Clearwisdom.net, Saturday, June 26, 2004

(1) Feng Xuezhen, aged 40, is a Dafa practitioner in Duan Village, Fanggang Town of Yuzhou City, Henan Province. On April 11, 2003, the tendons on her right arm and three fingers were accidentally severed by an electrical saw while she was working for a family in the village. At that moment, her first thought was: "I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and I will have no danger at all. I must have owed this family from my previous life, and it's time to pay for that." The miracle of Dafa soon became apparent. In less than a month her arm and hand had recovered, and she was able to work again. More miraculously, she didn't feel any pain in the wounded arm and hand. Now she is working in a brick factory.

(2) In 2003, a coal mine in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province collapsed. There were dozens of miners working in the mine, and only the Falun Dafa practitioner was unhurt. All the people were amazed at this occurrence. This Dafa practitioner is from Fanggang, Yuzhou City, Henan Province.

(3) A Dafa practitioner clarified the truth about Dafa to an old man who made a living by collecting junk. The old man understood and said: "You Dafa practitioners never cheat and are always considerate of others."

(4) A 60-year-old man learned the truth of Dafa from a practitioner. Upon taking some Dafa material, he excitedly said: "This is what I have been looking for in my life. How can I thank you? Let me give you a bow." The Dafa practitioner told him immediately: "Don't thank me; you should thank Master and Dafa."

(5) One day, a Dafa practitioner left some material at a family's door. After reading the material, the couple found the practitioners nearby and started to learn Falun Gong too.

(6) After this Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), I visited a fellow practitioner. She told me her nephew's daughter was suffering from AIDS. She was in a high fever and her state was very bad. The family had been preparing for her death. When we were talking about the matter, her nephew came. I thought that there must be some predestined relation here, so my fellow practitioner and I told him: "You may ask your daughter to read Zhuan Falun or listen to Master's lecture without any notions."

One week ago, I visited the fellow practitioner again. She told me that her nephew's daughter had started to read Zhuan Falun. Before finishing the first reading, she told her father: "The more I read the book, the more I like to read. I used to feel pain in my eyes when reading books, but now it has been fine. My headache also disappeared." Master cleansed her body after she finished the reading. For several days she had loose bowels. Now her stomach is no longer swollen. She believes in Master and the Fa and has started the exercises. She is getting better and better.

(7) Luo Kundi, aged 50, a retired worker in a coal mine in Lugou Coalmine, Yuzhou City, Henan Province helped to persecute Dafa practitioners. On October 18, 2002, Luo Kundi reported 6 Dafa practitioners who were practicing the exercises in a yard to the authorities. The police came and arrested them. The practitioners were detained in Yuzhou Detention Center and suffered a lot there. Around August 17, 2003, Luo's goat got into his field to eat wheat. When he went to drive out the goat, he fell on completely flat ground. Standing up, he found one of his feet had twisted 180 degrees, with the toes turned to the heel. He felt terrible pain. He has spent a lot of money to cure it, but it hasn't recovered yet.

(8) Through his contact with Dafa practitioners, a 30-year-old security department leader of a police bureau in Henan Province was moved by Dafa practitioners' fearless deeds of saving the sentient beings. He understood that Dafa teaches people to be good, and didn't want to participate in the persecution. Recently he resigned from his post and was transferred to another department to be an ordinary staff member. He feels more at ease now that he's not persecuting Dafa practitioners.

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 16, 2004, Mayor Raymond Castillo of the City of El Centro, County of Imperial, California, proclaimed June 19-26, 2004 as Imperial County Falun Dafa Week in the City of El Centra and asked all citizens to join in the celebration of the first Imperial County Falun Dafa Week in the City of El Centra.

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 19, 2004, Mayor Steve Vasquez of the City of Brawley, California, proclaimed June 19, 2004 as Falun Dafa Appreciation Day during the Falun Dafa Week (June 19-26, 2004) in the City of Brawley and encouraged all citizens to learn about this unique program and embrace its teachings.

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Song Changguang was 26 years old and lived at Shuangcheng Village, Biangang Township, Dehui City. He was in his senior year at Changchun Post and Telecommunications Institute, majoring in Telecommunications, and was about to graduate. He was arrested in late 2000 for displaying a banner at Tiananmen Square. During his imprisonment in the detention center, the police tortured him by putting a toothbrush in between his fingers and squeezing his fingers together while turning the toothbrush around. They used this excruciating abuse to force him reveal his address, then sent him to the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp.

After May 2001, because of the extremely poor hygienic conditions in the labor camp, such as overcrowding, lack of daylight all year, and foul air, scabies began to spread extensively. Many practitioners were affected, with severe pain and itching. They suffered sleepless nights, their whole body festering with scabies, with bloody scars sticking to the clothes and with hardly any healthy skin left. Even so, the labor camp did not quarantine anyone. They let it spread and ignored it. In addition, the guards commonly used the "slapping scabies" torture, consisting of using a hardwood plank or pieces of plastic to strike the scabies sores. As a result, blood and pus burst out. It was too horrifying to watch. A drug addict said at that moment, "Beating is not called beating, it is called 'curing the scabies.'" In the No. 4 Division classroom, a wooden square club over ten centimeters thick was used as a tool for "slapping scabies." The club was saturated with blood, which was used to repeatedly strike the scabies.

Until July and August 2001, scabies had afflicted many practitioners. The scabies caused several to become emaciated and some even were near death. Song Changguang was one of the most severely affected by scabies in the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp. His scabies spread all over his body, the damaged skin reaching as high as 60%. In the beginning his body was covered with blisters, but after the guards brutally subjected him to the "slapping scabies" torture, the affected area expanded and became more severe. His skin had become purulent, particularly his buttocks. Almost the entire skin surface was covered with scabies, and he had several large blisters. Once the blisters formed, the guards slapped the scabies to cause excruciating pain. The long-term condition made his skin abnormal and his sweat glands atrophied. The skin on his upper body was wrinkled and as dry as paper. It felt unbearably dry and itchy. The redness and swelling, symptoms of systemic poisoning and long-lasting fever often made him lapse into a coma. The guards never paid attention and just acted as if he were sleeping. Due to long-term malnutrition and severe anemia, his immune system was deteriorating and the chronic inflammation eroded his lymph system. He developed lymph hyperplasia throughout his body. The lymph node on his chin was swollen like a duck's egg and eventually it emitted green purulence. All the labor camp authorities did was insert a bandage into the hole as treatment, to stop the purulence flow, completely disregarding the patient's critical condition.

In the meantime, the guards did not relax the so-called "attack" and continuously forced him to sit on the bed board for a long time, while forcing him to do labor. Sitting on the bed board made his clothes stick to his flesh. Due to the severe rotting condition on his feet and legs, he was often seen limping with difficulty. Because his scabies-covered hands were rotting, his palms displayed many small holes the scars had left. His thumb-nails were almost rotten and disintegrated and he could not touch water at all. In spite of this, the guards forced him to use dirty rags to scrub the floor. In the fall when corn was harvested, the vicious guards even forced him to pick corn. They also ordered him to make the beds for the cell every morning, while in the evening he could only sleep on his side because the bed was crowded with inmates.

After over a year of torture, Mr. Song, who was once 5.9 feet tall and healthy, had become skin and bones. His bony joints were sticking out and the skin on his lower body was full of scabies with purple decayed flesh that was open and bleeding. Later, because he was depleted of blood for such a long time, he was extremely anemic. His face was pale. The wounds no longer oozed blood, but began discharging tissue fluid. Since April 4, 2002, when the so-called "attack" began, the guards from No. 4 Division of Chaoyanggou took the extremely weak Mr. Song to the instructor's classroom for brainwashing. The Division Head Fu Guohua supervised while Vice Head Fan Shenlu "attacked" in person accompanied by "small head" guard Wang and "abnormal evil" guard Zhao. They used two high voltage electric batons in addition to police batons. They used the batons to hit his feet and the electric batons to shock his face and neck. When he was sent back to the cell, his feet were too swollen to walk.

This devastating torture made his body and mind extremely weak. New wounds were opened before the old ones had recovered. His legs were extensively decayed. There were scabies 6.7 cm long and 0.5 cm deep; up to a hundred big and small breakages. There were dozens of indentations visible on his body. Those felt rough and hard on the skin and were swollen. He finally suffered heart and lung failure and he was near death.

On July 22, 2002, policeman Fu Guohua noticed that Song Changguang was in critical condition and hurried to find director Zhang from the Labor Re-education Division of Justice Department. He requested that they sign the labor camp release form without following any due procedure to release him in a hurry.

After returning home, Song Changguang did not recover. He died on November 12, 2002. Jiang's group is responsible for the loss of another innocent life.

