Nebraska, USA: Lincoln Journal Star: Falun Gong demonstrators protest abuse (Photo)
By Chris Aponick
She was supposed to be married more than a year ago but before Yeong-Ching
Foo could get married to Charles Li, a doctor she met near San Francisco in
2001, he flew home to China. When Li's plane landed at Guangzhou Airport, Chinese police were waiting to
arrest him. That was one year and four months ago.
Foo said the Chinese government
detained her fiancé because he followed Falun Gong, a meditation and physical
movement practice. Li remains in Chinese custody charged with intent to sabotage television and
cable systems.1 Foo said Li was beaten, tortured and forced into a labor camp before he was
charged with a crime. "They find you guilty first," said Steve Ispas, another protester. Foo gathered with other Falun Gong practitioners Wednesday on the Capitol's west
side. The group plans to visit 21 cities before stopping in Chicago. The Chinese government cracked down on the practice of Falun Gong in 1999. "They wanted to control it, but they really wanted people to stop practicing
it," Ispas said. The Falun Gong movement started in 1992, and it is estimated that millions of
Chinese are practitioners. [...]2
As part of their Lincoln
demonstration, the group showed three types of torture that the group says the
Chinese government has used on Falun Gong practitioners. The demonstrators believe that 429 Falun Gong practitioners have died from
mistreatment or torture at the hands of the government [note: the number of
deaths is at least 960 at present]. Former President Jiang Zemin is facing 16 lawsuits filed in several countries by
Falun Gong, the protesters said. At least one of the suits alleging torture, genocide and crimes against humanity
was dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge, who cited Jiang's diplomatic
immunity. That case has been appealed. A hearing has been scheduled for May 27 in the 7th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Falun Gong practitioners plan to gather there before the hearing begins. The Lincoln demonstrators plan to be among them. Reach Chris Aponick at 473-7120 or caponick.com.
1 2 http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2004/05/20/local/10049783.txt
The National Tour for Justice (of San
Francisco) makes a protest to bring former China leader Jiang Zemin to
justice on counts of torture and genocide to political prisoners in China.
The group is touring the country to bring awareness to the torture methods
that have been done by Jiang Zemin on the westside of the Nebraska Capitol
on Wed. May 18, 2004.
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