Oct. 06, 2005

• U.S. OPENS DOORS TO FALUN GONG REFUGEES
• TORTURE AND KILLING OF THE FALUN GONG CONTINUES IN CHINA
• CONCERTS, CAMPAIGNS WORLDWIDE TO RESCUE ORPHANED CHILDREN
• CONNECTICUT COURT HEARS FALUN GONG TORTURE LAWSUIT

U.S. OPENS DOORS TO FALUN GONG REFUGEES
WASHINGTON DC (FDI) -- With assistance and support from the U.S. State Department, Members of Congress, and several NGOs, Ms. Li Weixun arrived in the U.S. last week as a UN refugee. Li had fled China where she was tortured to the brink of death. Li's case is the first of a Falun Gong practitioner without family or other ties in the U.S. being granted permission to stay there as a UN refugee. The decision, it is hoped, will open the doors for others who are violently persecuted in China for their beliefs and have nowhere to turn. "We are grateful to the U.S. government that this channel is being opened to people who face brutal persecution in China because they practice Falun Gong," said Dr. Larry Liu, a representative of the Falun Dafa Association in Washington DC.
Full story: http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9254

TORTURE AND KILLING OF THE FALUN GONG CONTINUES IN CHINA
NEW YORK (FDI) -- China's state-run media has toned down its propaganda offensive against Falun Gong, but cases of torture and abuse continue to pour out of China ... As the plight of Falun Gong in China has gained more and more attention in the international community, the CCP leadership has faced increasingly difficult questions from government leaders and human rights watchers abroad. In response, to avoid public condemnation inside China and thwart international criticism, the media blitz against Falun Gong that once flooded China's state-run airwaves has been reduced to a trickle. But the relative silence does not represent a softened policy toward Falun Gong. More than 100 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners were reported in each of the past several months. For the past five years, and continuing through to today, up to dozens of cases of torture or severe abuse are reported from inside China every day. To date, more than 2,700 deaths from torture or abuse in custody have been confirmed, with the actual death-toll believed to be 7,000 or more. More than 44,000 cases of torture and severe maltreatment have been documented.
Full story: http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9241

CONCERTS, CAMPAIGNS WORLDWIDE TO RESCUE ORPHANED CHILDREN
NEW YORK (FDI) -- From London's Trafalgar Square, to New York City's Central Park, to Taipei's elementary schools, dozens of venues around the world have in recent months played host to concerts, rallies, and signature drives of a special sort. The events are part of an international effort to rescue children in China whose parents have either been killed or wrongfully imprisoned for their association with Falun Gong. According to the Boston-based NGO, Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners, over 100 cases have been verified of children left abandoned or living with extended family after losing both parents. The Global Mission cautions that, with millions in China targeted for arbitrary imprisonment and abuse, the actual figure of orphaned children is likely much higher, with many children living on the streets now and forced to fend for themselves.
Full more information: http://www.globalrescue.net

CONNECTICUT COURT HEARS FALUN GONG TORTURE LAWSUIT
HARTFORD (Hartford Courant) -- A packed Hartford federal courtroom Thursday became a forum on human rights, torture and free speech as an extraordinary hearing unfolded about events taking place 7,000 miles away in the People's Republic of China. The federal lawsuit in question pits practitioners of Falun Gong--a spiritual movement banned in China--against a prominent Chinese journalist they accuse of promoting the persecution and torture of Falun Gong followers. Zhao Zhizhen is a prominent producer of science programs, former chief of the leading radio and television stations in Wuhan ... The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, represented by the Washington-based Human Rights Law Project, claim that, through broadcasts and websites, Zhao has advocated the arrest, torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners ... Human rights attorney Terri E. Marsh said Zhao is "intricately linked to a campaign of genocide and torture." Marsh said Zhao is one of the founders of the [state-run] website...which includes language "that calls directly for the eradication of Falun Gong." [Marsh] quoted some of the messages as saying: "Shoot them once they're confirmed," and "Beat them like road rats."
Full story: http://www.courant.com/hc-falungong0923.artsep23,0,3515867.story?coll=hc-headlines-home