  Falun Gong practitioners rally to call for the international community to stop the CCP’s atrocities |   Dr. Torsten Trey states that we cannot ignore the CCP’s atrocities of live organ harvesting |
Completely End the Illegal Detention of Dafa Practitioners in Prisons and Labor Camps
News and Activities from Around the World
Open Forum
Voices of Justice
Facts of the Persecution
Investigating the Organ Harvesting From Falun Gong Practitioners
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
Media Coverage
Music Video
Clearwisdom Material
(Clearwisdom.net) Minghui/Clearwisdom correspondent Wang Ying reports that on July 24, 2006, well-known human rights lawyer Dr. Terri Marsh, representedthe class ofing Falun Gong practitioners whose organs were harvested without their voluntary consent while illegally detained in labor camps, prisons and hospitals across China, as well as their family members, filed an official criminal complaint with the United States Attorney's Office in Massachusetts charging two Chinese surgeons, Chen Zhonghua and Zhu Tongyu with suspected involvement in forced organ removal from living Falun Gong practitioners.
These two surgeons were sued while attending the 2006 World Transplant Congress in Boston. The legal documents were delivered to Chen Zhonghua on the afternoon of July 25. This was the first international human rights complaint Falun Gong practitioners had filed regarding live organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist regime.
Chen Zhonghua is Deputy Committee Director of the Chinese Medical Association Organ Transplant Division. He is also head of the Institute at Huazhong University of Science and Technology's Tongji Medical School. The other physician, Zhu Tongyu, is director of the Organ Transplant Research Center at Shanghai's Zhongshan Hospital. TheDoctors at both hospitals admitted through phone conversations that some transplant organs had come from living Falun Gong practitioners. Please refer to "Telephone Messages: Evidences of Harvesting Organs from Live Falun Gong Practitioners in China" at the website of World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) for more information. (http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/en/)
The complaint requests an investigation of doctors Chen Zhonghua and Zhu Tongyu who are suspected of performing forced organ removal from illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners.
This criminal complaint mainly charges surgeons Chen Zhonghua and Zhu Tongyu with violation of a U.S. anti-torture statute, Title 18, USC Section 2340 and with violation of the Convention Against Torture, ratified in the United States in 1994. The defendants are charged with criminal offenses as head perpetrators or accomplices in the harvesting of organs from living victims, including living Falun Gong practitioners and selling the organs for profit without the victims' consent. The harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners not only violates the anti-torture statute but is actually genocide, the most serious charge within the framework of international criminal law.
According to the first group of investigation reports recently published by the WOIPFG, Tongji Hospital Organ Transplant Research Institute under Chen Zhonghua is an important research laboratory listed by the Chinese Department of Health. This hospital performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants in February 2005 alone.
Falun Gong practitioners said the complaint itself is not their goal. What they hope for is that all medical staff members working in the organ transplant field in China would free themselves from the role of accomplices to the Chinese Communist regime by providing evidence of crimes, to help end this inhuman persecution.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 26, a criminal complaint was filed against Shen Zhongyang, the Director of the Oriental Organ Transplantation Center at The Number One Center Hospital in Tianjin, China, as he attended the World Transplant Congress in Boston. This charge was brought by Falun Gong practitioners after they filed criminal complaint on July 24 against the visiting president of the Tongji Hospital Transplantation Research Institute in Wuhan City, Chen Zhonghua, and the dean of the Zhongshan Hospital Organ Transplantation Center in Shanghai, Zhu Tongyu. The defendants stand accused of violating the United States' "Torture Criminal Statute" (Title 18 USCA Section2340A) and "Torture Convention" approved and implemented by the United States in 1994. The defendants are accused of harvesting, stealing and selling organs from prisoners, including Falun Gong practitioners in prisons without their consent. They should be held accountable for being chief perpetrators or accessory perpetrators, particularly, regarding live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.
The main evidence for charging Shen Zhongyang is that doctors in his hospital admitted in recorded telephone conversation that sources for organ transplants included Falun Gong practitioners. Similar laws and conventions were applied in charging Shen as the criminal complaint filed against Chen Zhonghua and Zhu Tongyu.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Dr. Terri Marsh, said that this was just the beginning for the Falun Gong group to file three criminal complaints within two days. In following days, her Human Rights Association will announce a report, which will elaborate from the point of law in detail the crimes of Chinese Communist regime and each government, from central to local, county, and city, in the persecution of Falun Gong. The reports will be references for international human rights groups and Falun Gong practitioners across the world to file lawsuits. The report will also expose the forceful harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Dr. Marsh further pointed out that the Falun Gong group, she and human rights lawyers helping lawsuits for Falun Gong during recent years, would bring those CCP officials and doctors to justice, especially those not giving up their participation in the persecution.
In the past five years, many US lawyers, including Dr. Marsh, have assisted Falun Gong practitioners to file lawsuits against many CCP officials and exposed the crimes of these officials in the persecution of Falun Gong and the violation of human rights. Some of those sued include Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Xia Deren, Zhao Zhizhen, and Huang Huahua. Currently in the US there are at least four cases pending. The global Falun Gong lawsuits have spread to thirty countries and include 57 cases. The Falun Gong international human rights lawsuits can be claimed as the largest in scale in the twenty-first century.
With the Kilgour/Matas report concluding that organs are being harvested from living Falun Gong practitioners in China, Falun Gong will bring those CCP officials and doctors participating in live organ harvesting to justice for their atrocities.
