(Clearwisdom.net June 17, 2003)

(Clearwisdom.net)

On June 15, Falun Gong practitioners from England once again gathered in front of the Chinese embassy to hold a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of US citizen Charles Li, and supporting the global trial against Jiang Zemin.

Practitioners studied the Fa together first, then shared their understanding of bringing dictator Jiang to justice. Then they went to the Chinese embassy to send forth righteous thoughts.

Professor Stan Hart of George Washington University

(Clearwisdom.net) The lawsuit against former China leader Jiang for genocide has caught the attention of people from all walks of life. What is genocide? Does a Head of State have immunity to the lawsuit? Many people want to know if this is just a symbolic trial or a real one. Professor Stan Hart of George Washington University was successful in a lawsuit against former president of Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos. He was interviewed by the Epoch Times Newspaper a few days ago.

Many Cases Won in American Court in History

Professor Stan Hart said that in the 200 years of American history, immunity was given all heads of states when they were in power, but the case of Falun Gong has something different. Jiang was the Head of State when the lawsuit was filed, but he is no longer the leader of China now. For those leaders who stepped down, there were many cases won in American courts, such as the one against former president of the Philippines Marcos, who was held responsible for four victims being tortured, missing and jailed for many years under his orders.

Hart said that the significant point of the lawsuit against Jiang is whether the court will grant immunity to those who committed genocide when they were still in power. There are similar cases in other US courts. The main reason for filing the lawsuit is that international law is to restrain a country and its officials within certain bounds, and behavior that violates these laws are not acceptable. The lawsuit against Jiang is based on international law.

An international law was passed after the atrocities committed against Jews by the Nazi's were discovered. The law was a covenant designed to prevent and punish acts of genocide. The law clearly defined "genocide", which in addition to the extermination of a group of people, included mental and physical torture.

(Clearwisdom.net) At the end of October 2002, Dafa practitioner Shang Kunfeng was illegally held in the Lincheng district of Xingtai City, Hebei Province. He is being detained at the Luquan City Detention Center, where he was illegally sentenced to 10 years in prison after his first trial.

In July of 2001, steadfast in his belief, Shang refused to cooperate with the evil and was forced to leave home and move from place to place to avoid further persecution. This caused quite a stir in the local area. People felt, "Such an honest and upright practitioner. What's the big deal! And he was forced from home like that. It seems impossible to be a good person these days."

After Shang's situation was revealed, police in the Shijiazhuang City Police Station were very upset. They teamed up with the Zhengding County Police Station and other area police, making use of large quantities of material, money, and human resources to find him. They went to Beijing, Tianjing, Taiyuan, Handan, Xingtai, Shijiazhuang, and over 10 other counties, spent over 100,000 Yuan, (it is has been said by some people that a million Yuan was spent) and used all means, devious and otherwise, to locate Shang. For over a year Shang experienced dangerous situations one after another, and eventually last year he was arrested. Many of Shang's relatives and friends were involved, including his driver, who was held against his will for over 10 days, but since he is afraid of reprisals, he doesn't dare say anything.

At the detention center, Shang has submitted his appeal to the medium court, and plans to defend himself.

Telephone of Quanlu City Detention Center: 86-311-2012336.

June 8, 2003

* Yuan is the Chinese currency. The average monthly salary of an urban worker in China is 500 Yuan.

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Pan Jing from Dandong City is currently been detained in the 4^th Group of the 3^rd Brigade of the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. In December 2002, she was tortured until she completely lost the use of her feet causing her to become disabled. She is now being detained in a small cell to be subjected to further persecution.

Xia Ning, female, is from Huludao City and is currently been detained in the 5^th Group of the 3^rd Brigade. She has been detained in a mini-cell since December 2001. Police officers stripped off all her her clothes and bound her mouth with a rope. She suffered from various means of brutal torture, and she now only weighs between 30 to 35 kilograms.

Wang Wenjuan, female, from Jinzhou City is currently been detained in the 4^th Group of the 3^rd Brigade. She was hung up for four days in December 2002, causing both her feet to become disabled and causing her severe mental damage.

We write this hoping that Dafa practitioners will inform their families, so that together they will be able to put a stop to their persecution.

06/02/2003

(Clearwisdom.net) Dafa practitioner Ms. Shao Ying, college graduate, was arrested on January 3, 2003 [Chinese lunar calendar] by police in Harbin City. In 1999, Shao Ying was illegally arrested for the first time and was sent to the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp where she was tortured for two years. She is a survivor of the "June 20 Atrocity" [around this day, many practitioners were brutally tortured non-stop for an extended period of time]. Two years later, she was released and was forced to leave home to avoid illegal arrest. Her former work unit, the Forestry Bureau, and the local police department have been pursuing her.

Recently, Shao Ying was again arrested in Harbin City. Some fellow practitioners saw her at the No. 2 Detention Center in Harbin City. She was tortured and her body was bruised all over, without a single spot of intact skin. She was not seen since. Details about her current whereabouts are unclear.