(Clearwisdom.net) Yao Sanzhong was a music teacher at Luohe Normal School in Henan Province. In 2000, he was sent to the Henan Province No. 3 Labor Camp (located in Xuchang City, and also known as Xuchang Labor Camp) because he refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong. In December 2002, he was dying as a result of the persecution inflicted on him there. He could only lie in bed, unable to move or eat. In order to shirk responsibility for his death, the labor camp told his family to come get him; he died shortly after returning home.

Mr. Yao was a young and very talented music instructor. Everyone who knew him said he was a truly good person. Even as he was enduring enormous suffering, he still cared about and thought about other people. He manifested the compassion and purity of a Dafa practitioner. With his own actions, he effectively validated that Falun Dafa is good. He resisted mistreatment with extraordinary perseverance, which even shocked the guards at the labor camp who tortured him.

Mr. Yao was one of the first Falun Gong practitioners sent to Xuchang Labor Camp. On March 21, 2001, when some vicious staff members at the labor camp were slandering Falun Gong during a meeting, he and more than a dozen fellow practitioners spoke out loudly saying, "Falun Dafa is good." For this, he was considered a "diehard person," and his term was extended by seven months. In addition to being beaten on the spot, guards in the camp's 2^nd Division organized nearly two hundred inmates to participate in a so-called "helping" for Mr. Yao¡ªeveryone had to hit him hard; otherwise that inmate would also be beaten right away. There were several inmates who, out of their good conscience, did not want to beat the innocent Mr. Yao but who did so because of the pressure. They only hit him less hard, still feeling very guilty in their hearts. Meanwhile, from Mr. Yao's righteous behavior, they also came to know that Falun Dafa is good. Mr. Yao was beaten very badly, but he was able to remain smiling the whole time. The organizers for that beating were political instructor Zhu Jinkui and assistant director Zheng Qi, among others.

In order to try to break Mr. Yao's will, one night the guards tortured him using ropes to bind him tightly in extremely painful positions. That night alone, they tied him up a total of seven times, and they also shocked him with high-voltage electric batons for a very long time. After that, Mr. Yao's throat became numb and he could no longer speak. While at Henan Province No. 3 Labor Camp, Mr. Yao was often tortured with ropes, electric shock batons, etc. Because of the brutal torture, his physical health quickly deteriorated. In the end, he could only lie in bed all day and could not take care of himself. His wife divorced him and left behind their young child. Mr. Yao died only days after his family came to take him home.

(Clearwisdom.net) Wang Yue, the vice copy editor from China People's Publication, was beaten in a brainwashing class located in Beijing because she appealed against the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. She was injured in the cervical area of her spine. The situation is serious and dangerous, and has received attention from all areas of society.

Ms. Wang Yue is about 40 to 50 years of age. She graduated from Beijing University with a degree in Philosophy, and was working as the vice copy editor in the China People's Publication. Wang Yue is a member of the China Democratic League. She's a descendant of a Chinese war hero and had received honors from the premier Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying.

Wang Yue was diagnosed and suffering tremendously with a sickness that neither Chinese nor Western medicine could cure. After practicing Falun Gong in 1994, she became healthy and never needed to take a sick day in 7 years. It was rare to find someone that healthy in her company. At the same time, her family troubles disappeared and she did exceptionally well with her work. She had received over a dozen provincial and national awards. The level of recognition given to her was very high.

Wang Yue always said, "I studied philosophy, but Falun Dafa changed my outlook on life. I firmly believe that Falun Gong teaches the truth of the universe and is very real."

On February 19, 2001, her company hired people to force her to attend a brainwashing class because she refused to give up her practice of Falun Dafa. On March 4 of the same year, she was arrested on false criminal charges. On April 4, she was bailed out and awaits her trial next year.

On the same day that Wang Yue was beaten and her cervical vertebrae were injured, her neck, upper torso, back and legs were also hurt from the torture. She was feeling nauseous and weak. Her wrists, shoulders and back were black and blue from abuse. She requested to be examined and to rest, but her request was denied. They continued to detain and beat her. They denied her the benefit of sleep, punished her physically, searched her body and inflicted other kinds of personal insults. She was tortured physically and emotionally. Wang Yue began suffering from headaches and vomiting. Her vision would blur and she would pass out.

The Beijing Xiehe Hospital, as well as a handful of other hospitals, diagnosed Wang Yue with an intervertebral disk injury due to exterior force. (Beijing Chinese Medical Hospital issued a certificate.) The C6 intervertebral disc of her cervical vertebra was dislocated. The C2 to C3 intervertebral disc were shifted back. C5 and C6 vertebra were protruding. Her spinal cord and dural sac were unduly stressed. The Beijing Xiehe Hospital has reports from CT and MRI images. Her injuries are considered serious and dangerous.

At the same time Wang Yue may have suffered brain damage. Her reaction time has slowed down considerably, she needs to sleep more, her hearing, memory and reasoning ability have weakened. Sometimes she's absent minded, her train of thought is disconnected and she has difficulty writing and communicating. Sometimes she involuntarily trembles. She has difficulty taking care of herself and cannot go to work.

A Beijing practitioner who knew Wang Yue said, "She was very popular in her office. She was very serious towards her job. Wang Yue had worked on many health related books, and received good reviews from readers."

Zhou Wenli worked at Ouyi Pharmaceutical Company of Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group in Hebei Province. She was twice taken to a brainwashing center where she suffered severe torture and sleep deprivation. Subsequently, she has suffered a mental collapse and has been hospitalized many times. Two other practitioners who worked with her have also been tortured in a brainwashing center.

Ms. Zhou Wenli (also known as Zhou Wensheng) is about forty years old. She worked at the third workshop in Ouyi Pharmaceutical Company. In the summer of 2002, she was sent to what was called a "Hebei Province Law Education Training Center" ( a brainwashing center). During this time, her employer was required to send two colleagues to monitor her 24 hours a day. Zhou had to pay for these two people's salary and other expenses totaling about 3,000 Yuan (1). Zhou Wenli was humiliated and deprived of freedom and sleep for at least eight days. She was forced to watch propaganda that denounced Falun Gong and forced to write a statement of "guarantee" to stop her practice of Falun Gong.

Later, her work unit learned that she still had not given up Falun Gong, so they dismissed her. Then they forced her into the brainwashing center again. Even before the session ended, she had been tortured to the point that she suffered a mental collapse and was sent to a mental hospital. The medical expenses amounted to 8,000 Yuan and her work unit only paid 1,000 Yuan. After she recovered, they still did not allow her to work. Later Zhou Wenli was repeatedly hospitalized due to mental trauma.

In addition, the two other practitioners, Huang Huawei and Sun Jinghong, who worked in the same workshop as Zhou Wenli were also taken to the brainwashing center. Ms. Huang Huawei (around 45 years old) was forced to promise not to practice Falun Gong and Ms. Sun Jinghong (around 40 years old) was forced to leave her home to avoid further persecution. Ms. Sun's husband, an army doctor, was also targeted. After he retired from the army, the local government refused to arrange work for him. Before Sun Jinghong left home, her work unit had decreased her salary to only over 200 Yuan per month. According to the latest information Sun Jinghong has recently been arrested and again forcefully taken to Hebei Province brainwashing center. Her current whereabouts are not known. Her husband has sustained enormous pressure while having to take care of two children.

The work unit responsible for the persecution:
Zip code: 050000
Ouyi Pharmaceutical Company of Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group, Hebei Province
86-311-7027529, 86-311-7027218
Management office: 86-311-7023744
Supply and sales office: 86-311-7025297
Other telephone numbers: 86-311-7019642, 86-311-7882374, 86-311-702142, 86-311-7022554, 86-311-7036208, 86-311-7014217, 86-311-7039180, 86-311-7033734

Hebei Province Law Education Training Center
Address: 18 Beicheng Road, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province
Director of the center: Guo Suoshan, Li Aiguo, director Han, director Yuan (female) and director Liang.
Members of the brainwashing center from Shijiazhuang City "610 Office": Li Jing and Wang Jianguo.
Hebei Province Law Education Training Center Education Office: 86-311-7754007, 86-311-7792624-8012 or 8013
Members from the education office who are directly involved in torture: Di Manli (female), Wang Jiafeng (female), Chen Ling (female), Bai, Lu Huiying, Liu Fengzhen, Wang Jiafeng, Zhang Ruifen (teaches aerobics), Yang (in charge of education)|
On-duty office: 86-311-7762641
Cui Yanfang: female, over fifty years old. She lives at the dorm of the labor camp at Beicheng road, Shijiazhuang City. She used to be a police officer in the fourth division in Shijiazhuang Labor Camp.
Kong Fanyun (was resigned in May of 2003): 86-311-7792624 ext 8012, 8016 (Office)
Yuan Shuqian: the deputy director of Shijiazhuang "610 Office." The main person in charge of Hebei Province brainwash class
Hebei Province Law Education Training Center Security Team: Yang Weiguo

(1)Yuan is the unit of currency in China, where the average monthly salary of an urban worker is 500 Yuan.