Dr. Marsh said that all of the horrible atrocities in the persecution of Falun Gong must be exposed completely. She hoped that the US Prosecutor's Office will conduct criminal investigations immediately with respect to these doctors participating in killing for profit.
(Clearwisdom.net) Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners held a rally on July 24, 2006 at Copley Square near the World Transplant Congress in Boston. They protested the CCP’s crimes of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, and at the same time collected signatures to call on the international community to combine efforts to stop the CCP’s atrocities in the persecution of Falun Gong. Dr. Torsten Trey from Germany stated that we cannot ignore the CCP’s atrocities.
Falun Gong practitioners rally to call for the international community to stop the CCP’s atrocities | Dr. Torsten Trey states that we cannot ignore the CCP’s atrocities of live organ harvesting |
The organizer of the rally, Falun Gong practitioner Mary Barong introduced the activities they would hold that day. She said, "Today’s activities mainly include displaying photos, passing out flyers, and collecting signatures. We also have a rally where some professionals who oppose the organs harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners and crimes of genocide will make speeches. They came from medical and legal circles, social and local groups."
Mary said that Falun Gong practitioners will hold a series of activities during the WTC, with the purpose of informing people of the CCP’s crimes of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. She said, "Our activities started on July 22nd, including group practice, reenactment of torture methods and reenactment of the live organ harvesting done by the CCP, ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’ Art Exhibit, truth clarification display boards and boards with the message ‘What Can You Do?’ At the same time, some practitioners passed out truth clarification materials and displayed photos nearby. All these activities will be held simultaneously until the Congress is over on July 27th."
Dr. Torsten Trey from Germany, who came to attend the first World Transplant Congress said at the rally, "If we ignore the systematic persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and the harvesting of their organs when they are still alive taking place in China, it will tarnish the reputation of the world’s organ transplant field."
Dr. Trey also revealed that a surgeon for organ transplant from Tianjin told him during the conference, that his hospital is one of the three that are able to do organ transplant operations in Tianjin. They did about 2,000 liver transplants in one year. Dr. Trey said, "This number exceeds the operations done in all of Germany in one year. We cannot help but ask where the suppliers of these livers came from."
|
|
Falun Gong practitioners’ activities attracted attention from many passersby, and many signed petitions to show their support.
An African-American man signed his name on the petition cloth to show his support and said, "Any deliberate deprivation of others’ lives is wrong, including harvesting organs from unwilling live people and intentionally using fatal medicine." A Boston resident said, "No one has the right to use violence on others, we should not allow all this to happen. Look at these photos depicting the brutal tortures. I support all that you are doing (to end the violence)."
(Clearwisdom.net) During the World Transplant Congress (WTC), a forum on the "CCP’s live organ removal" was held at the Hilton Hotel in Boston. Nearly 200 WTC delegates participated in the forum and read the investigation report on the allegations that organs are being harvested from living Falun Gong practitioners in China, written by David Kilgour and David Matas. Many doctors gave speeches and talked about how to stop the live organ removal from Falun Gong practitioners for profit.
  Forum on "CCP’s live organ harvesting" |
The Sound of Hope reported on July 25 that a transplant doctor from Chicago gave a speech saying that the live organ removal is more evil than what took place in Nazi Germany during World War II. Current governments pay attention to commercial interests and put moral issues aside. The International transplantation community opposes such live organ removal, and it is very important to stop such actions. The next step is to take the issue to the World Court.
A member of ethics committee of the WTC from North Carolina said that the CCP’s live organ removal is horrible and should stop immediately.
Doctor Charles George from Sydney said that three of his patients went to China to buy kidneys. He suspected that they knew the source of the kidneys. He thought that these patients had committed a crime by extending their own life by the killing of others. Thus, going to China for organ transplantation should be regarded as a capital crime. Governments should ask doctors to report such cases after the patients return. He also said that doctors should deny services to such patients.
(Clearwisdom.net) Australian MP Andrew Bartlett recently joined the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG). He stated in an interview that the Australian government is obliged to take more actions in the face of the allegations of the CCP’s organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners, and make sure the public learns all facts.
 |
Increase public opinion pressure to help stop the persecution
As early as the first revelation that the CCP was harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit, Senator Andrew Bartlett made a speech at a rally held in Queensland to support quitting the CCP and exposing the crimes of live organ harvesting. He said, "Everyone today passing by the rally, should ask himself/herself: what can I do to stop the persecution? We cannot remain silent over the trampling upon human rights for commercial and economic interests." When two Canadian independent investigators released their report, the Senator felt he had the responsibility to pay more attention to such serious violations of human rights. Not long ago, he joined the CIPFG.
Senator Bartlett believes that any prosperous area should have basic human rights. This is very important. That is to say, when acts of human rights violation occur, we should pay more attention. He expressed that the CIPFG hopes to raise people’s awareness of human rights violations, and give support to those persecuted people. In terms of human rights issues, they will make use of various channels to increase the pressure of public opinion to help stop the persecution.
Australian government must take specific actions, and make sure that the public knows all facts
Andrew Bartlett expressed that the Canadian independent investigative report has drawn great attention. It concludes that the allegations of the CCP’s organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners are true. Therefore, Australia is obliged to show immediate concern over China, and governments in other countries also want to learn all facts.
He believes that the Australian government’s record shows that the Chinese government (CCP) has seriously violated human rights. China has attempted to cover up the facts on many issues, but it fails to do so.