(Clearwisdom.net)

Liu Huaguo is a Dafa practitioner from Weihe Town, Shangzhi City in Heilongjiang Province. On April 18, 2003 the Shangzhi Public Security Bureau illegally kidnapped him when he was delivering clothes to practitioners in the Shangzhi Detention Center. They detained him there as well. He was sentenced to three years of forced labor and transferred to the Changlinzi Labor Camp.

Liu Youming is a Dafa practitioner from Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang Province. On May 7, 2003 the Shangzhi Public Security Bureau illegally kidnapped him from his home. He was told that someone reported to the authorities that he spoke out about the persecution of Falun Gong, and he would be subjected to 15 days of detention. Later, he was illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor, and on May 29, 2003, he was sent to the infamous Wanjia Labor Camp.

Fan Shuying is a female Dafa practitioner from Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang Province. On April 26, 2003 the Shangzhi Public Security Bureau kidnapped her while she was walking on the street and took her to the detention center. She went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. After she became near death due to the hunger strike and after many telephone calls by overseas Dafa practitioners, the police became aware that their hideous crimes were exposed all over the world. They did not want Fan Shuying to die in the detention center and bear the responsibility, so they coerced Fan's family to pay 2,000 Yuan to bail her out. On May 8 Fan Shuying returned home. When the police observed that she had recovered after a few weeks of nurturing at home and could work again, they sentenced her to three years of forced labor. On May 29, 2003 Shangzhi Public Security Bureau arrested her at her home again and sent her to Wanjia Labor Camp, leaving behind her disabled husband and her teenage daughter.

Ding Yunfeng is one of the people responsible for arranging neighborhood association directors to put up surveillance cameras to monitor Dafa practitioners in Shangzhi Town, Shangzhi City in Heilongjiang Province.

2003-6-6

(Clearwisdom.net) Three Dafa practitioners from Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province have died as a result of persecution. Yu Tianyong died in January of 2003, Liu Guiying died sometime between October and November 2002 from being unable to breathe after she was force-fed five times by Zhao Shuguang, head of Mishan City Hospital. Yang Hailing died from persecution on April 12, 2003. Details of her death are being investigated.

Office of Mishan City Hospital Head: 86-453-5222880

Ma Baosheng: 86-453-5229985, former head of Mishan City First Detention Center, currently suffering from an unknown problem in a hospital. His hospitalization has been kept a secret from the public.
Han Yumin: 86-453-5229482

Office of Mishan City Police Department: 453-5223183
Political and Security Section, Mishan City: 86-453-5230149
Head of Political and Security Section: Meng Qingqi, 86-453-5226936, Mobile: 86-13945836696
Police officers: Du Yongshan: 86-453-5223266; Liu Qin, Li Gang

Mishan City Standing Committee of the People's Congress: 86-453-5223673
Mishan City People's Government: 86-453-5223409
Hotline of Mishan City Procuratorate: 86-453-5222000
Chief procurator Chen Jianru: 86-453-5282855 (H)
Office of Mishan City Intermediate People's Court: 86-453-5223843
Mishan City Judicial Bureau: 86-453-5223393
Mishan City Legal System Office: 86-453-5222257

(Clearwisdom.net)

Since July of 1999, many Dafa practitioners from Bayan County, Heilongjiang Province, have been subjected to the persecution. Of the practitioners arrested, twenty were sent to forced labor camps, and fifty are still being detained. Many others have been forced to leave home to avoid further persecution. To satisfy their personal greed, the local police carried out extortion against the victims as well, to a total sum of about 150 thousand Yuan* during this period.

In the spring of 2002, Dafa practitioner Cheng Guilan was illegally arrested, his home was ransacked, and his property was confiscated. The police even took away a total of 12,000 Yuan, which was aid given to the immediate family members from the Deceased Soldiers' Fund.

On July 12, 2002, Dafa practitioner Dou Lihua was arrested at her home. The police fabricated the evidence and sentenced her to twelve years of imprisonment.

During the Moon Festival of 2002, Wu, an elderly Dafa practitioner from Longquan Village, was illegally arrested by the police. During the arrest, the police kicked him so hard that one of his ribs was broken. He was later sent to a detention center. At first, the police tried to extort 5,000 Yuan from his family, then later lowered the amount to 2,000 Yuan in exchange for his release. Since the practitioner was extremely poor and had an aged and sick relative at home, the police finally realized that the chance of getting any money from them was slim, so they sentenced the practitioner to a forced labor camp without notifying his family.

* Yuan is Chinese currency. 500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.

(Clearwisdom.net)

On May 11, 2003, Clearwisdom.net posted an article entitled "Mr. Zhong Hongxi Died From Torture in the Fushun City Labor Camp, Family Members Illegally Sent to Forced Labor Camp," which revealed the facts of the persecution of Zhong Hongxi's family. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/5/11/35500.html)

The article mentioned that, "On December 26, Zhong Hongxi was sent to Fushun Forced Labor Camp (Wujiabao). Police confiscated everything from Mr. Zhong's convenience store. They also confiscated everything from the home of his sister-in-law. They took all the money, even pocket change. They sealed the doors and left a twelve-year-old behind, alone."