One afternoon in May of 2001, a show was staged by the second section (where female Falun Gong practitioners were detained) of the Shizishan Labor Camp for Drug Addicts in Hubei Province. In a scene in a bedroom, Liu Shengli (from Daye City, Hubei Province), who had given up her belief in Dafa under duress, was sitting on the edge of a bed, while a Dafa practitioner Deng Taoying (from Puxing City, Hubei Province) was sitting on a small bench. Liu put on an act talking with Deng Taoying as if she was concerned about her. Then the cameraman came and recorded the scene. At the same time, in the telephone room, Yan Ting (from Shandong Province, and a student at Erzhou University), who had also been forced to give up her belief in Dafa, was sitting by a telephone, and pretending to talk to her mother in Shandong Province. This scene was also videotaped by the cameraman. After editing and dubbing, the videotapes were made into a special TV news program to show how Shizishan Labor Camp "cares, educates, helps and saves" Falun Gong practitioners. The trick successfully deceived the unwary, including some family members of Falun Gong practitioners who accepted the show as real.

Before the show was staged, in order not to have people know about it, the cadres drove all Dafa practitioners out of their bedrooms. In fact, all Dafa practitioners knew very well that the show was staged, and the drug addicts in the labor camp also said that such shows are very common in the labor camp. Afterwards Yan Ting admitted that she hadn't talked to her mother at all. She also said that she had been forced by cadres in the labor camp to do it and the only purpose was to make a TV program. Before this event, the cadres in the labor camp had forced Liu Shengli and Yan Ting to do the so called "transformation" work. The two of them were uneasy, especially Yan Ting who often complained grudgingly: "It is so annoying! They always want us to do the "transformation" work, but we are not cut out for that." At the time there were more than 100 Falun Gong practitioners being held in the second section of the labor camp alone, all of whom were very firm in their belief in Dafa. Only Liu Shengli and Yan Ting were "transformed," and Yan Ting's transformation was not even genuine. Regardless of the tactics used, the labor camp failed to shake practitioners' faith in Dafa. In the end, on June 15 (the day of the Dragon Boat Festival), the police had to send the 40 unwavering Dafa practitioners to the evil Shayang Labor Camp, Hubei Province for further persecution.

The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the Shizishan Labor Camp for Drug Addicts was cruel and intense. Each Falun Gong practitioner was closely supervised 24 hours a day by at least two personal cangues (1) chosen from the drug addicts. All newly arrived Dafa practitioners would be stripped naked upon their arrival by the drug addicts and body searched for Dafa articles. The cadres instigated drug addicts to insult and cruelly beat Dafa practitioners with promises of reductions to their sentences. One Dafa practitioner, Guo Yanqiu from Xishui County, was cruelly beaten by the police and the criminals simply because she refused to take drugs when she had a little cough. One day, late at night, Guo Yanqiu was heard to let out a horrible shriek as she was viciously beaten and her left eye was seriously injured. Next day, her face was terribly swollen and deformed, and covered with bruises, and her left eye almost closed. Despite this, she was still forced to do the military drills. Another Dafa practitioner, Hu Jianzhen from Macheng City, was tortured with forced feeding even when she was in critical conditions after she went on a huger strike to protest the persecution. The labor camp police also forced Dafa practitioners to do intensive slave labor. For quite a long period the Dafa practitioners were forced to get up very early in the morning and stay up laboring deep into the night. When their superiors came to inspect the labor camp, they immediately suspended all the slave labor and even got rid of all worktables. Once the superiors left, they resumed the slave labor. The Falun Gong practitioners were forbidden to sleep, to speak to each other; otherwise they would be punished with prolonged standing against the wall or even cruel beatings. All the clothing and food that the family members of Dafa practitioners sent them were taken away by the criminal drug addicts.

Those of you who are still unclear about the reality of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, please open your eyes and not be deceived by the lies and propaganda on China's TV.

(1) "Personal cangues" (There were "open cangues" and "secret cangues") [Note: cangue, the name of an instrument of torture, is now used to indicate the person who is designated to supervise the behavior of practitioners.]

(Clearwidsom.net) I am one of the practitioners who, motivated by my selfish attachments, renounced my practice of Falun Gong under the coercive pressure of the authorities. I did something against Dafa and Master. I feel extremely ashamed.

After reading the article, "Authorities in Jinan Force Imprisoned Practitioners to Paint False Picture of Falun Gong for Kofi Annan and US President Bush," I decided to relate some of my own experiences so as to clarify the truth and to disclose the lies fabricated by Jiang and his group under the disguise of the phony NGO, "China Anti-Cult Association (CACA)." Actually this "association" is a puppet organization controlled by Jiang and his followers to persecute Falun Gong and its practitioners.

There are about one hundred Falun Gong practitioners detained in the Liuchangshan Labor Camp in Jinan City, Shandong Province. I remember around the time of the 2002 Chinese New Year, Cui Wei, the captain of the 5^th ward, 2^nd section of this labor camp, gathered all the chief inmates together for a meeting, at which they were told to order more than ten Dafa practitioners to write letters to the United Nations and to President Bush. These practitioners were instructed to write the letters according to the outlines given and to send them to CACA. Then the association would forward these letters to the United Nations and to President Bush. The practitioners were also instructed to write their own home or workplace addresses as the addressers. They were given envelopes and different varieties of stamps. They were also told to not to seal the envelopes so that the letters could be inspected first.

Actually, many practitioners who were involved in writing these letters know that what they wrote is not true, and they can testify to every detail about how they were used.

If the letters which were forwarded by Shang Jinggong, the chairwoman of Jinan City CACA are examined, the following facts can reveal her lies:

I want to do right to compensate for what I have done before. I want to clearly identify the persecutors, get back onto the path of validating Dafa, save sentient beings and cultivate myself diligently so as to live up to our merciful Master's expectations.

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 24, the first ever Global Compact Leaders Summit was held at UN headquarters in New York. The summit recommended Global business leaders to change their corporate policies to acknowledge and support human rights, labor and environmental principles such as:

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally acknowledged human rights;

On June 23 and 24, Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition at the plaza facing UN headquarters to help people visualize the torture methods used in China to persecute practitioners. The scene was very shocking and moving.

The plaza is located at a busy intersection with a continuous flow of vehicles and pedestrians. A lot of UN staff, VIPs who came to the summit, and media pass by the plaza to get into the UN headquarters. Practitioners displayed "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice," "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong" banners and all kinds of anti-torture posters to tell passersby about the evil persecution happening in China and to call on all kind-hearted people to stand up against this persecution. Next to the anti-torture display, a large group of practitioners demonstrated the peaceful Falun Gong exercises, which formed a sharp contrast with the bloody torture and persecution.

Near end of the plaza and the intersection, practitioners put a 20' by 12' steel cage in which many slave-labor products, such as toys and artificial flowers produced by Chinese labor camps and prisons were displayed. Behind the cage, a 20' long banner read "15 hours a day, 7 days a week, 100,000 slaves (Falun Gong practitioners) detained in 180 Chinese labor camps are persecuted for their beliefs in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." Several practitioners sitting inside the cage acted as practitioners being forced to work as slaves in labor camps to make various products. One of them was, in real life, actually beaten to the point of unconsciousness for refusing to work as a slave in a Chinese labor camp.

Falun Gong practitioner Granny Chen said that she was illegally detained in the Beijing Women's Labor Camp and was forced to make products such as chopsticks.

During this exhibition, using real-life models, practitioners demonstrated some of the torture methods employed at Chinese labor camps and prisons to persecute Falun Gong practitioners such as the Tiger Bench, burning the flesh, hanging people up and beating them, and force-feeding with the intent, not to nourish, but to cause pain and suffering.

Tiger Bench: During this torture, police tie the victim's legs tightly to the tiger bench using belts. They then put bricks or some other hard objects under the victim's feet. They keep adding layers of bricks until the belts break. Victims endure unbearable pain and often pass out during these torture sessions.

Many mainland Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to this torture method. For example, Liu Chengjun was forced to sit on one "tiger bench" for 52 days. He was also handcuffed to a "Dead person's bed" (People who were tied to the "Dead person's bed" and exposed to others not only experienced the extreme pain as if they were split apart, but they also had to relieve themselves on the bed. They suffer mental insults and physical tortures every moment.). Because of the brutal torture, he couldn't walk normally and was often dragged by guards inn order to move forward.

Mr. Liu Chengjun was arrested on March 5, 2002. He was severely tortured in prison and died at 4:30 in the morning on December 26, 2003. In order to cover up their crime, the criminals responsible for his death cremated his body at 10:40 a.m. the same morning, against his family's will.