For the sake of the country and the region, the Australian people should pay attention to the human rights violations, and take the lead. Especially, as Australia and China have constantly increased trade interactions, whit increasing opportunities for the Chinese technical workers to work in Australia, and the coming Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, all this makes the Australian government feel obliged to take more action. Especially with respect to the allegations of live organ harvesting, the Australian government should take special actions to make sure that the public learns all facts.
Help citizens who might go to China for treatment learn what can possibly happen
Senator Bartlett expressed that the Australian government is obliged to let the citizens who go to China for organ transplants know what will possibly happen. The Australian government is responsible for taking more actions to exert pressure on the Chinese government to obtain all the facts. Not only do the facts need to be thoroughly exposed, but Australian citizens who go to China for treatment must be informed of what is happening there. The Australian government bears a very important responsibility to make sure that the citizens know about what will probably happen.
Senator Bartlett stated that the Australian government has not given priority to human rights on many issues, and has not fulfilled its promise on human rights. It is unacceptable. He believes that it will bring harm to the interest of Australia, as a democratic country, neither helpful for the Australia’s prosperous development in future, because it is against our human nature. He firmly believes that all social strata should be committed to basic human rights.
He said that he will try his best to get together with others, to utilize political democratic procedures, and to increase public opinion to urge the Australian government to pay more attention to human rights.
(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong has lasted seven years. After the independent investigation report confirmed the allegations about the CCP atrocity of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, more and more governments and people have expressed their concern.
On July 23, 2006, Freedom China of Melbourne, Australia organized a rally on Federal Plaza entitled, "Call on Conscience, Focus on Basic Human Rights." The president of Freedom China, Mr. Michael Anderson hosted the rally. A representative of Victoria Province, the City Mayor, democracy advocates, the Falun Dafa Association of Victoria Province and representatives from many other organization gave speeches at the rally. There was also a photo exhibition and a re-enactment of the organ harvesting from living persons. The largest local newspaper and local TV stations reported the event.
 Freedom China organizes a rally on Federal Plaza, Melbourne on July 23, 2006 |
 A photographer from a local newspaper is taking pictures |  People sign their names to support Falun Gong, and ask for truth-clarification materials |
 |  |
People ask for more details about the persecution
Spokesperson of CIPFG: "This is not just about Falun Gong. It is about everyone"
 Spokesperson Mr. Xiao Zhonghua from CIPFG Australia giving a speech |
A spokesperson for the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, Australia Branch, Mr. Xiao Zhonghua, gave a speech at the rally. He said that David Matas, international human rights lawyer, and David Kilgour, former Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) for Canada formed an independent investigation team and released their report to the media on July 6, 2006. Mr. Matas said that this was a new form of evil never before seen on this planet. In the report, they concluded, "Based on what we now know, we have come to the regrettable conclusion that the allegations are true. We believe that there has been and continues today to be large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."
Xiao asked, "Facing such an evil, attendees of the rally, people passing by, what shall we do? This is not just about Falun Gong. It is about everyone. This is a moral choice every one of us must make. Are we going to keep silent and continue our daily life? Or do we follow our conscience and make our contributions to change it. At least you can write letter to your representative in Parliament, write letters to the local media and organize a forum to let more people know about it. There is one person in Melbourne who wrote a letter to a local newspaper. A reporter interviewed local Falun Gong practitioners and wrote a detailed report. The newspaper has a circulation of 50,000 thus there had to be about 50,000 people who learned truth. This started from one person's letter."
Spokesperson of Green Party Refugee Affairs: "Australia must start an independent investigation"
 Spokesperson Peter Job of Refugee Affairs from Green Party |
Peter Job of Refugee Affairs from the Green Party cited a sentence from senator Bob Brown, leader of the Green Party, "Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Donald ought to start an independent investigation on claims of China's political prisoners' being killed to provide organs for the world organ transplant market."
Job said that separating trade from China's human rights was totally wrong. It was kowtowing to Chinese Communist Party. It is not acceptable to kowtow to a dictatorship that is violating human rights. It is a shame to allow a leader from a dictatorship that is mercilessly killing political prisoners, Falun Gong practitioners, Catholics and other dissidents, to speak at the Parliament of Australia.
Representative of Victoria Province: "The murders are happening in China"
 Representative of Victoria Province, Mr. Victor Perton addressing the rally |
Representative of Victoria Province, Victor Perton is a descendant of Latvia whose father and grandfather were persecuted and killed by the Communist Party. He said that the Australians protested when an Australian young man was sentenced to death in Singapore. Now the crime of harvesting organs from living people to sell for profit is happening in China. He called on the people who were enjoying their vacations and enjoying freedom to look in this direction to see the Falun Gong practitioners' re-enactment of the CCP's brutal organ harvesting practice. During his emotional speech, more and more people on the square came to the rally.
President of National Civic Council: "Invite the Canadian Investigation Group to visit Australia"
A representative from the National Civic Council, Mr. Peter Westmore read a statement. He said the council was sympathetic to Falun Gong practitioners' tribulation in China. China has become a country with the most organ transplants in the world. The Chinese government is killing its own people for money. Australia has the responsibility to stop this. He believes that China will change under the pressure from the world. He has invited the two independent investigators from Canada to testify in Australia.
Mayor of Maribyrnong: "The Canada report is very convincing"
 Mayor of Maribyrnong Ms. Jana Rice is speaking at the rally |
The Mayor of Maribyrnong, Ms. Jana Rice, said that after she read the independent investigation report from David Kilgour and David Matas about the CCP harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, she immediately wrote a letter to Prime Minister Howard. She said the report is very convincing and the facts are shocking. People in China are jailed for their belief or political reasons and their organs are harvested unwillingly. But Minister of Foreign Affairs Downer said he can do nothing in this matter. Rice believed she has the responsibility to tell the Chinese government that they can't treat Chinese citizens like this. Rice urges people to act and to help more people know about this situation.