These four receipts (below) are powerful evidence of their robbery. According to these receipts, we can conclude that they ransacked Mr. Zhong's home at least three times. The person involved signed the receipt with: "Zhong Hongxi refused to sign." They didn't realize this would be irrefutable evidence of their crimes.

According to these receipts, they did not even pass over two little bags of sesame seeds.

The following is a list of the property confiscated as recorded on the receipts; it is only a portion of the articles they stole from Mr. Zhong's store.

1. Property Confiscated on December 24, 2001.

One television
One motorcycle
Wine: 7 Bottles
Cigarettes: 13 packs in total

2. December 26, 2001

• All kinds of cigarettes: 170 packs
• All kinds of cigarettes: 35.5 cartons (10 packs in one carton)
• Melon Seeds: 10 bags (about 801b per bag)

3. December 28, 2001

• Wine: 10 Bottles
• Distilled Spirits: 25 Bottles
• One Box of Vinegar
• Plastic Wine Container: 5 Barrels
• Tinned Food: 25 Tins
• One Plastic Bag of Distilled Spirits
• One Carton of Cigarettes
• One Bottle Liquefied Natural Gas
• Fine Dried Noodles: 37 Bags
• One Electric Fan
• Distilled Spirits: 12 Bottles
• One Jacket
• Melon Seeds: 11.5 Bags (about 801b per bag)
• One Bag of Peanuts
• Two Small Bags of Sesame seeds

4. January 4, 2002

The police extorted money from Zhong Hongxi's sister-in-law and auctioned off the property they stole.

The following is a list of signatures of those who ransacked Zhong Hongxi's home, but some of the names are very hard to recognize and need to be confirmed.

People from Xincun Community of Gebu Village, Fushun City:

Zhang Zicheng
Wang Fujian
Zhao Zhifei
Bi Shengguo
Li Guiying
Zheng X(unrecognizable) Jun
Li Jian
Zhang Yidong
Wang Qingchun
Li Danyang

Gebu Village Police Station, Fushun City, Liaoning Province: Yin Zhaohua

(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."

Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:

• Dafa Disciples' Solemn Statements [6/13/2003]
• Solemn Declarations by Non-Practitioners[5/22/2003]
• Solemn Declaration by a Young Dafa Practitioners [6/2/2003]

Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.

(Clearwisdom.net)

The process of Fa rectification is proceeding rapidly; this period of time is critical. Dafa practitioners all realize the urgency, and endeavor to do the three things well -- Study the Fa and cultivate our xinxing [heart, mind nature], clarify the truth, and send forth righteous thoughts. Especially regarding clarifying the truth and exposing the atrocities of the evil head, we have reached a common understanding and are working very hard on it. However, as the lawsuit moves forward, some problems among practitioners also emerge. Specifically, some practitioners have developed the attachment of pursuit and wish to win the lawsuit as soon as possible. Thus, they put their hopes in the hands of non-practitioners. Some practitioners who do not usually sit in front of the Chinese embassy also started one after another to go there and send forth righteous thought all day long, thus interfering with their performance at work during the day and clarifying the truth to people in society. One cannot help but be reminded of the lessons learned from the trip to Iceland last year. Sending forth righteous thought is one of three important things and we must do it well. But it is not good if we overemphasize one at the expense of the other two. In addition, the outcome will not be good if we pursue it with the mentality of seeking something from society.

I remember Teacher said:

"You worry about everything you do, I think you shouldn't be so attached. It's really hard to balance this relationship: if you think about it a lot, it's an attachment; if you think about it little, apparently you're afraid of doing something wrong. I don't think we need to go as far as making our minds tense." ("Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun" in the book Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

and needless to say, the unfettered pursuit of results or recognition by ordinary people. One person does it this way, then two persons also do it this way, and when many practitioners think this way, the old forces will take advantage of the loophole and interfere with us. In fact, regardless of the external circumstances and whatever ordinary people can do for us, we practitioners should just do what Fa rectification requires of us. The result will be the best. Otherwise complication can easily occur.

The purpose for Dafa practitioners in the Fa rectification period is not just to bring Jiang Zemin to justice, but also to save sentient beings to the greatest extent possible. In relation to the lawsuit against the evil head and "610 Office," we have yet to meet the requirement for a "large-scale, comprehensive, and detailed clarification of the truth." At the same time, there are many other things in Fa rectification that need to be completed in an orderly fashion, and which can only be carried out by Dafa practitioners. Let us all keep Teacher's words in mind: "Do but pursue not, constantly dwelling in the Dao" (Hongyin -- in the Dao)

June 13, 2003

June 4, 2003

The authorities from Kaifeng City, Henan Province abducted over twenty retired professors, (all Falun Gong practitioners) took them to the Yuxiang Hotel, monitored them twenty four hours a day and tried to force them to give up their beliefs. They seized the elderly professors' monthly income (two to three thousand Yuan) and spent it on salary and lodging for the brainwashing staff. Because these professors were very determined to uphold their belief in Dafa, the corrupt officials could find no excuse to continue persecuting them in this manner. They had to release the professors and close the brainwashing class in February 2003.

