy Company resident of Yantai
City Shandong Province Pregnancy -- more than eight months Arrested at her home for practising Falun Dafa. The police tied her down and
forcefully induced an early labour. The baby was born alive and healthy and was
crying when the police forced it from her womb. The authorities did not even
allow Ms Liu any time to recover. They immediately sent her to a "Re-education
Centre" for one month, and then sentenced her to a forced labour camp. No one
knows what became of her child.
3. Wang Shaona, resident of Shekou District Shenzhen City Guangdong Province.
Pregnancy 6 months On February 15 2000, Ms Wang Shaona and her husband went to Beijing to appeal to
the government to stop the persecution of Falun Dafa. The couple was arrested
and detained in the Shekou Detention Centre. Ms Wang was six months pregnant at
the time. To "legally" detain Ms Wang, the police subjected her to a forced
abortion.
On June 30, 2000, policemen from the Shuiwan Police Station arrested Ms Wang
and her husband again at their home. They were detained in the Nanshan District
Detention Centre. When the police found that she was pregnant, they shackled her
and took her to a hospital for a second forced abortion. Later, Ms Wang was sent
to the Nanshan District Detention Centre, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province.
There are many more cases of torture and unbelievable depravity on these
defenceless Chinese women practitioners. Sexual violations and torture with
electric batons, "Re-education", using unknown drugs, sleep deprivation, boiling
water, rape, force-feeding, and beating. Male criminals are encouraged to take
part when a female practitioner is thrown into a cell with several male inmates.
The list is endless.
One of the most devastating discoveries for me, was to find out that these
Chinese women practitioners are being held in forced labour camps and making
items that are being sold here in Ireland and in the UK. These items are being
made for large well known companies.
At present in the UK there is a young Chinese mother to be (six weeks
pregnant) being held near Gatwick Airport to be deported back to China. Her name
is Lili Lin. She applied for asylum two years ago. She gave her address to the
Home Office and did all that was asked of her. After some time, she met and
married a young Chinese man. Both are Falun Dafa practitioners. When she married
she gave her change of address to the Home Office and kept up the procedure.
However, somewhere along the way, the Home Office misplaced her change of
address and when her application for asylum was turned down, they sent it to the
old address. As she was not aware of this, she did not have the opportunity to
appeal the decision. There has been a large-scale appeal from Falun Dafa
practitioners and human rights groups from all over the world. They know that if
she is sent back to China, she could be arrested, tortured and possibly never
seen again. Also, the fate of her unborn child is in serious danger.
I am calling on you to give your voice to the powers that be in the UK and
put forward a case for clemency to save this young practitioner's life and that
of her unborn child. All these female Chinese Falun Dafa practitioners are
asking for is to be allowed to live a normal life, to work and bring up their
families and to be allowed to practise and follow their faith in Falun Dafa.
"Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance"
Yours sincerely, __________________________
All information in this letter and the cases documented in this letter can be
verified by The Falun Dafa Report -- Published by Golden Lotus Press -- March
2002.
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