Ruan Jie: "End the Communist Party's Tyranny"
|
|
Other speakers at the rally included former Chinese Consulate official Chen Yonglin, former policeman in Beijing and democracy advocate Sun Liyong, Australian Tibet Council representative Huw Slater, Liberal Jurist Yuan Hongbin and General Secretary of China Democratic Melbourne League, Zhang Weiqiang. They called for close attention to China's deteriorating human rights situation.
Brian is a resident of east Melbourne. He attended the entire rally. He said, "Every weekend, I see Falun Gong practitioners doing exercises under a tree in the park facing my house. That is a beautiful and peaceful scene. One day, I read a report about how Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted in China. I was very upset. I talked to them and expressed my support and sympathy. I heard about the rally supporting Falun Gong today so I came."
Mr. Pan is from China. He shook his head and said, "As for harvesting organs, it is a sure thing in mainland China. Some Chinese said they didn't believe it. I think they actually dare not to say they believe or they have never lived in mainland China. How can a Chinese from mainland China not know about [the crimes of the] Chinese Communist Party? I think they are so scared by the CCP, they dare not speak the truth."
(Clearwisdom.net) July 20, 1999 was the day on which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the seven-year-long persecution of Falun Gong. On the night of July 20, 2006, several hundred Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Central Standard Garden to hold a candlelight vigil. Falun Gong strongly condemns the CCP’s inhuman crime of organ harvesting from living people and numerous other atrocities, and calls on governments, organizations, the media and every person in the world to prohibit the Communist Party’s continued killing.
  On July 20 2006, several hundred Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners held a candlelight vigil in Central Standard Garden |
  Family members of illegally-jailed Falun Gong practitioners speak to the public asking for help to rescue their relatives |
Falun Gong practitioner Miss Zeng said that being a particle of the unity of cultivators, everyone has the responsibility to stop the CCP’s atrocities. "The recently exposed crime of organ harvesting is very severe and upsetting. The CCP cuts out the organs when a person is still alive and sell the organs for profit. Knowing of these crimes pains my heart. That is the reason why we are here tonight to call on people from all walks of life to support our endeavors to end the persecution. We will persist with our belief because we did nothing wrong."
Falun Gong promotes cultivation of Truthfulness Compassion and Tolerance.
Zhu Keming, who was secretly jailed in China for five years because he sued the former Chinese President in court for the inhuman persecution of Falun Gong, said he had experienced a lot in the past seven years. He said, "The persecution of Falun Gong is actually a challenge to all civilized countries in the world. Those who are indifferent are also the victims of the CCP’s lies."
Some the participants of the rally were family members of Falun Gong practitioners being jailed and persecuted by the CCP in China. They called on society to extend their hand to help rescue their family members.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20 2006, Israeli Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibit and truth clarification photo exhibit on Rabin Square at Tel Avivto protest the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. That day, practitioners collected several hundred signatures protesting the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. Some young Israelis also participated in the activity organized by Falun Gong practitioners.
  Protesting against the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong on Rabin Square |
  Simulating the CCP’s organ harvesting |
 The tourists also participate in the activities of protest against the CCP |
  Signing to protest the CCP’s persecution |
  Signing to protest against the CCP’s persecution |
Israeli practitioners shared their understandings on how to clarify the facts to people under the current circumstances of warfare in Israel. Practitioners realized that the war happening recently interferes with our truth clarification activities and attracts people’s attention to the war. Practitioners realized that, as Dafa practitioners, the three things should be done well under any circumstances.
Starting from 7:00 a.m., practitioners from different places across Israel came to the square near the Tel Aviv city hall to hold a reenactment of the CCP’s atrocity of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. Some practitioners handed out flyers and clarified the truth to passers-by. On the day, several hundreds signatures were collected in support of the protest against the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.
Between 5:00 p.m. And 7:00 p.m., practitioners held a rally and also performed traditional dancing. A representative from the Falun Dafa Association said that "as in many other places in the world, today we are here to protest against the CCP’s 7-year long persecution of Falun Gong. The evidence exposed in March this year indicates that, in the CCP’s concentration camps, Falun Gong practitioners’ organs have been harvested while they are still alive and sold for profit. The first concentration camp exposed was the Sujiatun concentration camp, then another witness pointed out that there are another 36 concentration camps like the one in Sujiatun across China."
 |
  |
  |
Clarifying the facts
A middle school student from Jerusalem said that when she heard about the organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners and the persecution experienced by Falun Gong practitioners, she felt extremely shocked. From that time, she started to collect signatures at the school and boy-scouts for stopping the persecution. Today she deliberately came here to express her support.
Eve, a passer-by, said that, "I feel shocked, I heard of this practice (Falun Gong) before, but I didn’t know about the persecution. My grandfather once was a state prisoner in a prison of Stalin's government. Looking at it from the historical point of view, the development of evil forces is really astonishing. "
It is worth mentioning that some Israeli young people joined in with the Falun Gong practitioners’ activities.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners from Tainan City, Taiwan organized a candlelight music concert on the square in front of Dongning Sport Park. They hoped to display the beauty of Falun Dafa through music, and to help more people learn the truth about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin’s persecution of Falun Gong and thus recognize the CCP’s evil nature.