"Hanging up and Beating": During this torture, practitioners would be hung up for a long time and beaten severely. Many practitioners have been beaten to death in this way. Ms. Zhao Xiaoping, 62, was a resident in Urumqi City and a retired teacher from a Ceramics Factory. She went to Beijing on December 28, 2000 to appeal against the persecution of Falun Dafa, and was detained in the Yanqing Detention Center. On January 4, 2001 Ms. Zhao was barbarically force-fed, interrogated by the authorities, and brutally tortured. Her face was disfigured with 3 big bumps on her head. Her body was covered with dirt, she could not speak, and her lips were tightly shut. She was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment on January 5, 2001. The doctors found that she was suffering from internal injuries that consisted of bleeding in her liver, spleen, and stomach. She was also diagnosed as having a swollen heart from the trauma she received, and kidney failure. As a result of these massive injuries, Ms. Zhao passed away on January 7, 2001.

Punitive force-feeding is not the same as the normal medical feeding procedure that is used to save lives. The persecutors in China use it as a cruel torture method to force practitioners to give up their belief. Hence, this force-feeding is very brutal. According to reports, up to 100 practitioners have died as a result of brutal force-feedings administered by non-professional persons (including prisoners), and a large number of practitioners have experienced serious side effects from these force-feedings.

Some practitioners are force-fed highly-concentrated salt solutions, chili soup, high-proof liquor, detergent, and even urine and feces. Some police instruct prisoners to torture practitioners who are being force-fed, such as forcing air into the tube, then stepping on the practitioner's stomach, which results in highly-concentrated salt solution spraying up from the stomach and burning the practitioner's eyes and nose. Some persecutors do not allow the practitioner to use the toilet, but instead hang the practitioner upside down, forcing them to urinate and defecate on themselves.

The passersby were shocked by the brutality shown by the exhibition. Many stopped to view the exhibition and posters and to talk with practitioners. A lot of kindhearted people expressed their sympathy asking, "What can I do?" and signed their names on a petition to call for an end of the persecution.

A young man said: "Physically seeing the torture is much different from reading news. The exhibition is very effective."

A professor who was on his way to a meeting at the UN told practitioners "You have done a good job."

A contributor to Human Rights Edition online of the Wall Street Journal viewed the exhibition for a while. She then called radio stations and requested that they come to interview practitioners. She said, "I know everything about the persecution happening in China. You have done a good job."

A Jewish gentleman viewed the torture exhibition and slave labor exhibition for a long time, and he told practitioners that he had signed a petition in support of practitioners.

Falun Gong practitioners will continue their anti-torture exhibition on June 25 and 26.

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 23 and 24, 2004, before the arrival of United Nations International Day to Support Torture Victims (June 26), Falun Gong practitioners in Canada held an anti-torture exhibition in front of Ottawa City Hall to show the various tortures that police use to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China for practicing Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.

During the last five years, under Jiang's persecution policy of "ruining [Falun Gong practitioners'] reputations, cutting them off financially and destroying their bodies," "610 Offices"[a government organization specially set up to persecute Falun Gong and it has offices at each administrative level], labor camps, and jails have used nearly 100 kinds of torture methods to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up practicing Falun Gong. At least 992 Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death in China as of June 23. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been unlawfully imprisoned, tortured, persecuted by brainwashing and other mental and physical tortures.

Ottawa citizens were shocked upon seeing the anti-torture exhibition. A gentleman working in Bell Canada said, "It's really shocking. I feel that I am physically experiencing the scene, although I heard about persecution of Falun Gong before. The exhibition scene is shocking. I feel sorry. I think that Canada should not provide money to China in commerce with China. It is a waste to invest in a government committing such kind of conduct." One senior citizen in a wheel chair said in sorrow, "This exhibition reminds me of the persecution of Christians. Such kind of exhibition should also be held on St. Patrick Street (location of Chinese Embassy) and have embassy staff take a look."

Falun Gong practitioner Li Jinman went to appeal for Falun Gong, was unlawfully detained and tortured by force-feeding. As a witness of the torture, she reproduced it under the human rights monument. Ms. Li said, "The persecution is maintained because the Jiang faction covers up their crimes. Their crimes must be exposed and the Jiang faction must be brought to justice."

Many passers-by accepted and signed postcards from Falun Gong practitioners. Canadian Citizen and Professor Zhang Kunlun, 63 years old, was unlawfully imprisoned and tortured in China for practicing Falun Gong and clarifying the truth. Later, Professor Zhang was rescued to Canada. Currently he is filing a lawsuit in Canada to sue 22 people who conducted the torture, including Jiang Zemin and police in the labor camp.

One passer-by said sincerely to a Falun Gong practitioner after signing on a signature book, "Wish you success!"

(Clearwisdom.net) In Valsavarenche Vale, 2,000 meters above sea level, Falun Gong practitioners recently joined the "Healing of Mother Earth" event at the invitation of the "Where Eagles Fly" Association. Nearly 300 Italian citizens watched the lotus dance performed by practitioners and learned the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. A lot of pre-destined people said that they would read Zhuan Falun [the main text of Falun Dafa] and practice sites close to them to learn the Falun Gong exercises.

Anna, the activity organizer, expressed her gratitude to practitioners: "We will never forget the picture of these lotus flowers in full bloom on this snow-crested mountain."

(Clearwisdom.net) Accompanied by her mother, Dai Zhizhen, and local Falun Dafa practitioners, Fadu arrived at an elementary school in Gothenburg. With only a few simple words and sentences, as well as hand-folded lotus flowers and peaceful Falun Gong exercises, Fadu appealed to Swedish children to assist in stopping the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and to rescue the children of the Falun Gong practitioners who are experiencing tremendous suffering.

What Fadu has been through is an example of how children have suffered in the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China. The age of children affected by the persecution ranges from eight months to seventeen years old. Some have lost their lives, some have lost their parents, and some have been deprived of their right to education.

On November 7, 2000, an eight-month-old baby boy named Meng Hao and his mother, Wang Lixuan, both died from torture in Beijing's Tuanhe labor camp.

Rongrong, who is just over four years old, and does not have a mother or father. As young as she is, Rongrong was separated from her parents three times before their ultimate loss. Sometimes when she remembers her relatives, she will stand on a stool to reach up and kiss her father's cremation casket. She tells people, "My father is in heaven."

Xuanxuan has not seen his father for three years. He was forced to flee from his home with his family when he was only two years old. In February 2004, when three family members who lived with him were arrested, Xuanxuan was left unattended and had to stay overnight by himself.

Liu Qian, a twelve year-old girl who lived in Gege Village in Hebei Province, was diagnosed with acute leukemia. She fully recovered from the disease after practicing Falun Gong. However, she was denied enrolment to school because she would not give up practicing Falun Gong. Liu Qian died suddenly about one month later.

Chen Si, a thirteen year-old girl who lived in Sha-Ping-Ba District of Chong-Qing City, was arrested in the summer of 2001 while distributing materials that explained the truth about Falun Gong. She was sent to a brainwashing center and a psychiatric hospital for two weeks. When the school term began, the staff of the local "610 Office"* refused to let her return because she would not abandon her belief.

In China, it is not only the families and children of one hundred million Falun Gong practitioners that suffer from the direct persecution, the persecution actually affects every family and every child. China's education administrators were forced to defame Falun Gong, and an anti-Falun Gong signature collection drive was launched in schools to incite hatred against Falun Gong and to poison children's pure hearts.

When Fadu danced harmoniously to a piece of music composed by a Dafa practitioner, all of the children watched quietly. The teacher could not help bursting into tears. Learning about the experience of children like Fadu in China was summoning their conscience and sense of justice.

* The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 6 2004, two weeks after giving an introduction on Falun Gong in Molleruss, Falun Dafa practitioners were again invited by the "Nature and Environmental Protection Association" in Barcelona to attend their Spring Festival in Gav, Catalonia, and help more people learn about Falun Dafa.

The "Spring Festival" is a traditional festival held annually in the city of Gav. This year, the organisers held various kinds of activities in the neighboring forest and prepared Paella, enough for more than a thousand people. This activity attracted thousands of people from different cities.

Dafa practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises at the entrance and distributed flyers. The beautiful music and peaceful exercises immediately attracted a great number of people to stop and watch with curiosity. Before the activities began almost everyone took flyers and other materials about Falun Dafa.

After Falun Dafa practitioners applied for an official time slot to introduce Falun Gong and demonstrate the five sets of exercises, the organisers apologised and said that the schedule was already packed for the one-day activity and there was really no room for additional items. The practitioners then went to a grassy area nearby to do the exercises by themselves. When the exercise music began, a girl came and expressed her interest to learn. After a while, another three people arrived. It happened that more and more people came to learn the Falun Gong exercises. Many of them were just passing by to begin with, but joined the group without hesitation. After finishing the fourth exercise, we found surprisingly that the grassy area and way beyond was filled with people who came to learn Falun Gong. How eagerly people want to learn Falun Gong and to know the truth about Falun Dafa!

Before lunch, the practitioners briefly introduced Falun Dafa to those who came to learn the five exercises and described the cruel persecution of Falun Gong currently taking place in China. It was difficult for them to believe the great cultivation way they just experienced is being suppressed so brutally in China. When the introduction concluded, people expressed their support for the persecuted Falun Gong practitioners with warm applause.