(Clearwisdom.net, June 4, 2003)

Some fellow practitioners around me often felt quietly angry with their family for their unrighteous words and behavior, and had been enduring it silently. One day, the practitioners couldn't endure any more and broke out with anger. The justified their action, thinking that Falun Dafa practitioners should not only have compassion, but also dignity.

Anger and hatred are nothing but evidence that we haven't broken free of emotion, much less is it the dignity of enlightened beings.

"Once you start hating him, aren't you getting angry? Then you've failed to live up to Endurance. We strive to be True, Good, and Endure. And what's more, your Goodness is nowhere to be found. So you shouldn't act like him, and you really shouldn't be angry at him... You love something, you hate something--everything in society comes completely from emotion. If you don't sever emotion, you won't be able to cultivate. But if you do break out of emotion, nobody can affect you, and ordinary attachments won't be able to sway you. What replaces it is compassion, which is more noble." (Zhuan Falun, 2003 Translation Edition)

In an article published on the Clearwisdom website, a policeman who beat people fiercely was interrogating an elderly Dafa practitioner who went to peacefully appeal in Beijing. The policeman, who had become so accustomed to beating people, was about to beat up the old lady. But the compassionate and dignified manner of this old lady made him check himself subconsciously. His fierce and brutal manner disappeared. He even forgot to curse. We can see that the dignity of a practitioner, who truly cultivates herself, co-exists with compassion, as shown through this elderly practitioner. It gives expression to a more magnificent strength, which makes all that is evil and unrighteous shudder.

If you emphasize your "dignity" while divorcing yourself from compassion, you will lose your temper, glare at somebody, or speak sternly. Your "dignity" won't be the dignity of an enlightened being. It is nothing more than an exposure of everyday people's demon nature. It doesn't show any strength either, but instead could be very destructive. Once it starts to work, it could be magnified and utilized by the evil, and it could seriously hinder and damage our personal cultivation and truth-clarification work.

June 3, 2003

(Clearwisdom.net)

Xiaoguang,

After hearing that you were searching within yourself for gaps, we laughed with joy. But then we also cried. Yes, cultivation is really hard. Although Teacher has taught us constantly, we have been deluded so badly that many problems have occurred. Where is the gap? It was after experiencing everything that we realized the following: Weren't all of us in the old cosmos? Everyone is devoting his mind and effort to the Fa-rectification. However, after a long period of time, we only emphasized doing the work and neglected to improve our levels in the Fa, and we didn't sever our connection to particles at that level. Although we said we didn't acknowledge old force arrangements, didn't those old substances [of ours] still follow all those old force arrangements? This inadvertently divided disciples' hearts in the Fa, insisting on their own opinions. Isn't the fundamental cause due to our inability to let go of our own selves, to melt into the Fa? Although our one whole body is a formal unity, our hearts are not. That's why the evil has become so rampant. This has inadvertently hindered Fa-rectification's progress and has created huge mistakes, yet we were not even aware of this. Although we looked good in the form, however, Teacher said:

"If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary--the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!" (from "Cautionary Advice" in Essentials For Further Advancement)

If this the case, how then can the evil reach us?

Teacher says: "I can't just let you work without reaching Consummation" (from "A Person in Charge is Also a Cultivator" in Essentials For Further Advancement) We won't change until we hit a brick wall. Truth-clarification material sites have been "destroyed" then "created", one after another. We have been waking up one after another. We must understand the Fa from the Fa. We must eliminate those stubborn and deeply rooted notions, even those things that we considered to be so good and so right. If our hearts truly melt into the Fa, we can then look around, everything around us is so smooth and so clear. Nothing can stop us.

Besides, when we read Teacher's Fa-lectures, we again feel Teacher's compassion. But we are not compassionate enough. We don't understand sentient beings and we don't recognize sentient beings' suffering. We don't know how to save them. I've been with ordinary people after my imprisonment. It was then when I understood their minds. They had been poisoned so badly and they were even scared of Dafa. When they saw that we were so good and so righteous, each one of them thought that there's hope for his salvation.

Fellow practitioners who are outside, you have done excellent jobs. We are inspired by you and we also shed tears for you. I don't have time to elaborate on this but I can talk about the lesson I've learned. You must realize this, it doesn't matter if we are in a prison or are outside, we are one whole body. It is when our levels as a whole meet the standard that we truly reject everything of the old forces', that we are the renewed, brand-new beings. We must bring Teacher's compassion to sentient beings. We should be responsible for sentient beings and think for them. We should do everything with kindness. We better not put words that scare people in our flyers, words such as "whoever removes this will receive retribution". Can we use another way to let people understand and accept us?

Learn from my lesson: taking extreme measures brings loss to Dafa. So to sum up my lesson: search for our own gaps, and most importantly, improve our character and level in the Fa.