 Tainan candlelight vigil, July 20, 2006 |
 Falun Gong exercise demonstration at Tainan candlelight vigil and concert |
Over 200 Falun Gong practitioners from the Tainan area attended the candlelight vigil and concert. The event was to commemorate the thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who lost their lives during the seven-year-long persecution. Practitioners gave a Falun Gong exercise demonstration, showed video programs exposing the CCPs’ atrocities, performed songs, gave an Erhu performances (a traditional Chinese instrument), and Japanese friend Akiiga Minako performed on the guitar and sang. The candlelight vigil was solemn and peaceful. It looked like a sea of candles in front of each participant.
 Guests at the candlelight vigil included Ms. Chen Tingfei, City Council (first on left), Wang Dingyu, City Council (third from right), and Cheng Jianguo, Secretary of the City Government (second from right) |
Many elected officials were invited to the candlelight vigil and gave speeches. City Council member Chen Tingfei said that we needed to take action to support Falun Gong’s human rights endeavors. All Tainan City Council members, regardless of political party, unanimously condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s organ harvesting atrocity.
Other guests also spoke to support Falun Gong’s endeavors. They expressed their wish for this righteous movement to become stronger and for the CCP's persecution to end soon.
During the concert, many passersby stopped to read the banners and watch the performances.
The Falun Dafa Association of Taiwan calls on Taiwanese people from all walks of life to support the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. The CIPFG is seeking entry into mainland China to investigate all forced labor camps and prisons, so as to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s atrocities in the persecution of Falun Gong.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20 and 22 2006, Falun Gong practitioners in Adelaide held a truth-clarification activity on Victoria Square to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s atrocity of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. They called on society to support the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), urging their approval for entry into China to conduct investigations in labor camps, and end the seven-year-long persecution of Falun Gong.
  |
Many passersby had already learned the truth. When they saw the banner, they went directly to the table to sign their names. Some said, "I know Falun Gong is peaceful. I want to sign my name to support them." A western young man talked to a practitioner and learned the truth. He took some truth-clarification materials and a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. He said he wanted to give these materials to his girlfriend who was from Tianjin City and wanted her to learn the truth. The awakened people are clarifying truth to others now.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 23, 2006, practitioners from Durban, South Africa came to the local Chinese Consulate to protest the CCP's seven-year cruel persecution against Falun Gong practitioners, and to strongly condemn the atrocities of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners committed by the Chinese Communist regime.
  |
(Clearwisdom.net) At 7 pm on July 20, 2006, practitioners in Lima, Peru came to the Chinese Embassy in Lima to protest the Chinese communist Party's seven-year persecution of Falun Gong, and to protest the Chinese Communist Party's crimes of persecuting and stealing practitioners' organs. They called on the international community to work together to end the most cruel persecution in history. Practitioners lit candles to commemorate those practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution in China.
|
|
|
Falun Gong practitioners in Peru protest the persecution outside the Chinese Embassy
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 22, 2006, the Russian Falun Gong practitioners rallied in Moscow to expose the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong over the past seven years, call for an end to the persecution, and thoroughly abolish the illegal detention of Dafa practitioners in forced labor camps and jails. At the rally, practitioners set up truth clarification display boards to expose the over 100 torture methods used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP in labor camps and jails, banners reading " Justice cannot tolerate the CCP’s crimes of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and killing them." Practitioners also held a reenactment of the CCP’s organ harvesting from living persons. Some practitioners were distributing the truth clarification materials at train stations, tube stations, and shops nearby.
During the three-hour rally, practitioners used a megaphone to introduce what Falun Dafa is, the situation of Falun Dafa spreading to over 70 countries all over the world, and the truth about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong over the past seven years. Many passers-by came to our rally to read the display boards, and listen to practitioners talk about the facts. People could hardly believe that nowadays there is still such an evil persecution existing in the world. Many people took the initiative to sign their names on the petition letter calling for a thorough investigation of the CCP’s crimes and expressed their support for justice and condemnation of the evildoers. In front of the truth, people’s consciences were awakened, and at many times there was a long queue waiting to sign on the spot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners from across New Zealand held a rally in the rain in front of the Wellington Parliament Building to call for the international community to help stop the CCP’s brutal and inhuman persecution of Falun Gong that has persisted for seven years. Several MPs came to the rally to condemn the persecution and support Falun Gong.
|
|
|
|
|
Falun Gong spokesperson Eric Robinson said, "On July 20, 1999, the CCP initiated a persecution campaign against Falun Gong. The persecution is the most inhuman in human history." He said, "The CCP’s persecution, on the surface, goes all out to cover up, but actually has escalated. Since March, the revelation of the CCP’s atrocities of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, shows that the CCP has applied all means possible in the persecution, to an extent of being unbelievable. "
Robinson said, "An independent investigative report co-authored by former Canadian MP and renowned human rights lawyer, concluded that allegations of live organ harvesting are true."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three New Zealand MPs from different parties made speeches at the rally. They expressed their condemnation of the persecution and support for Falun Gong's human rights. Green Party spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Keith Lock came to express his support before going to attend a conference at the Parliament.
Mr. Lock said that, regarding current organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners, the CCP should allow the international independent investigative organizations to investigate. Every country should organize its own independent investigation team to go to China to investigate and collect evidence."
The National Party MP expressed in his speech that the CCP’s seven-year persecution of Falun Gong is similar to what happened in Nazi Germany.
The United Future Party leader Peter Dunne called on the New Zealand government to take feasible measures to let more people pay attention to the horrible persecution happening in China. He said, "Falun Gong cultivators have been persevering in protest for the freedom of belief and for their dignity. I stand with you, to support your appeal all the way until the end of the persecution. Long Live Freedom!" The Maori Party also sent a letter to Falun Gong practitioners at the rally to express its support.