A lot of people wanted to stay and learn the fifth exercise. While everyone was sitting in meditation, a team of reporters from a local TV station arrived. Firstly, they shot a picture of practitioners doing the exercises. When the reporters discovered that it was Falun Gong, one of them said, "Yes, Falun Dafa. I know about Falun Gong, and I saw in the newspaper about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. It seems to be a very peaceful and quiet practice though." They conducted some interviews with practitioners and asked for different informational materials. Finally, they happily said goodbye to the practitioners.

On that day, there were a lot of people with predestined relationship who came to understand the truth about Dafa. We are truly happy for them.

(Clearwisdom.net) From June 11 to 13, 2004, the city of Windsor, Canada, organized its annual multi-cultural festival. Local Falun Gong practitioners participated in the event from 11 am to 10 pm to introduce Falun Dafa to local residents. Many people came to learn more about Falun Gong and many wanted to learn the exercises at the site. The Falun Gong practitioners performed a Tang Dynasty Costume Display, Fan Dance and the Song "Falun Dafa Hao". The performance attracted many visitors.

Tang Dynasty Fan Dance

Many people want to learn more about Falun Gong

Some visitors start to learn the exercises right away

Jiuhua Mountain is widely known as one of the four sacred places in Chinese Buddhism. Overseas Chinese media have recently reported on the special trip made by Jiang Zemin on June 5, 2004, to Zhantanlin Temple on Jiuhua Mountain. Jiang is the main culprit behind the persecution of Falun Gong, and June 4 was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, in which Jiang was also inextricably complicit.

Jiuhua Mountain is located in Qingyang County, Anhui Province. There, Jiang quietly prayed to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. His trip caused quite a stir in the local area. Jiang Zemin's hands are stained with blood of countless innocent people. Making a trip to a sacred place at a sensitive time like this certainly makes people think.

Many people remember April 25, 1999, when, in an attempt to stop the Politburo from opposing the suppression of Falun Gong, Jiang Zemin sent a letter to the Politburo. In the letter, Jiang indicated that "The Marxism theory and materialism and atheism we communists embrace will not be able to defeat the stuff promoted by Falun Gong? If that is really the case, won't we be the biggest laughingstock of the entire world?" Atheism became the main reason behind Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong. Jiang does not let people practice Falun Gong because they believe that Buddhas and Gods exist. Yet according to a report in January 2002 by Hong Kong's Open Magazine, Jiang transcribed Ksitigarbha Sutra at home and spent huge amounts of money asking lamas to pray for his good fortune and long life. Jiang worships a Bodhisattva, yet, at the same time, he uses the excuse of the Chinese government's being atheist to persecute Falun Gong.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is one of the four great Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism and his temple is located in Jiuhua Mountain. According to the Ksitigarbha Sutra, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed "If Hell is not yet empty, I will not become a Buddha" meaning, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed to first save all sinners in Hell before he would leave the three realms. In China's history of five thousand years, people have believed in more than one or two gods. Is Jiang Zemin's "special devotion" attributed to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's persistence in rescuing the wicked ghosts from Hell? The difference between the past and the present is huge. When a person in the past humiliated someone who practiced Buddhism or Daoism, he would have committed such a serious sin that he was doomed to suffer in hell, yet one day he would be able to repay all his karmic debts; and with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's help, perhaps he could leave that extremely dark and filthy place. But the crimes Jiang has committed against a hundred million Falun Dafa practitioners are forbidden by heaven. His sins are higher than a mountain.

Jiang Zemin has always embraced power and military force, and thought that with his great power he could do what ever he wanted and commit evil deeds at will. He once gave an order to "eradicate" Falun Gong in three months. Five years have past, yet Falun Gong is thriving, and the tide of public opinion against the persecution has grown very strong. Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong has failed completely. According to a third party commentary, Jiang has committed unpardonable sins, and his trip to Jiuhua Mountain is like a person who "never burns incense when all is well, but clasps Bodhisattva's feet before dying." He hopes that, although he is responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva might let him slip through the cracks.

Faced with the fact that more people have realized the truth of the persecution, the fact that Falun Gong has spread to more than sixty countries around the world and received more than one thousand awards and proclamations from many different countries and governments, the fact that group after group of Falun Gong practitioners (who have temporarily taken detours because they were deceived and were under extreme pressure) in turn issued solemn declarations on the Minghui website to again start practicing Falun Gong, the fact that lawsuits against Jiang are emerging all over the world, the fact that several accomplices who helped Jiang in persecuting Falun Gong have been sued overseas¡ªperhaps only dictators with staggering piles of bloody debts could truly understand Jiang's despair and fear.

Jiang Zemin's trip to pray to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva on the sensitive day of June 4^th indicates that everyone within the Chinese government is pointing their fingers at Jiang Zemin, and he will soon be held accountable for his crimes.

While Jiang went to Jiuhua Mountain to ask Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for help, it is noteworthy that he continues to persecute people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Nearly every day there's another death case reported on the Minghui website due to the persecution. In April and May this year, forty-one and twenty people were reported dead respectively.

It is heaven's law that good and evil are rewarded accordingly. Even though Jiang is still in the human world, he is already experiencing retribution. Power and military force no longer provide him with a sense of security. In persecuting Falun Gong, Jiang has committed limitless and boundless sins. He knows that power and military force can no longer protect him.

Jiang's fear and despair should be seen as a warning to his followers. If the main culprit behind the persecution of Falun Dafa has problems protecting himself, how can he protect his accomplices?

Newly published collection of investigative reports details genocide in China.

BOSTON (FDI) -- Based on more than a year of research and citing numerous Chinese Government documents and sources, a Boston-based non-profit organization has published a book documenting the details of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's ongoing, illicit campaign to eliminate Falun Gong practitioners in China and around the world. (preface / full report)

"Imagine if there existed a book documenting Hitler's plans and the atrocities he committed throughout Europe while they were still taking place," says John Jaw, President of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), which published the book. "What would it mean for those criminals and their victims if these documents had been published beforehand? How many lives could have been saved?"

The book, Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong, was published on June 12, 2004. It details the depth of the persecution now taking place in China against the spiritual practice of Falun Gong -- a campaign many human rights lawyers are calling genocide.

From the days before the persecution began in July 1999 up through the present, Investigation Reports exposes details of Jiang's plot to eradicate Falun Gong citing many secret documents, including two communications from Jiang himself: "The letter from Jiang Zemin to the members of the standing committee of the Political Bureau and other related leaders" distributed on April 26, 1999, and "Jiang Zemin's speech at the Central Political Bureau Conference regarding speeding up the handling and solving the 'Falun Gong' issue" delivered on June 7, 1999.

Investigation Reports delves into the infrastructure set up by Jiang to carry out the eradication campaign, the propaganda that has saturated state-run media to bend public opinion and the use of the Chinese educational system to indoctrinate children against Falun Gong. The book also details the inner-workings of the secret "6-10 Office" that Jiang instituted to carry out the campaign against Falun Gong as well as the utilization of the judicial system, Internet blockades, and a comprehensive implication system that pressures co-workers, friends and family to turn against Falun Gong practitioners. The book also analyzes the nation-wide system of brainwashing and torture used against Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters.

Included in Investigation Reports is a special investigation of the "Staged Self-Immolation Incident," which took place on Tiananmen Square in January 2001. Chinese state-run media attempted to turn public opinion against Falun Gong by claiming that "fanatic" Falun Gong practitioners set themselves on fire. Investigation Reports, however, presents a range of evidence demonstrating the incident was staged by agents of the government itself.

"This book is certain to become one of the 'most feared books in China' for Jiang and his circle of influence for many years to come," adds Mr. Jaw.

The new publication can be downloaded for free at: www.upholdjustice.org under the section "Latest WOIPFG reports."

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." Practiced in over 50 countries world-wide, Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's Communist leader Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report). Since that time, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 992 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER
Contacts: Gail Rachlin (+1 917-757-9780), Levi Browde (+1 914-720-0963), Erping Zhang (+1 646-533-6147), or Christina Chai (+1 917-386-5068).
Fax: 646-792-3916 Email:

, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

To the dismay of human rights proponents around the world, the leadership of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has announced an agreement with the Chinese Society of Psychiatry (CSP) that fails to acknowledge the systematic psychiatric abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

The agreement was reached during the May 2004 meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In a statement posted on the WPA's website at http://www.wpanet.org/generalinfo/letter0604.html, WPA President Ahmed Okasha is joined by Dongfen Zhou and Yongfen Chen, the President and Vice-President respectively of the CSP in announcing the agreement. The linchpin is an admission by the CSP to a "pattern of misdiagnosis and mistreatment" and "the failure of some Chinese psychiatric colleagues to distinguish between cultural beliefs and delusions" due to insufficient education and training.

This latest development follows two years of effort by the WPA to conduct an investigation in China.

