The Epoch Times: Interview with a Victim of South Africa Shooting (Photos)
The Epoch Times Jul 08, 2004 During the South African visit of Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Qinghong,
Australian Falun Gong practitioners found themselves the target of gunfire. They
made the trip to assist local practitioners in suing Zeng Qinghong. David Liang
was the only victim shot in this incident. According to an interview by Sound of Hope Radio (a U.S. based international
radio station), one of the witnesses said that the hit men were native black
males who had no intention of robbery. The force of the weapon was enormous,
puncturing through Liang's left foot and shattering two major bones in his right
heel. The wounds were the size of golf balls. Considering this was not an ordinary crime, high ranking police officers were
assigned to investigate the incident. It is currently classified as attempted
murder. The shooting of overseas Falun Gong practitioners draws attention to the
possible involvement of the Chinese Communist Party. There have been various
reports in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, France and Switzerland, to name
a few, about Chinese consulates hiring local gangsters to verbally threaten and
physically assault Falun Gong practitioners. They are also hired to steal Falun
Gong materials, and to vandalize practitioners' personal property. Bellow is the phone interview by Sound of Hope. Captions are added by the
Epoch Times editor. Followed by gunmen who had no intention of robbery On the evening of June 28, during the visit of Chinese Premier Zeng Qinghong
to South Africa, Australian practitioners who arrived at Johannesburg en route
to Pretoria were attacked by hit men. David Liang was the only one wearing a
Falun Dafa jacket in the vehicle and was the only person injured in the
shooting. He suffered from shattered bones in his right foot. Sound of Hope
reporter interviewed Mr. Wang, who was in the car with Liang at the time of the
attack. Reporter: Were you in the same vehicle as the victim of the South African
shooting incident on June 28? Wang: Yes, Mr. Liang was in the driver's seat while I was sitting in the
backseat. Reporter: Can you briefly tell us what happened? Wang: We flew from Australia to Johannesburg, and rented two cars at the
airport. After driving approximately 50 kilometers, we heard the sound of
firecrackers from behind. We did not pay attention to who was setting off
firecrackers right then. Suddenly our car slowed down because bullets had hit our tires and air was
leaking out. Then we saw a light colored car driving towards us from behind and
eventually running parallel with our car. There were four to five native black
males in the vehicle. A gun resembling an AK-47 extended out of the window and
began firing at us. As a result, both feet of our driver, Mr. Liang, were shot
and we were forced to decelerate. They slowed down as well in order to be parallel with our car. Then they
barged into our lane, forcing us to stop on the grass off of the road. They
stopped their car but made no attempt to rob us. They only glanced at us and
left. Police officers of high rank are assigned to the incident Reporter: We've heard that the police have set out to investigate this
incident. Could you update us on this matter? Wang: Yes, this incident aroused the interest of the police because it is
categorized as attempted murder. We have already talked with three groups of
police. If this was an ordinary crime, regular police are sufficient to take charge.
Yet the police we talked to were of very high rank, and they told us that our
case has alarmed the head of police. They were concerned that it was not just a regular shooting incident by some
malignant group, but attempted murder backed up by very powerful people. Someone contacted the media in the name of the victim Reporter: Australian press reported that one victim among the nine called and
said that this incident is not related to Falun Gong. What is your view
regarding this issue? Wang: People with common sense will know that this is impossible. None of us
made such phone calls or said anything even remotely similar to that. We were quite intrigued and asked the reporter, "All nine of us are
Falun Gong practitioners. How could this issue not be related to Falun
Gong?" We expressed to all the media that this shooting was directly
targeted at Falun Gong practitioners. This statement is based on two facts. First, this is our first time in South
Africa. We did not stop to do anything during our drive from the airport to
Pretoria so we can't possibly have enemies in South Africa. Second, when our car
was brought to a halt the hit man did not take our belongings. This proves that
their firing at us was not for our possessions. Wang: What made them do such a thing? We naturally think of the Chinese
consulate because there have been many cases of terrorism plotted by Chinese
consulates around the world. For instance, Chinese consulates in the U.S.,
Australia, Canada, Germany, France and Switzerland, to name a few, have hired
local gangsters to physically assault Falun Gong practitioners. There were even
cases of them fire bombing our cars. Several of these more extreme cases have happened in Australia. For instance,
we have a Falun Gong bumper sticker on our car. One day we parked it in front of
the Chinese consulate while we did the exercises in a park which was near the
consulate. We returned to find that our car was covered with paint and all four
tires were slashed. Falun Gong practitioners have also received inexplicable phone calls from
people identifying themselves as secret agents sent from China. They threatened
us, "Your life will be in danger if you continue to practice Falun
Gong." Sometimes practitioners' homes were ransacked. However, none of their money
or valuable possessions was stolen. The only things that were missing were Falun
Gong materials and books. This leads us to believe that this incident is associated with the cases of
terrorism that have happened throughout the world. This happened during Chinese
Vice Premier Zeng Qinghong's visit to South Africa. And the reason we are here
is directly linked to him because he is one of the officials who is directly
involved in the persecution of Falun Gong. We are here to support the lawsuit
against him, and this is what made him angry. Therefore, he did such a thing out
of anger. The bullet went through his foot, and left a hole the size of a golf ball Reporter: How is Mr. Liang? Is his wound life threatening? Wang: No, it is not life threatening, though both his feet have been injured.
It could be that the bullet was too big and the speed was too fast. It did not
stay in his foot but instead went right through it. The connective tissues in
his left foot have been shot through, but it did not hit any vital places.
However, both bones in his right foot have been fractured. When the doctor was
tending to him today, he discovered that the hole is as big as a golf ball. Reporter: That big! Is it possible that this person is a professional
murderer? Wang: We do not know if he is a professional murderer. However, we can be
sure that the gun he used is rather powerful. A common gun could not achieve
this kind of destructive power. This kind of gun is enough to handicap anyone.
So regardless of whether or not he is a professional murderer or a gangster, his
method is extremely cruel. "Keep a righteous voice, so that the future world can be better" Reporter: Thank you very much Mr. Wang. In the end, do you have anything that
you would like to tell our audience? Wang: I just want to say that most of the time when people keep silent in the
face of evil, the evil will become stronger and stronger. However, if all of us
stand up and say "NO" to it, maybe the people that stand up first will
be threatened. But we must realize that the goodness of our society depends on
our continuous righteous voice. Mr. Mandela actually used his prison term in exchange for African people's
human rights. As Falun Gong practitioners, although we have experienced various
types of persecution and threats in the past several years, we have been
extensively clarifying the facts to the public and we will continue to do so
without fear. Reporter: Thank you very much for your time. We wish you success. http://english.epochtimes.com/news/4-7-8/22338.html
Translated from the Chinese edition
Damage to the car in the
shooting in South Africa. (Epoch Times Photo)
Shooting victim David Liang
in a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net