(Clearwisdom.net) Coinciding with CCP 610 Office head Li Lanqiang’s visit to Singapore, the Singapore authorities have brought a series of unreasonable charges against Falun Gong practitioners. Obviously, the Singapore government is bowing to pressure and creating incidents of persecution in order to curry favor with the CCP. The following are some of the illegal charges brought against Falun Gong practitioners by the Singapore government.
On July 10, 2006, Singapore police brought charges against nine Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore for "assembly without permit" for the dissemination of truth-clarification materials about Falun Gong and flyers supporting five million people quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations along Orchard Road and Orchard Underpass on October 22 to 23, 2005. On July 14, the nine practitioners appeared in court and all pleaded not guilty. The judge extended the case for one week for eight practitioners until July 21st, and another practitioner was given three weeks’ extension until August 4, 2006.
On July 20, 2006, three Falun Gong practitioners, including Ng Chye Huay, Erh Boon Tiong, and Chen Peiyu meditated while on hunger strike in front of the Chinese Embassy to protest the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong that has persisted for seven years. The same morning, the police arrested them and charged them with "harassment by displaying insulting writings-with common intention." The three practitioners appeared in Subordinate Court the next day (July 21st) and denied the charge. The judge allowed them to be bailed out. Because they did not have a lawyer representing them, the judge ordered them to be back in court on July 28.
On July 21, eight practitioners appeared in the 23rd courtroom for the hearing. As none of them had a lawyer to represent them, the judge told them to be back in court on July 28.
Currently, ten practitioners will appear in court again on July 28, (Friday).
At present, Falun Gong practitioners around the world have delivered petition letters to Singapore embassies and consulates in their respective countries, calling on the Singapore government to withdraw the charges against the practitioners, and not to bow to pressure from the CCP to persecute Falun Gong.
(Clearwisdom.net) On the morning of July 21, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners in Denmark went to the General Consulate of Singapore in Copenhagen and delivered a letter from the Falun Dafa Association of Denmark, requesting the Singapore authorities to withdraw their unreasonable accusation against Falun Gong practitioners, and not to join the persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP.
|
|
|
In the morning that dayThat morning, some of the Falun Gong practitioners went to the front door of the General Consulate of Singapore. They displayed the banners saying, "Falun Dafa is good", "Singapore Government should withdraw the unreasonable accusation against Falun Gong practitioners, and not join the persecution of Falun Gong", "Let’s all help to end the persecution of Falun Gong", in both Chinese and English. A staff member of the consulate listened to the Falun Gong practitioners conscientiously, and accepted the letter from the practitioners along with all other information, such as the "Truth about Falun Gong", the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and information about the CCP’s organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners.
The Falun Dafa Association in Denmark told the consulate staff members in the letter that unfair treatment of Falun Gong practitioners is happening in Singapore. In the past seven years, Falun Gong practitioners have been trying to use all methods to tell people about the truth of the persecution that is happening in China, and their methods are all legal and protected by law in democratic countries. The number of people who know what Falun Gong is and the truth about the persecution of the CCP is growing. Especially after the organ harvesting in China was exposed, many governments and the public realized the real nature of the CCP. Already, 12 million people have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
The Denmark practitioners are hoping that the Singapore government can see the real situation, put itself into the right position, not follow the CCP, and withdraw the unreasonable accusations against the Falun Gong practitioners.
(Clearwisdom.net) It has been seven years since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) first started persecuting Falun Gong on the 20th of July 1999. With indomitable spirit, Falun Gong practitioners have been fighting against violence peacefully, and more and more people have learned the truth about the persecution and have seen through the evil nature of the CCP. Since the appalling dark secret of the CCP harvesting organs for profit from living Falun Gong practitioners has been exposed, more than ever, people have renounced the CCP and its affiliate associations. At this critical historical moment when the CCP is heading towards its destruction, practitioners in Sweden are concerned about the future of their fellow countrymen in the Business Affairs Department at the Chinese Embassy. At 5:00 p.m. on the 19th of July, some twenty practitioners came to the Embassy to express their concern by handing in a letter of advice along with truth-clarification materials. They also did a group exercise demonstration.
 Peaceful protest in front of Chinese embassy |
Full text of the letter follows:
19th July 2006
Fellow Countrymen at the Business Affairs Department of the Embassy,
Greetings!
Perhaps you have heard this shocking news: organs are harvested from living Falun Gong practitioners and sold for profit. After being disclosed this March by two witnesses unrelated to Falun Gong, the practice has been verified by the independent investigations of two Canadians, a former Member of Parliament, Mr. David Kilgour, and a respected human rights lawyer, Mr. David Matas. On the 6th of July they held a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to release the Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China.
Seven years ago, the CCP started large-scale illegal detention and atrocious persecution of a peaceful group of people who firmly believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." The brutality of the persecution is beyond description and is best characterized as "a form of evil we have yet to see on this planet" as per the international community.
Those of us who live overseas are deeply proud of the long history and rich culture of our Chinese nation. We are also pleased to see the improvement in living standards in China brought about by China’s economic development. However, we have all witnessed the rapid deterioration of morals in the society. The only source of moral improvement lies in awakened people. Only if people’s minds and hearts are purified, can various unhealthy phenomena in society be eliminated.