Xiaoxiang and big sister Xin,

Morning of February 25, 2002

June 6, 2003

In the summary of 1999, I went to the Appeals Bureau to obtain justice for Falun Dafa and I was locked up in a detention center. Later on I was taken to the local police station. At that time I did not understand the Fa enough and only felt that I didn't do anything wrong by practicing Falun Gong. While in the detention center, I heard from other practitioners that we should not "sign our name" (giving up cultivation).

After being locked up for a few days, I decided to "sign my name" because I had shallow understanding of Dafa and I had no one with whom to share experiences. I felt that after signing my name I could still continue to practice and they would not be able to control me. I begged Master Li to help me to keep the books. I said silently, "Please Master Li, protect Dafa's book." I then asked the person who was in charge of monitoring me to bring me my Dafa books. That person actually did what I asked.

After being back home for a long time, I saw practitioners' solemn declarations and realized that I was wrong. It was a big stain on my cultivation. Thinking back, I knew I was wrong. Master Li forgave me with his immense compassion and helped me to retain my Dafa books and materials. I could not stop my tears.

(Clearwisdom.net)

Be It Reserved
by the Council of the County of Maui
that it hereby extends its congratulations to

Li Hongzhi and Falun Dafa Day in Hawaii

Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa and Celebration of all practitioners of Falun Dafa to come together

Dated this day, 13^th of May 2003

Chair: Cain K. Kane
Vice Chair: Robet Carroll
Council Member: Jo Anne Johnson, Michael J. Molina, Joseph Pontanilla,
G. Riki Hokama Danny A Mateo, Wayne K Nishiki, Charmaine Tavares

(Clearwisdom.net)

(Clearwisdom.net)

(Clearwisdom.net) The Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association held a cultivation experience sharing conference on February 22, 2003, in Hong Kong. About 400 Taiwan practitioners came to attend the conference, but 82 were prohibited from entering due to a decision made by the Hong Kong Immigration Office director. In addition to this incident, during 2001 and 2002, about 100 Taiwanese practitioners suffered entry restrictions by the Hong Kong Immigration Office.

On April 7, Kan Hung-cheung and another 4 Taiwan Falun Gong practitioners filed a joint lawsuit against the Hong Kong Immigration director's decision for refusing entry to the 82 Taiwan practitioners. On April 29, 2003, the Hong Kong High Court agreed to initiate legal proceedings for the request of a review of the decision made by the Hong Kong Immigration Office director.

Kan Hung-cheung, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Falun Gong Association, recently attended the court hearing concerning the judicial review of the incident. Only Kan Hung-cheung was required to attend the hearing on June 2 which would decide whether or not the request would be honored.

At the court hearing, Daniel R. Fung, a distinguished lawyer who represented the defendant -- the Hong Kong Immigration Office Director, appeared in court. This shows the importance of the lawsuit to the Hong Kong government. It seems that this is not just a common lawsuit regarding deportation.

Daniel R. Fung has taken up the post of Hong Kong Legal Policy Commissioner from 1994 to 1998. He was appointed as the Chairman of Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority last November. He has also served as the commissioner of the Security and Option Market Supervisory Commission and is a member of the Board of Directors in the Airport Administrative Bureau of Hong Kong.

Paul Harris, the lawyer for Kan Hung-cheung, stated before the court that the decision made by the Director of the Immigration Office to refuse entry to the Taiwan practitioners violated Article 141 of Basic Law. His decision interfered in the internal affairs of a religious organization and restricted religious activities and freedoms granted by the law. He mentioned that among the four Taiwan practitioners, three had planned to present speeches at the Hong Kong Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference.

Mr. Harris also pointed out that, as the Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association will hold an annual Falun Gong experience sharing conference again next year, they hope that the court would make an decision on this case to ensure that the deportation of Falun Gong practitioners from other countries and areas would not occur again.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall not restrict the freedom of religious belief, interfere in the internal affairs of religious organizations or restrict religious activities which do not contravene the laws of the Region.

Religious organizations shall, in accordance with law, enjoy the rights to acquire, use, dispose of and inherit property and the right to receive financial assistance. Their previous property rights and interests shall be maintained and protected.

Religious organizations may, according to their previous practice, continue to run seminaries and other schools, hospitals and welfare institutions and to provide other social services.

Religious organizations and believers in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may maintain and develop their relations with religious organizations and believers elsewhere.

June 4, 2003

(Clearwisdom.net, June 4, 2003)

(Note: reference materials reprinted on this website were written by people who are not within the community of cultivators and may not reflect the same understanding as Falun Gong practitioners.)

After Jiang came to power, how many people in his family have had their finances and social status improved? It is impossible to count. I am afraid the unsavory facts won't be revealed until he is put on trial.

When Jiang Zemin was in office, he used his power to promote his son, Jiang Mianheng, who had studied overseas, to the position of Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also made it possible for his son to trade power for money in the telecommunications business of China (including control over the telecommunications business in Shanghai), to embezzle from the nation's coffers, and to become the most corrupt official and businessman in China.