At the WPA's annual conference in August 2002, its general assembly passed a resolution calling for an investigation into allegations of systematic psychiatric abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Negotiations arranging such an investigation seemed to go nowhere until January 2004, when Prof. Okasha and past presidents of the WPA were invited to Beijing for a meeting with the President of the CSP and China's Minister of Health.

Full cooperation with an independent investigation was promised at that time and planning began for the investigation, which was scheduled for April 4. However, on March 31, the CSP sent Prof. Okasha a letter saying they could not cooperate with the investigation, and in early May, the WPA announced that its plans were postponed indefinitely.

Perhaps the groundwork for this agreement was laid in the January meeting in Beijing. In a March 25 interview with The Epoch Times, Prof. Okasha explained that at that meeting he emphasized the need for improved psychiatric education in China, something the CSP was ready to agree to. In the interview, he also expressed his opinion that the alleged cases of abuse were most likely to be cases of "misdiagnosis" and not the abuse of psychiatry.

The current agreement between the WPA and CSP seems to mirror Prof. Okasha's opinion. It has drawn scathing criticism. China Mental Health Watch (CMHW), an organization devoted to exposing the psychiatric abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in China, sent a letter to the leadership of the WPA that characterizes the agreement as a "whitewash" that labels "torture" as "misdiagnosis and mistreatment."

The CMHW letter points out that reports of the psychiatric abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in China have been made by numerous news, human rights and governmental organizations. The letter goes on to refute the suggestion that abuse may be occurring due to poor professional education in China, and charges that Prof. Okasha's agreement "betrays the victims of psychiatric abuse in China, damages the credibility and the integrity of the WPA, and makes a mockery of the Madrid principles."

This last charge by CMHW could be particularly galling to Prof. Okasha. The Madrid Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychiatric Practice provides standards for the practice of psychiatry worldwide, and was passed by the WPA in 1996. It stipulates that no patients should ever be admitted into a psychiatric hospital for political, racial or religious reasons. Prof. Okasha is its author.

Dr. Abraham Halpern, past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and honorary chair of CMHW registered a formal complaint of the psychiatric abuses in China four years ago, and was heartened by the January 2004 talks. News of the apparent WPA withdrawal of an investigation "comes as a great disappointment," he said.

Dr. Halpern went on to say, "I am particularly shocked by Professor Okasha's statement that the leadership of the APA is in accord with the WPA abandonment of its earlier decision to investigate the allegations of psychiatric abuse in China."

Recalling the response of Britain's Royal College of Psychiatrists to reports of psychiatric abuse in China, Dr. Halpern said he doesn't believe that he will be the only professional "appalled at this latest Chamberlain-like appeasement, 'peace at any price' abomination."

Efforts by the CSP to avoid an investigation by the WPA may be viewed within the wider context of China's attempts to avoid investigation into alleged human rights abuses.

On June 16, the United Nations Human Rights Commission announced that the10-year effort to have its special rapporteur investigate allegations of torture has once again been stalled, with the Chinese government asking for "more time to prepare."

Human Rights in China noted at the time, "The Chinese government has engaged in a recurring strategy of responding to international pressure and scrutiny with well-timed overtures that it and other governments can point to as indicators of China's progress in human rights reforms ...Once the pressure recedes, these overtures are all too often withdrawn."

NEW YORK Falun Gong practitioners are protesting against the July 3, 2004 Independence Day Parade in Chinatown.

Members of the spiritual practice say they tried to apply to march in the parade, but were told by the parade's organizer, Steven Wong, that he was under "severe pressure" from procommunist business association leaders as well as the Chinese consulate to prevent them from joining the parade.

"I find it reprehensible," said Nadine Leichter, a volunteer coordinator for Falun Gong. "Nobody has been able to tell me in Chinatown how they can defend it. If they're willing to persecute us, then the Independence Day parade is all for show and doesn't represent the principles our country was founded on."

According to the Falun Gong practitioners, Wong gave them three choices: they could break into the parade after it had started and he would look the other way; they could set up on a street along the parade route; or they could participate in the parade without any right to carry identifying clothing, signs or banners.

I REFER to Magnus Linklater's article (June 6), and Free Tibet's response last week regarding the invitation of the Chinese army to this year's Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The original article gives the misleading impression, and one the Chinese authorities would like people to believe, that human rights have improved considerably in China since the 1989 massacre. The article suggests that "the onus (is) on a new generation of Chinese to ensure that no such atrocity ever occurs again".

Yes, the onus is definitely on them to do this. Tragically, however, such atrocities are occurring at this very moment. They have just been better concealed by the regime. The brutal persecution of the peaceful meditation practice of Falun Gong has seen almost 1,000 documented cases of death from torture since 1999. More than 100,000 are incarcerated in labour camps without trial. Jiang Zemin, the current leader of the Chinese army, faces charges of genocide in lawsuits around the world for his role in orchestrating this persecution.

The current debate around the Tattoo invitation centres on the idea of 'engagement' with China. Engagement is a fine thing if it involves a reciprocal dialogue facilitating progress. Falun Gong practitioners have been seeking such dialogue for the past five years. Such requests have been completely denied and individuals terrorised for merely voicing them.

'Carrots', such as the respectability conferred by invitations to prestigious international events, should be balanced by 'sticks' of persuasive diplomacy requiring genuine and measurable steps towards adopting acceptable Human Rights standards.

Sadly, the current engagement seems too one-sided and the human rights dialogue so low key that China can simply choose to ignore it, pretend the violations don't exist (just as it did with the Sars outbreak), and continue its abuses with impunity.

Simon Miller, Edinburgh

Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement took a stand against torture in front of the Human Rights Monument Thursday on Elgin Street.

They carried out a live depiction of torture and violence to highlight their concerns. As part of the display, people were smeared with fake blood and held in small cages.

The display is in the lead up to the "United Nations International Day In Support Of Victims Of Torture" on Saturday.

(Clearwisdom.net) In April 2002, I was illegally arrested by the local police while explaining the facts about Dafa in public and then was sentenced to forced labor for two years. In the labor camp, the guards and criminals tortured me so brutally that my arms were broken and crippled; my whole body had scars from the electric shocks. Eight months of persecution deformed my body and I was reduced to a skeleton. The staff in the labor camp didn't release me until my health was in critical condition because they didn't want to bear any responsibility if I died under their care.

In order to expose the persecution which was being committed under Jiang's directive, I went to the provincial procuratorate with strong righteous thoughts to file charges against the authorities who were responsible for committing such crimes. I strongly requested the procuratorate to place the case on file for investigation and prosecution, and punish the offenders severely. I also requested that the offenders compensate me for my financial losses as well as my emotional suffering.

Inside the procuratorate, I lifted my clothes to reveal the scars all over my body and my broken arm. I also showed them the X-ray film that was taken at the hospital, especially the film taken after I was beaten fiercely. The person in charge in the procuratorate was astonished upon seeing the evidence. He said with anger, "It is way too cruel. I can imagine the situation even without you having to describe it to me. If one violates the law, he or she should be punished according to the law. How did they dare to beat you? You are not appealing here; you should file charges against them. Take good care of the evidence."

Later, another section chief came in. Upon learning the overall situation of the case, he accepted all my accusatory legal documents without hesitation. There were several other non-practitioner complainants present. They were outraged after they saw the evidence I presented. One of them said, "Once while I was on a business trip in Beijing, personnel from the "610 Office" [1] in Beijing thought that I was a Falun Gong practitioner and they arrested me and beat me. Those policemen are merciless and they beat you barbarously. They have beaten many people to death."

In "Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference," Master told us,

From this experience, I came to understand that it was indeed so. Only by firmly believing in Dafa and having righteous thoughts can we put down all notions that are for "self" and do things according to Master's teaching unconditionally. The evil will indeed get frightened if we are able to do so.

At that time, we had four Dafa disciples going to the procuratorate and we kept sending forth righteous thoughts on our way as well as inside the procuratorate. When I described the persecution that I had suffered in the labor camp, my fellow practitioners helped add what I forgot to say. We kept sending forth righteous thoughts and my fellow practitioners kept helping me until the complaint was accepted. Everything went very well.

I know that this was only the first step, but I have confidence. With righteous thoughts and righteous actions, and doing everything according to Dafa's requirements, we are bound to do well in every step we take.

From this experience of filing a lawsuit, I realized that it is very important for Dafa disciples to keep the evidence of the persecution, because the judiciary puts most emphasis on evidence. Evidence is most convincing. It is very useful for filing a lawsuit.

I also realized that Dafa disciples who understand law or who are lawyers themselves should help those Dafa disciples who have been persecuted write materials for filing accusations. When we Dafa disciples are writing the materials, our godly side is at work and we carry energy with us. As for non-practitioner lawyers, we need to contact them more. It is a good opportunity to clarify the facts to them. If they are willing to represent us for a certain lawsuit, they will listen to our stories and will ask questions. We will thus be able to help remove the poisonous impact Jiang's slander had on them from their minds, clear away their misunderstanding of and hatred against Dafa. We will also be able to wake up their conscience and righteousness. The lawyers we have clarified facts to will be very powerful when they help us file a lawsuit and can therefore be saved. We must also remember to clarify the truth with wisdom. As long as the lawyers understand that we are striving to be good people and we are being persecuted, they will support us immediately.