Falun Gong follows the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." Cultivators are all good people, which is a common understanding around the world. During the seven years of persecution, just for clarifying the truth in China, practitioners who benefited mentally and physically from Falun Gong have been illegally detained, their homes ransacked, they have been sent to labour camps, sentenced to jail or even lost their lives. All practitioners have done for seven years is clarifying the facts. Instead of resorting to violence in the face of persecution, time and again, we consider further from your point of view how to make you understand better. The elimination of the CCP is God’s will. Falun Gong practitioners merely inform people so that the innocent can renounce the CCP and its affiliate associations in time not to be implicated when the CCP is eliminated.
Since the CCP came into power, each political movement, be it the Cultural Revolution or the Tiananmen Square massacre, brought tremendous calamity to the Chinese people. As many as eighty million innocent lives have been lost through the various political conflicts of the CCP. A life for a life is the law of the universe. How could the several million ghosts of those murdered let it go so easily? How could a political party that is the enemy of heaven, earth and gods not eliminated by the universe? Both history and reality clearly indicate: God’s elimination of the CCP is inevitable. The Communist Party of the former Soviet Union fell apart overnight. How could a dynasty survive if heaven intends to end it? In the five thousand years of Chinese history, no dynasty has lasted forever. Are you ready to join this huge wave of renouncement? One of these days the CCP will collapse. What will your position be when that happens? All these questions are closely linked to your future.
On major matters of principle, everyone has to be responsible for his or her own future. Every bit of kindness and righteousness further restrains the evil. When the critical moment in history quietly approaches, no one will be left out. Everything each person does is accumulating virtue or karma for oneself, which concerns one’s future.
We sincerely hope that you can read through Falun Gong’s truth-clarification materials, which are closely related to your survival, when you have a chance.
Just like the Falun Gong practitioners in China, we have all Chinese people on our minds. By clarifying the truth, we wish a bright future for all those fellow countrymen who still have kindness left in their hearts.
Best regards,
Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden
(Clearwisdom.net) When the CCP's unprecedentedly evil persecution of Falun Gong is being exposed more and more, and when the international community is poised to carry out large-scale investigations and criticism of the CCP's atrocities, the Singapore authorities act against the world trend and tarnish the dignity of the law. In the name of so-called "unlawful assembly" they brought a false charge against nine local Falun Gong practitioners who disseminated the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong in a peaceful manner. In addition, the Singapore authorities instructed the Singapore media to attack and slander Falun Gong to generate support for its false charge against the Falun Gong practitioners.
Singapore claims to be a democratic country. During the seven years in which the CCP has wantonly trampled on the Chinese people's basic human rights of freedom of belief, the Singapore authorities have not upheld justice nor condemned the criminals; instead, on multiple occasions they have stopped Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful and law-abiding truth clarification activities, such as distributing flyers in public places and even filed charges against the practitioners. This kind of shortsighted conduct, which assists the CCP to do evil, not only brings greater pressure to bear on Chinese Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China, but also brings shame to Singapore in the international community. Such conduct by the Singapore authorities uses ideology to tarnish the dignity of the law.
The Singapore authorities may draw a lesson from a story in Chinese history. Emperor Zhou Li did a lot of bad things and was criticized by his people. Instead of listening to people's criticism and amend his wrongdoings, Emperor Zhou Li did the opposite. He incriminated those voicing their thoughts and strengthened the repression. On the surface the tough policies were effective, as the people dared not say anything anymore. Nevertheless, three years later, people resorted to action instead of words and overthrew Emperor Zhou Li.
Falun Gong practitioners have no political agenda. They sacrifice themselves to clarify the truth of the persecution with peaceful means in order to stop the persecution. If Singapore authorities restrict such a fundamental, democratic freedom of expression, I am afraid Chinese history books will associate them with the tyrants.
On July 6, two Canadian independent investigators, former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region David Kilgour and human rights attorney David Matas published a report on organ harvesting from living Falun Gong Practitioners in China. The report concluded that the allegations are true, and that such a human rights abuse is a crime against humanity. The report has aroused extensive interest from the Western media and the public at large.
Two weeks later, the Ontario Supreme Court in Canada made a decision on a torture lawsuit: it approved the request of the plaintiffs--six Falun Gong practitioners who are victims of torture--that there is no need to serve indictments and other legal documents on the defendants, such as former head of state Jiang Zemin and four other Chinese officials. This court motion paved the way to try in absentia the persecution organizers and perpetrators: Jiang Zemin, Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Wang Maolin.
We hope the Singapore authorities will fairly evaluate the situation, distinguish between right and wrong, and correctly position themselves before the CCP's prime culprits responsible for the persecution face trial.
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 28, a Singapore court will conduct a trial based on a so-called "illegal gathering of Falun Gong practitioners". Over ten Falun Gong practitioners will defend their innocence in court. A Clearwisdom.net correspondent has conducted the following interview with human rights lawyer Terri Marsh.
Dr. Marsh: The arrest of the nine practitioners of Falun Gong in Singapore is one more example of the lack of a rule of law in this nation. The arrest and charges say little about the conduct of those arrested, but quite a bit about the conduct of those responsible for their arrest.
First, it is important to understand that a viable legal system is always based on a rule of law. As Ronald Dworkin, Oxford Professor of Law and Jurisprudence explains in A Matter of Principle, Harvard University Press (Cambridge MA, 1985) a rule of law requires a judicial branch of government which operates independent of legislative and executive branches; an array of due process rights that not only include oversight of the judicial process itself, right to a fair trial, and right to cross examine one accusers, but also includes individual citizens right to a set of rules available to all that make clear what behaviors are legal and/or illegal. Without such a set of rules, the law is merely a tool of those in power who use it to maintain their control.
