Radio Free Asia: Three Thousand Falun Gong Practitioners Rally in Washington DC

By RFA correspondent Gao Shan

(Clearwisdom.net)

July 23, 2004

(Translated from Chinese)

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Jiang group's ban on Falun Gong in China, 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners rallied in the American Capital, Washington DC, to protest the Jiang group's persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners' choir is now practicing singing. They will perform songs that they composed on the grass in front of Capitol Hill. Mr. Cai from Los Angeles, on the west coast of the U.S., dressed in a white exercise suit, told this reporter that he would also perform at the rally.

At the rally, the most noticeable were the Chinese police officers and psychiatric physicians played by practitioners, as well as Falun Gong practitioners enduring the torture. These scenes were re-enacted at the rally: A Falun Gong practitioner whose body was covered with blood stains was confined in a black iron cage. He was hung by his handcuffs up and beaten by the "Chinese police officers." A female Falun Gong practitioner was locked in a white, iron cage, while a "Chinese psychiatric doctor and a police officer" were holding her down and forcibly giving her injections. In addition, there were scenes of Falun Gong practitioners being tortured on the "Tiger Bench," (1) and being beaten by police officers with electric batons.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xiang from Washington DC said that this was the first time that Falun Gong practitioners conducted re-enactments of the torture methods using real persons and props to display the persecution encountered in China by Falun Gong practitioners [at the rally].

About 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners rallied in front of Capitol Hill. They were from across the U.S. and around the world. Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen from Canada said that he was attending this activity to support Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Ms. Wang from Washington DC said that she hoped the international community would take action to help end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Notes:

(1) "Tiger Bench" - A small metal bench that a practitioner's knees are tightly tied to for long periods of time, and the practitioner is forced to remain motionless in this position. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioner's lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse. (For a detailed description of this and other forms of torture used in forced labor camps, see

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html
Chinese version available at http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2004/7/24/80221.html

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