Focus on Current Affairs

Reference Material: Falun Gong practitioners filed a lawsuit against the former Chinese leader responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong, charging him with genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity in a US district court. Mr. Wu Guoguang, associate professor from the Department of Government and Public Administration of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, considers this suit to be a battle between justice and might. Professor Wu pointed out that there is disagreement between the Chinese government leaders regarding the suppression of Falun Gong. It was Jiang Zemin who insisted on the persecution. Ironically, his oppression has not diminished Falun Gong at all. On the contrary, it is spread to more than 60 countries throughout the world. Professor Wu pointed out that using legal procedures to solve the problem of the persecution of Falun Gong would not only uphold justice and punish the evil, but it could also educate other people.

Practitioners Exchange Insights

Through constantly studying the Fa and reading fellow practitioners' experience sharing articles, I came to understand that a cultivator should rectify his thoughts and behavior in ordinary human society while practicing cultivation. We should accord with everyday people as much as possible. However, if we bring the deviated self-indulgent mentalities of lust and desire found in the present world to our marriages, if we, as husband and wife do not treat each other with courtesy and respect, we will unknowingly provide a hatching ground for this deviated mentality and reinforce its energy. In this way, it will be very hard for us to fundamentally abandon the attachments of lust and other desires. As one practitioner pointed out in his article, "If a practitioner still possesses a whit of this mentality, it amounts to a tacit consent of this behavior, and therefore he would not be able to realize that he is actually in a very dangerous demonic tribulation." This requires us to study the Fa well, cultivate our every single thought, rectify our every word and action, and use the Fa as the criterion to judge everything and to treat everything.

Persecution Facts

It is reported that the 610 Office of Tongnan County issued an internal directive ordering the persecution of all Dafa practitioners, in a blacklist, to be carried out within three years so as to achieve "completely" [transform all of them]. Work units, neighborhood committees, and village committees are used to exert mental pressure, threaten practitioners with financial hardship, and perform coercive brainwashing. At present, the education system of the Tongnan County is involved in carrying out this criminal policy. The 610 Office ordered all employed Dafa practitioners to hand in a so-called "application," otherwise, money would be deducted from their salaries or they could even be suspended from their jobs.

On May 23, vile people and police officers from the local police station abducted Dafa practitioner Li Jianhua and spouse Zhao (from the Physical Therapy Hospital of Jinzhou City Liaoning Province) from their home. They are currently detained in the Xingcheng Municipal Detention Center. Li's young child and aged and chronically ailing parents and in-laws were left at home with no one to care for them. We ask people with a sense of justice to please help rescue them!

Reference Materials

Who is breaching the "one country, two systems" policy? Deng Xiaoping's "one country, two systems" policy was originally designed to be used in Taiwan. Hong Kong had to be returned to Chinese rule when the term was up and that occurred without any problems. Taiwan is in fact the target China wants to "circumvent." Hong Kong was handed over in 1997, objectively forming a test showcase for the "one country, two systems" policy. However, Taiwan's worries and doubts were far from over, and China's central government ordered the implementation of Article 23--thus shattering the showcase. Enacting Article 23 is no different from demanding that Hong Kong mimic the Mainland and seize those who commit "treason, secession, sedition, or subversion" against the Central People's Government, "teal state secrets," or "establish ties with foreign political organizations or bodies." Such transparent impinging on citizens' rights and freedoms would make it difficult for the Hong Kong people to even breathe freely. Once Article 23 is implemented, the same kinds of misjudgments and false trials that occur in China can occur in Hong Kong. What can the "two systems" policy be based on? Stating that the "two systems" policy is in a state of emergency is as good as sending out an alarm signal to Taiwan. Deng Xiaoping's painstaking efforts would be instantly damaged by the enactment of Article 23.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized China for not being cooperative. A two-day conference on SARS was recently held in China and Asian health officials were invited to attend. China has been hit harder by the SARS epidemic than any other country. However, this Monday, the government for the first time reported no new SARS cases since April 20. WHO Asian leader, Mr. Oshitani is suspicious about the validity of China's new report, saying that WHO still desperately needs China's as yet unpublished information. Mr. Oshitani also criticized China for not contributing to the global efforts to contain the disease.