Currently, government agencies from all over the country are carrying out the order from the Highest People's Procuratorate and seriously investigating the criminal cases of government personnel's involvement in human rights violations using their authority. My understanding is that nothing is accidental in our human dimension. Everything exists for the Fa and everything is arranged for the Fa. It is the result of cosmic changes in the Fa rectification. All the advantageous environments for Fa rectification are created by Dafa; all of it is an ordered arrangement. Master has expounded on the Fa principles in this respect numerous times.

It is absolutely correct if we validate Dafa using everyday people's procedures and methods when we cultivate in human society. Therefore, as Dafa disciples, we should not adopt a wait-and-see attitude: if others have proven it to be good, I'll do it; if they encounter any problem, I will not do it. This is not one's own cultivation. As long as we are firm in our righteous thoughts, as long as we have studied the Fa well, we ought to do whatever we have enlightened to and we will be able to do it well.

Indeed, there isn't much time left. As Dafa disciples, we must lose no time and make good use of the opportunity Dafa has created for us to bring all persecutors and murderers of Dafa disciples to justice. It plays a major role in stopping the persecution of Dafa and Dafa disciples in Mainland China.

When our actions are righteous, the evil will give way. Teacher will do the rest for us.

In July 2000, I was among the practitioners arrested for clarifying the facts about Falun Gong. A police officer said to us, "After you have signed the document renouncing Falun Gong, you may go home, and for those of you who don't want to sign the documents, you will be sent to the forced labor camp." At that time, the question of going home or being sent away to a forced labor camp did not cross my mind. I was focusing on clarifying the facts to the supervisor, and telling him about the goodness of Falun Dafa. Later, when I was summoned to the court, the judge asked, "Will you go again to Beijing to appeal?" Without hesitation, I answered nobly, "Of course I will, as soon as I am out of here." A few days later, I was released.

In 2001, I went to Beijing again to validate Dafa. In front of Tiananmen Square, I raised up high a Dafa banner, running and shouting at the same time, "Falun Dafa is great." None of the sentinels on guard in the front, or the troop of over a hundred police officers drilling at the back, had taken notice of me at all.

For the last three years, from 2001 to 2004, I have been teaching in a school, which is quite a distance away from home. It is a good opportunity for me to distribute Falun Gong flyers on the way. Once a fellow practitioner saw me and made some remarks on paying attention to safety. But truly, I do not want to miss an opportunity to save a fellow human. On the other hand, I have not considered my personal safety either. For the last three years, I have done this day in and day out but have never had any problems.

Once, while distributing flyers along a road, I saw a police van parked across the street, right in front of me. While keeping firm righteous thoughts in my mind, I walked towards the van. The van simply drove past me without stopping and soon disappeared from sight. Later, several similar incidents occurred, but I remained unmoved. About 50 meters away from my school, a police station and a public swimming pool share the same courtyard. There is no sign indicating that there is a police station inside. I have been distributing flyers in front of the courtyard for the last three years and only recently have I learned that it is a police station. I heard from my school principal and some children's parents that an officer from the police station had been covering up for me all along.

Whenever there is an opportunity, I will clarify the truth; regardless of how many people are present, or whether I am on a busy street, riding a bus, or on board a train. I have also given many people my telephone number and home address, and so far my home has not been disturbed.

All the practitioners in our area who I know are doing Dafa work have all been persecuted. Nevertheless, I have decided to remain behind to carry on with the Fa-validation work. Hence, I have detailed the persecution and put down my name and address as well on an article for distribution. The police said that I am among the most wanted. But even after the flyers were distributed, my home remained untouched and is still as steady as a rock.

Our environment and personal cultivation are closely connected. Evil is still rampant because Dafa practitioners' thoughts and actions have not completely integrated with the universal law, which has given demons gaps in which to hide. When we have done well the three things of studying the Fa, clarifying the truth, and sending forth righteous thoughts, we are walking down the path arranged by Teacher. There is no connection between the already integrated beings of the new cosmos and those beings of the old cosmos, so there is no way the demons can reach us. Whereas, when we have not done the three things well, we are walking the paths arranged by the old cosmos. Teacher does everything for us, and through the process we are only getting rid of our attachments, integrating with the new cosmos, and at the same time establishing the greatest mighty virtue. The path laid out by Teacher is the safest, and the most glorious. Let us be steadfast in our faith in Teacher and the Fa, and walk back home together, hand in hand.

(Clearwisdom.net) I was recently writing letters to clarify the truth. I wrote one letter to the top leaders of China. I talked about some of the facts surrounding the persecution of Dafa and called for the end of the persecution and the restoration of Dafa's good reputation. During the process of writing this letter, I felt a lot of demonic inference and I also came to some understanding from it. Here I am writing this understanding down to share with fellow practitioners.

Before writing this letter, the first obstacle was fear. I was afraid of running into trouble, revealing my identity to them, and being implicated. The second obstacle was laziness. Even if I had quite a bit of time, I still didn't want to start writing. Later, I intensified my Fa-study and realized it was still my "fear" attachment that was affecting me. I realized that if this situation continued, the dark minions would take advantage of my attachment and keep me in this situation for a long time, so that they could then succeed in their plots and hide their dirty deeds of persecuting Dafa. I then intensified my sending forth righteous thoughts. A few weeks later, I was finally able to pick up the pen and finish the letter in one try.

For safety consideration (it was all hand written), I went to another city far away from my residence to mail the letter. The weather was very good on that day, but just after I left home, it became very windy. The gusts of wind mixed with dust and sand kept striking my eyes and it was hard for the wheels of my bike to keep on course because of the wind. I almost thought I was going to be thrown to the ground. I realized that it was the evil trying to interfere with me. It was their final struggle. I sent forth righteous thoughts while going ahead steadily. Eventually, I got to the destination and mailed the letter. On the way back, the wind reduced and the dust and sand stopped striking my eyes.

Afterwards, I realized that the evil is in their final stage and that is why they frantically try to create all kinds of trouble for Dafa practitioners' efforts to validate the Fa. It makes Dafa practitioners show many human notions when doing specific tasks, especially when doing large scale truth-clarification work. However, the more we feel that we don't want to do it, or are afraid of doing it, the more we should do it, because this feeling indicates there are many evil forces around trying to stop you, and once we do it, it means the complete elimination of those evil forces. If we don't do it, it exposes a notion that we should get rid of. That notion will be eliminated when we complete the task.

I thought this was because Dafa practitioners came from very high levels and have good inborn quality and great abilities. Through my experience of truth-clarification and writing this letter, I realized that my previous thoughts were wrong and were actually quite bad. They contained many human notions, the biggest one of which was the show-off mentality and complacency. Isn't thinking of oneself as coming from a high level a very dirty show-off mentality? Now I truly understand that Teacher was saying that it is only because Dafa gives practitioners such great courage, wisdom and virtue that they can do that. In other words, only Dafa can create such superb beings.

The above is just my personal understanding. Fellow practitioners please kindly point out anything improper.

Teacher has mentioned many times the importance of studying the Fa. There are some problems existing in practitioners' study. Besides not having enough time to study the Fa, not being able to calm one's mind and encountering various types of interference, I think some practitioners still have several problems related to studying. I have put my thoughts in writing in order to discuss them with fellow practitioners.

1. Although practitioners are studying the Fa, some practitioners do not let go of certain attachments. They selectively assimilate to Dafa. In Teacher's lectures, Teacher has specifically pointed out and touched on these problems and attachments; yet, some practitioners let it pass, do not refer to Dafa to measure themselves to get rid of their attachments, or conduct themselves by truly following the requirements of Dafa. While studying the Fa, when they read the part referring to their attachments, they quickly pass over it and do not want to think about it. Sometimes, they are even reluctant to or simply don't read some of Teacher's lectures or articles.

2. Some practitioners do not let go of their fundamental attachments. They take the principles of the Fa out of context and use them as an excuse to defend themselves. They even twist or randomly interpret the teachings. This is especially obvious with those who have "enlightened" along an evil path, those who have been transformed by the evil on their own initiative, or those who have become accomplices of the persecution.

3. Some practitioners use the excuse of studying the Fa to stay at home in hiding. They don't clarify the truth to people, nor do they participate in other Fa-rectification activities. Although these people are studying Dafa¡ªand some have been studying for a long time now¡ªthey are holding on to their fear and fundamental attachments. They dare not step out to validate Dafa and they use studying Dafa as an excuse.