Using the same despicable means that he used to keep his position as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Jiang placed his younger son, Jiang Miankang, into the position of Vice Minister of the Organization Ministry of the PLA's General Political Department.

The Organization Ministry is in charge of the deployment of all the military officers in the entire army. Any transfer of high-ranking military officers cannot go through unless the Organization Ministry approves it. If the Organization Minister doesn't agree with an officer's transfer, it will definitely not happen.

Jiang Zehui is Jiang Zemin's cousin. She used to be a professor at the Anhui Agricultural University. After Jiang Zemin came to power, Jiang Zehui was promoted three times, to the Dean of the School of Forestry at her college, to the President of the Anhui Agricultural University , and finally to Minister of Forestry.

Jiang Zemin's nephew, Wu Zhimin, had worked as a railroad operator in Bangbu, Anhui Province for eighteen years until he was admitted to be the Party and promoted to a cadre in March 1986, when Jiang Zemin became the Secretary General of the Municipal Party Committee of Shanghai. With amazing speed, he was promoted to become a cadre at the Deputy Minister level. He is a member of the standing committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Secretary General of the Party Committee at the Shanghai Police Department, Director of the Shanghai Police Department and No. 1 Political Commissar of the Shanghai Armed Police Headquarters.

Jiang Zeling is Jiang Zemin's sister. Her son Tai Zhan lost 11.5 million Yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China] on real estate trading. However, his case encountered obstruction after obstruction because Tai Zhan is Jiang Zemin's nephew. Unable to return the loan after his losses, Tai Zhan falsified the public seal of the Yangzhou Gangzhan Real Estate Development Inc. Limited and used 45 suites of a Hong Kong businessman as collateral to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The Hong Kong businessman brought Tai Zhan to the Guangling Court. The trial began in March 2000. Although the court held that the public seal used on the Real Estate Title Transfer Certificate was forged, the court was forced to announce its decision to stop the investigation and trial on March 30, 2000, because of pressure from the Secretary of the Yangzhou Municipal Party Committee at that time, Wu Donghua, Secretary of the city's Political and Judiciary Committee, Ji Rengui, and the Yangzhou Intermediate Court Director, Shuai Xiaofang. To this day Tai Zhan has never been punished and the Hong Kong businessman has not gotten his assets back.

According to insiders, for more than ten years, Tai Zhan has been utilizing his connections as Jiang Zemin's nephew to trade real estate and stock, and invest in the entertainment business on a large scale. He has taken positions as the General Manager of the Yangzhou Tower, as the director of Tianzhan Entertainment City and as a trustee of many joint-venture companies. Jiang's nephew borrowed 16 million Yuan from the military-backed North Industry Group and used the money for trading stocks.

Starting from January 2003, another nephew of Jiang, Xia Deren, took the positions of member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee of Liaoning Province, of Assistant Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Dalian, and of Mayor of Dalian.

Who else in Jiang's family has benefited? Is there nobody to point out the crimes he has committed and what he has done to the common citizens of China? The time when these answers will be completely revealed is coming soon!

June 2, 2003

June 8, 2003

When I was making a phone call to a labor camp in China to clarify the facts of Falun Gong, a man picked up the phone. I told him I had gotten this phone number from an international website, and I was very concerned about the persecution that was taking place in this labor camp. He said he did not work in the labor camp, but I proceeded to tell him the truth about Falun Gong anyway.

After I told him about the lawsuits being brought against Jiang Zemin worldwide for his persecution and killing of Falun Gong practitioners, I thought I had clarified the truth sufficiently and began to wrap up the conversation. But suddenly he said, "Please tell me more!" Regardless of what his intentions were for saying this, I agreed to stay on the phone and continued to calmly clarify the facts further.

I proceeded to tell him about my personal cultivation experience and the popularity of Falun Gong in Taiwan, and he then asked me why I had decided to make this phone call. I told him I had no other purpose but to clarify the facts; I was not against the Chinese government and had no interest in politics. I said, "I just hoped to give you a good opportunity to learn the truth of Falun Gong. There is a saying in Chinese culture: 'If you receive a drop of favor from someone, you should give back a stream-full in return'. I have received so many physical health benefits from practicing Falun Gong, but now Falun Gong is being severely slandered and persecuted in China. I feel it is my responsibility and obligation to step forward and expose this injustice to my fellow Chinese. I thought this was one way I could accomplish this." He then asked, "Is your only intention to tell me the truth?" I replied: "Yes."

Before we ended our conversation, I thanked him for being able to talk about Falun Gong in a calm manner. He then told me that he hopes we practitioners can make more phone calls to mainland Chinese and clarify the facts to them as well. I think this was his way of encouraging me, as well as a process of positioning himself well in the future.

I feel it is not difficult to clarify the facts. When our righteous thoughts and compassion are abundant, we will be able to do it with wisdom and do it well.

