Radio Free Asia: Interview with Falun Gong Practitioners on the 4th Anniversary of the "4-25" Event

The contents of this article have been summarised from transcripts of the voice recordings for each interview.

During this past weekend, Falun Gong practitioners from various countries in Europe held activities to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the "4-25" Event. Practitioners continued to let the European community know the truth about how the Chinese government is basing its persecution of Falun Gong entirely on lies. This situation is the same as the Chinese government's recent cover-up of the details about SARS, an epidemic that has spread throughout China. The following is a report from Radio Free Asia's correspondent in Germany.

Owing to the fact that the Chinese Government has recently covered up the infection of SARS and did not take timely countermeasures to prevent its spread, this contagious disease has proliferated widely throughout China and to other countries around the world. The measures taken by the Chinese government have again led the international community to raise questions [concerning China's openness regarding so-called sensitive issues].

This past weekend was the 4th anniversary of the "4-25" event, in which Falun Gong practitioners were said to have "sieged" Zhongnanhai. Because of this, Falun Gong practitioners held commemorative activities of various types and sizes throughout Europe.

Mr. Zhang Jian-Ping, who participated in the appeal in front of the Chinese Embassy in Paris, explained these activities to a reporter. He said, "More than ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealed to the Chinese government in Beijing on this day four years ago. The gathering today will be from 9am to 1pm in front of the Chinese Consulate, and from 2 pm to 7 pm in front of the Chinese Embassy."

Regarding the format and purpose of these activities, Mr. Zhang commented, "The core set of activities are exercise demonstrations and distributing information. The focus of this information is to clarify what actually happened on April 25 1999. Jiang Zemin and his group have directed this persecution and one of its most important aspects is telling lies. This can be clearly illustrated by the recent evolution of SARS in China. In the past, people may have argued that what Jiang's group did was to maintain social stability and the image of the nation. However, the issue of SARS makes it undoubtedly clear to us that if they really cared about public interest and social stability, they would have taken proper measures at an early stage. In fact, they do not really care about social stability or public interest; all that they care for is preserving their vested interests, and maintaining their power and influence."

Ms. Dai Dongxue from Ireland attended the activities in Ireland first, and then hurried to Brussels in Belgium to attend the activities there on Saturday. She introduced the ongoing activities in Belgium to a reporter: "I came to Brussels to attend the Falun Dafa Benelux Experience Sharing Conference. The conference participants are from many different countries, including Holland, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, USA and Russia. At present, we are taking a lunch break. The Belgian practitioner beside me can provide a brief introduction for you."

Ms. Lee, who is originally from China but now living in Belgium, gave a short introduction of the activities in Belgium that had been conducted over the preceding three days: "We have come here to commemorate the "4-25" Event. Whereas the activities over the first 2 days were held in front of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium, today we are holding an experience sharing conference. The conference started at 10am and is scheduled to finish at 5pm. There are more than 10 practitioners from other countries sharing their cultivation experiences at the conference."

According to information made available to the reporter, Falun Gong practitioners are petitioning, by using the "4-25" Event and the recent spread of SARS, to call on the international community to recognize the lies told by the Chinese government. The purpose is to minimize the danger that the Chinese government can cause its citizens and the international community. Falun Gong is by no means the only target of the Chinese government's persecution. Appeasement towards the Chinese government will directly or indirectly jeopardize everyone, including the general public in Europe.

Reported by Radio Free Asia's correspondent Tian-Yi in Germany.

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200305/12146.html

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