Chicago, U.S.A.: Cable TV Station Interviews Falun Gong Practitioners Concerning the Detention of U.S. Citizen Charles Lee

By a Chicago Falun Gong practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) At 11 a.m. on July 11, two Falun Gong practitioners accepted a half-hour long special interview from the Adler's Universe program of CANTV's Channel 19 to talk about the detention of U.S. citizen Charles Lee.

The program host Ms. Adler said that she saw Falun Gong practitioners who were distributing flyers in downtown Chicago last summer. From a flyer, she learned that U.S. citizen Charles Lee is being illegally detained in China. That news caught her attention and eventually brought about this special interview program.

As Dr. Charles Lee's friend, Dr. Cheng introduced the fact that Charles Lee is a Falun Gong practitioner and he flew back to China on January 22, 2003 to tell more Chinese people the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested immediately after he got off the plane and was later sentenced to three years in prison. Dr. Lee is currently being detained in Nanjing Prison where he has been subjected to brainwashing, slave labor and deprivation of sleep for as long as three consecutive days.

Dr. Cheng also gave a brief introduction to Falun Gong for the benefit of the audience. She said that Falun Gong is a practice deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture and based on the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." Since its first public introduction in 1992 in China, Falun Gong has attracted 100 million citizens to practice in China. However, Falun Gong's wide spread stimulated strong jealousy of the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who launched a persecution in 1999 in order to eliminate Falun Gong. Meanwhile, Jiang also controlled all the state-run media in order to brainwash the Chinese people and instigate hatred toward Falun Gong by means of slanderous propaganda.

Dr. Cheng said, "As all media in China are controlled by the Chinese authority, Falun Gong practitioners have no chance to make their voice heard. If we who live in democracy don't speak out for them and demand an end to the persecution, no one will know the truth [of what is happening in China]."

Ms. Adler said that she couldn't understand why Chinese people are persecuted and tortured for practicing a set of traditional exercises. Falun Gong practitioner Steve then replied, "The persecution of Falun Gong is indeed unjustifiable, and it is actually spearheaded by Jiang Zemin alone, motivated by Jiang's jealousy in the face of Falun Gong's great popularity." Steve also mentioned that Falun Gong had sued Jiang for genocide, crimes of torture and crimes against humanity when Jiang visited the U.S. on October 22, 2002.

Ms. Adler is very concerned over Charles Lee's situation and she asked how Americans can help him. Steve suggested that the public can call their representatives to urge them to demand that China release Charles Lee. Steve also suggested that the public let their relatives and friends know the persecution of Falun Gong in China so that more people will speak out on this important issue.

Ms. Adler also asked where one can sign up for a class to learn Falun Gong. Practitioner Annde, who was in the audience, then said that one doesn't need to register for a class in order to learn Falun Gong and said that the teaching is free. He said that there are more than 10 practice sites in the Chicago area and anyone who has an interest can find pertinent contact information from Falun Gong websites. He further stressed that Falun Gong benefits not only Chinese people but also all ethnic groups worldwide. On the other hand, the persecution has also reached every corner of the world and is actually a persecution of all people. Therefore, the public should work together to stop this persecution.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/7/14/79351.html

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