(Clearwisdom.net)

A Falun Dafa practitioner was sent to a mental hospital simply because she went to Beijing in 1999 to appeal for Falun Dafa. Her neighbors, friends and relatives went to see her quite often. Some of those who came to visit brought food with them at great risk to themselves. Even those who were arranged to watch her every day secretly brought her food and reassured her. Doctors in the hospital were touched as well. Thus, through the constant efforts of this practitioner in clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa to the people around her, the hospital hasn't forced her to take a single pill or have an injection.

A married couple from a Heat & Power Plant were forced to accept a reduction in pay simply because they insisted on practicing Falun Dafa. Their pay was reduced to 300 Yuan a month for all their living expenses, and they were transferred to the most physically demanding and filthiest section in the plant. Since May of this year, when the SARS epidemic started to spread in China, the couple went to the authorities of the plant again, clarifying the truth to them and helping them to establish righteous thoughts toward Falun Dafa. The management realized their error and restored the couple to their original post and salaries.

(Clearwisdom.net)

Police Commander Zhou Wei and Vice-Commander He Bilin (originally from the Buyunqiao Local Police Station) of the Jiangjiaqiao Local Police Station, Qidong County Hunan Province, followed Jiang's regime orders and brutally persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. They beat and murdered people, using many horrific methods. In a car accident at the end of 2002, Zhou Wei insantly died, and He Bilin's leg was broken.

Li Zhilong, a retired worker from Wharf Village, Lianwei Country, Qidong County Hunan Province, is hostile towards Falun Dafa, and slandered the practice. He reported Falun Dafa practitioners to the authorities, and even personally led the police to seize practitioners. Not long ago, he suddenly fell down while he was cleaning the windows and broke a leg. He is still bedridden.

Xu Youfang, the ex-provincial Party committee secretary of Heilongjiang Province embraced Jiang's directives to persecute Falun Gong. While Xu was in office, he had worked extremely hard to do so. Countless Falun Dafa practitioners were illegally arrested, beaten, detained, sent to forced-labor camps, injured and tortured to death. In April 2003, Xu was removed from the office for problems that occurred during his tenure, and he is now being investigated.

06/17/2003

I refer to Alex Woo's letter headlined "Is the Catholic Church threatened?" (June 12).

I agree that the Catholic Church in Hong Kong is not the target of Article 23, not at least within the next three years. My question is, why should Article 23 target Falun Gong? Is it because this organisation has been [persecuted] on the mainland and that a Hong Kong law must be introduced to get rid of it? If that is the case, then it is very dangerous. If Article 23 can empower the government to shut down Falun Gong today, why can't it shut down other "unwelcome" organisations in the future?

I am a Protestant who was born in Hong Kong. In this city different opinions can be expressed and there is freedom of religion.

If anyone tries to deprive me or others of these rights - provided we observe the law - I will fight to the end. That is why I support the existence of Falun Gong even though I do not share its beliefs.

LAW WING-CHEUNG, Kowloon Tong

(Clearwisdom.net) CHAM - On Saturday a group of Falun gong practitioners went to Market Place in the center of Cham to raise awareness of the persecution happening in their home country, China. Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese meditation system based on the principle of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. The teachings teach practitioners to be always kind to others, put others first. It is what demonstrators are doing. In China approximately 700 people have been tortured to death, thousands have been thrown into jail. "This persecution is out of no reason," said Mr. Romer of the international society for human rights, who supported the Chinese visitors at the market place. The Chinese tried to collect signatures, on the one hand for the support of the lawsuit against the former head of state Jiang Zemin, who is accused of genocide in US and on the other hand for an appeal to the Federal Government to rescue Xiong Wei

CHINA PHOTO/REUTERS

Sun Liusong's son, Sun Zhigang, was beaten to death in a detention center in March 2003

Had it ended differently, Sun Zhigang's life might have been a testament to his country's progress. The 27-year-old carpenter's son had worked his way out of a remote village in China's central Hubei province to a university in the provincial capital of Wuhan. He graduated with an arts degree, then later moved to Guangzhou, landing a job as a graphic designer and the chance to make a home in new China's glittering boomtown. But three weeks into his new life, Sun's luck ran out. On his way to an Internet café, he was stopped by police and asked for his ID. When Sun said he had left it at home, the police took him to a nearby station. By the next day when his boss and friends showed up with the necessary papers, Sun had been transferred to a detention center for vagrants. Two days later, on March 20, he was dead, the victim of a brutal beating in the center's infirmary.

Last week, in a highly secretive trial, a Guangzhou court meted out harsh punishments--including two death sentences--to those deemed to be the culprits in Sun's death. They included a nurse alleged to have ordered other inmates to beat Sun, and the inmates accused of complying. But the major accomplice in Sun's death got off free. The bulk of the blame for Sun's death ought to fall on a little-known system of administrative detention--that is, detention outside of the criminal justice system--whereby Chinese citizens can be locked up merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Custody and repatriation," as the system is euphemistically called, exists to enforce laws that keep impoverished rural dwellers from overcrowding the country's more prosperous cities. Officially, custody-and-repatriation (C.-and-R.) centers are responsible for detaining vagrants, beggars and those who lack permits to live in cities, and returning them to their hometowns. In reality, say human-rights experts and those who have experienced the system firsthand, it's a terrifyingly arbitrary and routinely abused tool of state power that, at its worst, amounts to little more than a police-enforced kidnapping-and-ransom scheme.

