Sydney Falun Gong Practitioners Sue Chinese Newspaper for Defamation (Photo)
By Falun Gong practitioners in Sydney, Australia
(Clearwisdom.net) On May 17, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners
and their lawyer, Mr. Barrie Goldsmith, held a press conference at St Martin's
Square in busy downtown Sydney to reveal the details of their defamation lawsuit
against a local Chinese newspaper, known in English as 2ac. The lawyer has
submitted the file to New South Wales Supreme Court. Mr. Barrie Goldsmith,
representative of Sydney Falun Dafa Association John Deller and some Falun Gong
practitioners answered questions raised by the media on the spot. Many media
outlets, including ABC TV, SBS Radio, AAP News Agency, NTD TV and SOP Radio came
to conduct interviews.
Background of the lawsuit against the Chinese newspaper Representative of the Falun Dafa Association John Deller
stated that the lawsuit was brought about by an article published in the Chinese
newspaper on December 18, 2003. The article seriously attacked Falun Gong,
likening Falun Gong to the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, and alleging that Falun
Gong is an "evil cult." The newspaper stated when publishing the article that
the information was from a spokesperson for the Sydney Chinese Consulate
General, but the report seriously distorted the facts, damaged the reputation of
Falun Gong practitioners, had an extremely bad influence on the public, and
caused great harm to Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Dafa Association is a legally registered organization
in Australia and is protected by Australian laws. Before seeking a legal
solution, Falun Gong practitioners negotiated with the newspaper in hopes that
the newspaper would follow the principle of fair and objective reporting and
offer an apology to Falun Gong for publishing an article that did not have any
basis in fact; however, the newspaper declined the offer. Without any other ways
to seek justice, Falun Gong practitioners decided to take legal action and sue
the newspaper in both a class-action and individual action lawsuits. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is an ancient Chinese
cultivation practice based on the universal principle of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since Falun Gong was introduced to the
public in 1992, it has been spread to more than 60 countries across the world in
12 years. More than 100 million people of different races and nationalities are
practicing it. The book Zhuan Falun, which contains the main teachings of
Falun Gong, has been translated into more than 20 languages. Falun Dafa has been
honored with more than 1,000 awards and proclamations from many countries. One of the plaintiff Falun Gong practitioners, Lee Cheezhong
said, "Aum Shinrikyo killed many Japanese people by releasing sarin gas in the
Tokyo subway. However, Falun Gong is a peaceful qigong group composed of people
from all walks of life who conduct themselves according to the principle of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, work hard and diligently, and selflessly
make contributions to society. They have also influenced people around them, and
fostered the upgrading of morality in society, playing an active role in
creating a more spiritual civilization. But the article published in 2ac Chinese
newspaper compared Falun Gong to a group of people who have caused great harm to
society, causing the worst possible associations in the public mind. Moreover,
the newspaper repeatedly published articles that defamed Falun Gong. Although
practitioners negotiated with the newspaper several times in hopes we could
clarify the facts in the newspaper, the newspaper rejected all of our offers,
including a letter from the practitioners' lawyer. At last, a legal summons was
delivered to their lawyer, and they have no way to escape this time."
(translated from the Chinese) The media have freedom of press but they must also be
responsible for the contents they publish At the press conference, when a journalist asked whether the
freedom of press means that the media can arbitrarily publish articles they
receive, regardless of the content of the articles, the lawyer for the Falun
Dafa Association, Mr. Barrie Goldsmith, stated that the freedom of press doesn't
allow people to irresponsibly and arbitrarily publish information from other
sources. Any television station, radio station, or newspaper should be
responsible for the news contents they publish. A general rule is that the media
cannot arbitrarily publish anything others provide without being responsible for
it themselves. One of the plaintiffs, Falun Gong practitioner Lee Cheezhong,
believed that there is the right of freedom of press overseas, but the freedom
of press should be based on the truth. Jiang's group in China manipulates the media, deprives people
of their right to know, disseminates propaganda conforming to their needs, stops
all voices they don't like to hear, and brainwashes the people. They control the
public through such methods. And then, the people who have been brainwashed
voluntarily attack dissidents on behalf of the dictator and safeguard his
interests. Such control and utilization over the media, and depriving people of
their right to know is evil. If such methods are used to incite hatred and
persecution, it is an even bigger crime. It has been reported that there have been some precedents for
putting the media on trial around the world. When the UN Criminal Court dealt
with Rwanda's Genocide case on December 3, 2003, the court made a severe
verdict, sentencing two defendants to life imprisonment, and the third defendant
to 35 years of imprisonment. The three persons were the founder of RTLM TV
Station, a magazine publisher and a former senior official at the same TV
station. According to an AFP report on December 3, 2003, RTLM TV Station once
blatantly instigated the slaughter of innocent people. According to a report from the World Organization to
Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, since October 2002, Jiang Zemin and
people from the "610 Office," an organization in charge of persecuting Falun
Gong, have been sued for crimes of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity
in Chicago, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, Korea and Belgium. Stop Jiang's group from exporting hatred overseas and
inciting hatred and persecution overseas Falun Dafa Association Representative John Deller believed
that articles published in the 2ac Chinese newspaper that slandered Falun Gong
actually represent the Jiang's group's extending its hatred and persecution of
Falun Gong abroad, and inciting hatred overseas. The purpose of the lawsuit is to stop the Chinese newspaper
from continuously publishing lies about Falun Gong and commentary articles that
slander Falun Gong. At the same time, John Deller thought it would be a good
reminder to all overseas Chinese media, that they should not irresponsibly
publish fabricated news that defames Falun Gong, a legal organization. Thus, it
can effectively stop Jiang's group from exporting hatred overseas. According to a report from the World Organization to
Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, Jiang's group has manipulated the
state media during the entire process of persecuting Falun Gong, constantly
trumping up various lies such as murder cases and suicide cases on TV and in
newspapers and other media to frame Falun Gong. At the same time, they deprived
Falun Gong of any opportunity to clarify the truth, and blocked all information
channels to prevent people from learning the truth about Falun Gong. However
outside China, since Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong began, during the past
five years, the people around the world have witnessed the rationality,
peacefulness, kindness, perseverance and tolerance demonstrated by Falun Gong
practitioners when facing the persecution. The practitioners only want to have a
legal environment to practice the exercises, and to have the right to believe in
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. What they oppose is only the persecution
imposed upon them. Through Falun Gong practitioners' unceasing truth
clarification to various segments of society, the public's understanding of
Falun Gong has become clearer. The initial hearing for this case will be held on Friday, May
21 between lawyers for both sides and the court.
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/20/75108.html
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