FDI: Sweden Responds to China's Pressure on Thailand
NEWS -- May 4, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center,
www.faluninfo.net
The Chinese
regime is exerting pressure on the Thai government to deport a Swedish
Falun Gong practitioner. LOS ANGELES (FDI) -- As part of its worldwide campaign to
persecute Falun Gong, the Chinese regime is exerting pressure on the Thai
government to deport a Swedish Falun Gong practitioner living in Thailand. The April 29 detention of Mrs. Pirjo Svensson came on the
first day of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Thailand. She is "suspected"
of planning to tell people about China's persecution of Falun Gong. "I have done nothing wrong", says Mrs. Svensson, 50, who has
been living in Thailand with her husband for two years. She was detained after
VCDs were found in her apartment. These VCDs are compact disks with videos that
can be viewed on a computer and contain documentary footage from China. Practitioners in numerous countries distribute these VCDs in
order to expose the human rights abuses against Falun Gong in China. According
to Mrs. Svensson they contain "the truth about the persecution of innocent Falun
Gong practitioners." Because of this persecution campaign, former Chinese leader,
Jiang Zemin, is being sued for torture, crimes against humanity, and genocide in
several countries. One such lawsuit is proceeding in a US district court in
Chicago. The Swedish Embassy in Thailand quickly demanded "an
immediate explanation" from the Thai Foreign Ministry. The Embassy has also
helped Mrs. Svensson with the paperwork for an appeal and is advising her
through the process. The Embassy has offered to pay Mrs. Svensson's bail in
order to expedite her release from detention. Thailand's immigration officers indicated that a "special
request" from "high above" was received for her incarceration, and that it was
done out of consideration for Thailand's relationship with China. This is not the first time that the Swedish Government has
come to the aid of Falun Gong practitioners. After the November 20, 2001 arrest
of six Swedish practitioners in Beijing, Sweden's Foreign Minister, Ms. Anna
Lindh stated: "I think this is totally unacceptable. Yet unfortunately it is so
common when it comes to China that, despite the fact that they signed the UN's
conventions and said that they would follow human rights, we see that the
persecution of Falun Gong, amongst others, is getting worse." The coercion from China came at a time when an emergency
conference on SARS was being held in Thailand. "The regime in China lies to the world and then expects
everyone to toe its line", says Falun Dafa Information Center spokeswoman Ms.
Gail Rachlin. "It doesn't want people in other countries to recognize how it
persecutes innocent people and even exerts pressure to enlist other countries'
assistance in doing so." The Chinese regime has repeatedly pressured governments of
many nations to prohibit appeals to the international community on behalf of
Falun Gong. In spite of the threats and lies from the Jiang Zemin regime, many
of the countries have remained true to their own constitutions and permitted
such appeals to take place. Moreover, Falun Gong's appeals have gained a
worldwide reputation as being completely peaceful. Ultimately, police of many countries where appeals took place
despite pressure -- such as Iceland, Germany, and Mexico during Jiang's visits
in 2002 -- complimented Falun Gong on its peaceful, orderly, and noble conduct.
"It is admirable and beneficial to the world that someone
like Mrs. Svensson would peacefully stand up and say 'no' to persecution," says
Jillian Ye, a Falun Gong practitioner and software engineer from Toronto,
Canada. "It is a righteous action that should be supported and encouraged by all
governments." "Thailand is an independent, democratic country strongly
rooted in religion and freedom of belief," said Alan Adler, Executive Director
of the NGO Friends of Falun Gong USA. "It is our sincerest wish that Thailand
stand up for the principles of freedom and justice that it embraces and not
condone or allow itself to be pressured by the Chinese government." Despite the illicit pressure from China, the Thai government
has yet to deport Mrs. Svensson. Deporting her could be seen as taking sides
with Jiang regime's persecution, a persecution that is genocidal in nature and
implemented through torture, defamation, and brainwashing that has been
denounced by the media, governments, and human rights organizations worldwide.
"Thailand has a long history of independence and charting its
own course," says John Nania, a Falun Gong practitioner who taught in Thailand's
public schools. "We urge Thailand's government to release Mrs. Svensson. This
demonstrates support for universal principles of morality and human rights, and
shows the world that the nation does live up to the name 'Land of the Free.'"
# # # NEWS -- May 4, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center,
www.faluninfo.net á 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 669
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 labor camps, typically without trial. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA
INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963,
Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 917-941-1097. Email:
faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website:
http://www.faluninfo.net/
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