Because most of the 3 million people who find themselves in C.-and-R. centers each year belong to the country's floating population of migrant laborers--the lowest of the low in China's quickly re-emerging class pyramid--abuses tend to be overlooked except in the most egregious cases. Although several of these instances have made it into the national press, they rarely elicit calls for reform.

Until now. Since late April when a Guangzhou newspaper, the Southern Metropolis News, published a detailed account of Sun's case, China's media, academic circles and Internet chat rooms have been abuzz with demands for reform and even abolition of the system. Sun's status as a college-educated up-and-comer rather than an out-of-work farmhand has fueled widespread outrage. "You were imprisoned because you would not be a pet animal or a slave," read one of many eulogies to Sun posted on the Internet. Lending force to this outcry is the fact that China's recent experiences with SARS have aroused a strong sense of public concern about good governance. Two groups of Beijing-based legal scholars have sent petitions to China's National People's Congress, calling for an inquiry into Sun's case and arguing that the C.-and-R. system is illegal under at least two separate Chinese laws. "This case has become a national event," says Xiao Han, an author of one of the petitions. "The government has no choice but to address it."

Still, few expect the system to change anytime soon. C. and R. is as old as the People's Republic. It's been around in one form or another since it was first used in 1950 to clear loitering nationalist troops from cities newly liberated by the communists. And although China's leaders might recognize that mobility among the populace is necessary for enabling economic growth, they fear that unfettered freedom of movement would inundate cities with refugees from the poverty-stricken countryside. Additionally, the C.-and-R. apparatus provides a convenient way for the authorities to deal with all kinds of undesirables. Those who travel to Beijing to petition the central government or complain of local corruption, for example, often fall into its clutches. "Since China has no mechanism or judicial body to ensure its government policies adhere to its own laws," says a legal scholar in Beijing who asks not to be identified, "nothing will change until someone at the very top wants it to."

For now, the manner in which the Sun family's lawsuit against Guangzhou's government was resolved seems a more telling indicator of what's to come. Pressure from the media meant that an unprecedented number of state employees were disciplined. But the Guangdong provincial government issued a statement declaring that its C.-and-R. procedures are consistent with national policy. Sun's father, meanwhile, received a $53,000 settlement--and a team of police escorts, he told Time, to prevent him from discussing the case with the media. Nicolas Becquelin, research director of the New York City-based Human Rights in China organization, observes, "A scapegoat had to be found for a problem that is much larger than this case. The trial was incredibly quick and typically opaque. It allowed the authorities involved to be seen as responsible without actually changing anything."

Conditions inside C.-and-R. centers are so appalling, even by the grim standards of China's penal institutions, that they won't stay secret forever. Tong Yi, a New York City-based lawyer and human-rights activist who did time in both a re-education labor camp in her native Wuhan and in Beijing's main C.-and-R. center before being granted political asylum in the U.S., describes hellish scenes of healthy children and adults and the mentally ill locked up together. "Life in the center was chaotic and filthy," she recalls. "There was no drinking water, just a faucet for 100 people, and food was even more scarce and of lower quality than in my labor camp." Beatings by center staff and inmate trusties were a regular occurrence and, says Tong, "inmates were frequently held for ransom until their families could scrape together the money to buy them out." Indeed, just one day after the verdict in Sun's case, Guo Xianli, an accountant from a C.-and-R. center in Hunan province, revealed that his colleagues had teamed up with police in the provincial city of Lianyuan to form a kidnapping-and-ransom ring, which netted nearly $400,000 in four years. They would ensnare traveling peasants with promises of free meals, Guo told the Sanxiang Metropolis newspaper: "They can't get out without paying. If they cry too much the staff will beat them up so badly that they'll never ask to go home again."

Such shakedowns appear to be common. Outside the gates of the Changping C.-and-R. center on the outskirts of Beijing, Liu Yan is standing in the rain hoping for news of his 28-year-old daughter who came south from the northeastern province of Heilongjiang to work in a knitting factory. He lost touch with her more than a month ago, but it's been only a week since he received a phone call from a center employee telling him his daughter had been picked up and that he must come to Beijing and pay $600--more than double the country's average annual income for rural households--to get her back. "The cops say if we don't pay, they'll keep her here for six months," says Liu's wife. "We're trying to lower the price. They haven't let us speak to our daughter. We don't know what we're supposed to do." As a white van pulls up and disgorges another group of handcuffed detainees, Liu and his wife go inside to bargain for their daughter's freedom. With luck, their savings will be her salvation.

----With reporting by Neil Gough/Guangzhou

http://205.188.238.181/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501030623-458835,00.htm

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