4. Some practitioners are attached to the mentality of pursuit and curiosity. They are always anxious to find out if Teacher has any new lectures or has said something new. They do not study Dafa and cultivate solidly and steadfastly. This explains why a while ago, practitioners in some areas were spreading and making copies of CD's with Teacher's unpublished lectures.

Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. He Xiuling died at the hands of the "610 Office" (1) of the Yantai City Police Department after over six months of inhumane torture. Her sister, He Xiuli, helped take care of her funeral. Afterwards, officers from the "610 Office," led by officials of the local residential committee, broke into Ms. He Xiuli's home in broad daylight. Without presenting any legal documents, they started to search the place. In the end Ms. He's family demanded their departure.

Ms. Yin Jun, in her twenties, is a Falun Dafa practitioner in Fusong County, Baishan City, Jilin Province. On June 9, 2004, police in Fusong County arrested her. She has remained on a hunger strike ever since and her life is in imminent danger. It has been reported that she had been sentenced to two and a half years of forced labor in 2002 for exposing the persecution against Falun Gong. She had been put on medical parole due to her physical condition back then.

County code: 86; city code: 439
Main lines of the police department: 6211200, 6211201, 6211204, and 6211205
Gao Feng, head of the police department: 6212815, 6212409, 86-13943953068
Qiu Yuan, head of the legal section of the police department: 6212388, 86-13804499843
Zhang Aimin, head of the political security section of the police department: 6214785, 86-13704490785

Qingdao Falun Dafa practitioner Yin Xinyun hung up a Falun Dafa truth-clarifying banner during the May 1^st holiday season and was taken by police to the Dashan Detention Center in Qingdao City, Shandong Province. Yin went on a hunger strike to resist persecution. Officers in the detention center instigated inmates to brutally beat Yin. As a result, Yin's health deteriorated after suffering injuries all over the body. Given such poor physical condition, Yin was still unlawfully sentenced to two years of forced labor and sent to the Qingdao Forced Labor Camp recently.

In a separate case, Qingdao Falun Dafa practitioner Wang Bingwen has been on a hunger strike in the Qingdao Forced Labor Camp for over ten months. Wang's life is in imminent danger. The police continue to threaten that Wang is to be detained indefinitely.

Liu Xuyun, head of the Qingdao Forced Labor Camp
Main phone line of the labor camp: 86-532-7657501

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liu Yulan, around 72 years old, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa in October 2000. She was intercepted at the Dalian Railroad Station in Liaoning Province. Later she was taken to the Mingze Police Station in Zhongshan District in Dalian for three days, when the police ransacked her home. She was extorted out of 3000 yuan (2) in cash before being released.

In the two years that followed, the local police station, the neighborhood administration office, and the residential committee constantly harassed her. The officials did everything they could in order to try to force Ms. Liu to give up practicing Falun Gong. In September 2003, she passed away under tremendous pressure.

Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Ge Yunling is an employee of the Tianying Company Ltd. in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province. She was unlawfully detained by Zhanhe District police for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. The Zhanhe Court is scheduled to put her on trial around June 20.

At the end of March 2004, Falun Dafa practitioner Jiang Jinlong was again placed under arrest. Without going through any legal procedure, the authorities sentenced Jiang to two years of forced labor. Jiang is being held in the Qingpu District No. 3 Forced Labor Camp in Shanghai.

On February 10, 2004, police officers of Wangdu County in Baoding area, Hebei Province, went out on a countywide campaign to harass Falun Gong practitioners. They were led by Cao Jinyao, deputy head of the police department, and Wang Zhenzhuang, head of the Internal Security Section. At around 10:00 p.m. that night, the police arrested Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Kunzhu in Beikangzhuang Village, Chengguan Town and took her to the Wangdu County Detention Center. During the interrogation, Cao Jinyao and Wang Zhenzhuang pulled her hair, slapped her, and threatened to burn her with a cigarette lighter. On the other hand, Ms. Wang peacefully clarified the truth of the persecution against Falun Gong to the interrogators and the inmates. She also went on a hunger strike. On May 11, 2004, she was unlawfully sentenced to forced labor.

Cao Jinyao: 86-13931250299 (mobile), 86-312-6171866
Wang Zhenzhuang: 86-130320261336 (mobile), 86-312-6171509

On April 24, 2004, Jia Xiangyang, head of the Gudian Township Arms Section, and Cui Haitao, head of the township police station, led officers to ransack the homes of Falun Gong practitioners without presenting any legal documents. They claimed that the practitioners possessed truth-clarifying materials and arrested them. Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Dong Lanxu and Fu Junlou were taken to the Wangdu Detention Center while working in the fields at Shiwulipu Village in Gudian Township. It has been reported that the two practitioners were beaten up during the interrogations in the detention center. The two practitioners have been on hunger strikes.

Country code: 86; city code: 312
Yan Guojie, Party Secretary of Gudian Township in Wangdu County: 732966 (home), 7760966 (office), 86-13933291266 (mobile)
Jia Xiangyan, head of Arms Section of Gudian Township: 7760410 (home)
Cui Haitao, head of Gudian Township Police Station: 7761734 (office), 86-13930272988 (mobile)
Shang Hongzhi, director of Wangdu County "610 Office:" 7836500

On June 5, 2004, officers from the State Security Brigade in Tonghua City, Jilin Province staked out the building where Falun Dafa practitioner Wang Ping lives. Wang was arrested, and the officers also ransacked Wang's home and workplace.

Around 11:00 p.m. on June 10, Falun Dafa practitioner Tang Zhigang, a locomotive operator, was taken to a dormitory room from work for a talk by the company's Party Secretary and half a dozen other officials. The officials tried to coerce Tang into writing the so-called "three statements" [renouncing Falun Gong], which Tang firmly rejected. Tang was subsequently sent to a brainwashing center.

Ms. Zhang Wenjun, retired worker, 66, was turned in to the police by informants for exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. Her monthly retirement pension has been reduced by 180 Yuan since April 2003.

Ms. Kong Dezhen, retired worker, 51, went to appeal for Falun Gong on January 2000. As a result, her monthly retirement pension has been reduced by 180 Yuan. In addition, over 6000 yuan has been taken from her savings plan.

Ms. Huang Qiongxiang, retired worker, 66, was turned in to the police by informants for exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. her monthly retirement pension has been reduced by 180 Yuan from around October 2002 to around September 2003.

Ms. Han Deqing, retired worker, 65, was detained for fifteen days for appealing on behalf of Falun Gong at the end of 1999. She was subjected to brainwashing sessions from July to September 2001. Her monthly retirement pension has been reduced by 288 Yuan since January 2002.

Ms. Xiao Daoming, a retired worker in her sixties, went to appeal for Falun Gong in December 1999. She was detained for fifteen days and died as a result of the persecution in April 2001 in a brainwashing center.

Ms. Li Donglian is a Falun Dafa practitioner at Majiawang Village in Zhuge Town, Yishui County, Linyi City, Shandong Province. On June 6, 2004, she talked to the village's Party Secretary about the persecution of Falun Gong, but the Party Secretary turned her in to the county police department. The state security brigade officers from the county police department arrested Ms. Li. She has since remained in custody.

On May 10, 2004, Bengbu Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Pan Yuling was arrested and taken to the detention center by the "610 Office" while distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials near the building of a department store. She is being held at the Bengbu City No. 1 Detention Center.

Ms. Liu Wenfeng, 42, is a teacher at Xilishangzhuang in Nuzhizhai Township, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. On May 31, 2004, she tried to expose the persecution of Falun Gong to Li Zhiqiang, the principal of the school (whose office telephone number is 86-315-2961423). Li, however, turned Ms. Liu in to the police. On June 4, officers from the Kaiping Branch Police Department ransacked Ms. Liu's home and took her to a brainwashing facility in Tangshan City.

On June 5, 2004, Qinhuangdao Falun Dafa practitioner Ma Lan was arrested by police officers in the Qinhuangdao Development Zone while distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. Ma is being held at the Qinhuangdao No. 2 Detention Center.

Telephone numbers at the Development Zone Police Department in Qinhuangdao City:

Zhu Weiguo and He Xin: 86-335-8052984
Section of Internal Security: 86-0335-8051109

Qinhuangdao Falun Dafa practitioner Li Guanghong was initially held in custody at the Qinhuangdao No. 2 Detention Center for over half a month. On May 31, the Qinhuangdao State Security (formerly the No. 1 Division of Qinhuangdao Police Department notorious for its severe persecution of Falun Gong) was to take Li to the Kaiping Forced Labor Camp in Tangshan City, Hebei Province for one year of forced labor. Li passed out due to heart problems and was taken to the Qinhuangdao Police Hospital, the left side of his body turning purple and swelling up. He was later taken to the forced labor camp directly from the hospital.

Wang Xianzeng, head of the Qinhuangdao State Security Brigade (formerly head of the notorious No. 1 Division): 86-335-3034387 (office), 86-13803351637 (mobile)
Xu Yingbin, police officer: 86-335-3034387

(1) "610 Office": An agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."