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Colorado, USA: The Vail Trail - Letter to the Editors
Vail Trail Issue Friday, February 6, 2004
Most people would agree that no one should be imprisoned for surfing the web.
Yet a recent Amnesty International report indicates that China is holding at
least 54 Internet users for expressing opinions or reading banned information
from the web. Amnesty's report also mentions four Falun Gong practitioners that
died in police custody. The reason for their detention: downloading or posting
information about Falun Gong, a spiritual meditation practiced in 50 countries
but banned in China. Of the four was a 56 year old woman named Zhao Chunying,
who was reportedly beaten to death by police for posting information about being
tortured during a previous detention. China's crackdown on the Internet is only
part of its strategy to control what people read, hear, watch or think.
As for Falun Gong's case, the state-controlled media hides human rights
violations against the spiritual group while spreading slander intended to
justify the ban on the practice. With no means to respond to unsubstantiated
allegations, educating the Chinese populace has been Falun Gong's biggest
challenge. As for those who believe China's one-sided propaganda, the
persecution somehow becomes acceptable to an unknowing public. If more people
knew that innocent people were being unjustly persecuted, things would turn
around. Zhao Chunying lost her life while letting the world know of torture
occurring behind closed doors. When Chinese citizens risk their lives to uncover
human rights violations, those of us living in free societies should at least
acknowledge their plight. Better yet, we should stand by them.
Leejun Ivie Avon Source: http://www.vailtrail.com/letterdetail.cfm?OpinionID=287 Posting date: 2/12/2004 |