Of course as all lawyers know well, the precise parameters of lawful or unlawful conduct is never clear from a book of rules or a criminal code. The parameters of permitted and impermissible conduct are based on how the book of rules is interpreted and applied by the state. If for example citizens of "Nation A" walk their dogs on public walkways openly and in public and if "Nation A" has no rule book law that specifically prohibits dog walking on public walkways, it would be a breakdown in due process and of the rule of law to put some group or class at a disadvantage by arresting them for behavior the state acknowledges is perfectly legal and permitted. The same analysis applies of course to the use of public areas to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, by the distribution of flyers or in other ways not specifically proscribed by Singapore law.
The behavior of the government of Singapore does not meet muster. It fails the ‘rule of law’ test miserably. By and through its recent arrest of Singapore citizens, citizens who were arrested for behavior conducted more than 9 months after it took place, without a warning, an investigation or any other signal indicating that it qualifies as illegal and not permitted conduct, Singapore has joined the People’s Republic of China as a dictatorship that uses the law to maintain power and control.
Of course, in China the evidence is even more stark as is clear from a January 14, 2000 Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procurorate Circular ("Proposals Concerning Issues Related to the Handling of Falun Gong Criminal Cases"). Section five of this government report makes clear that the prosecutorial and judicial branch must "exchange opinions and cooperate with each other in handling Falun Gong cases [by their] agreement on facts, witnesses, and charges ahead of time."
In China, the Judge knows well the verdict and sentence before a Falun Gong practitioner is brought before her or him. Based on the latest arrest of innocent practitioners of Falun Gong in Singapore, and the groundless conviction of others prior to (a conviction based not on proof beyond a reasonable doubt but findings of fact and law that would not hold up in a US court by any stretch of the imagination), it is more likely than not that the Singapore 9 have already been deprived of their right to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty as well as most other due process rights.
In our observations about this case, its imperative to look at the case as an illustration of a breakdown of the legal system in Singapore and not an error or mistake (much less crime) of the Singapore Nine.
(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners in Italy had filed a libel suit against Europe Overseas Chinese News, a Chinese newspaper published in Italy for slandering Falun Gong. The case ended on July 6, 2006. A court in Milan, Italy issued a verdict announcing that Falun Gong practitioners had prevailed. The newspaper's chief editor and reporter Jiang Ming, who co-wrote the article attacking Falun Gong under the pen name Tai Shan, were assessed fines. Minghui correspondent Wu interviewed Ms. Lan Ning, a Falun Gong practitioner in Italy.
Reporter: Hello, Ms. Lan Ning. A Milan court convicted the Europe Overseas Chinese News, a Chinese newspaper in Italy, of libel. What happened that made you bring suit?
Lan: Around the end of 2001 and early in 2002, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wanted to export the persecution of Falun Gong abroad, so Chinese consulates and embassies in Italy organized several photo exhibits to "expose and attack" Falun Gong. All the content in the exhibits were fabricated incidents and were slanderous of Falun Gong.
Several other Chinese media including Europe Overseas Chinese News reported on the photo exhibit. They quoted exclusively the CCP's slanderous propaganda against Falun Gong, which made many overseas Chinese people believe that hate propaganda, without any understanding of Falun Gong. They were filled with hatred toward Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong practitioners in Italy filed lawsuits with courts in Milan and Rome against these Chinese media and against people who slandered Falun Gong through the Chinese media in Italy.
Reporter: I read a report that said the Italian judge announced in court that the defendants or other people who said or wrote things to slander Falun Gong had sufficient resources and readily available access to learn the facts about Falun Gong. Why do you think they still slandered Falun Gong?
Lan: There are several reasons. First, they admit they did it with the motivation from and arrangements by the Chinese Consulate. They did not initiate it. The Chinese Consulate arranged for some Chinese people to be interviewed by pro-CCP media to say bad things about Falun Gong. This is the main reason. Another reason is a few individuals did actively follow the CCP's policy of persecution against Falun Gong.
Reporter: What are the consequences for the Europe Overseas Chinese News after they lost the case?
Lan: They were issued fines of under 100,000 Euros.
Reporter: A criminal case carries more weight than a civil lawsuit. What are the implications for the defendants in terms of their work and life in Italy after they were handed a guilty verdict?
Lan: People from Mainland China and other countries should know that you must present a document to prove you are free of crimes before you go through any major process. In this case, the defendants would have to present a document that says he has been convicted of libel, and his reputation would be adversely affected. A bad reputation would hurt his livelihood in many regards, such as looking for a job, applying for a loan and dealing with various segments of the government and people.
Reporter: This lawsuit, begun in 2002, went on for four years. Why did it take so long?
Lan: We filed it as a criminal lawsuit. According to Italian law, after a criminal lawsuit is filed, the first stage is investigation. The police and other related government agencies investigated the defendants. The investigations alone took some time. We also had numerous in-court arguments and clarified the facts. The whole process took four years.
The initial stage of the case is for the preliminary court to decide whether this case will stand. The judge at the time felt this case to be different.
Reporter: Why did he think it is different and how?
Lan: The nature and background of this case are different. It was happening against a much broader background. This libel suit involved a much greater social picture.
Reporter: The "big picture," meaning the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party?
Lan: Yes, such background makes this case stand out. The Falun Gong practitioners' lawyer said in an announcement after the verdict was issued, "I want to remind all of us that the CCP started out by smearing Falun Gong's reputation when the persecution began." In fact, only after destroying Falun Gong's reputation would people become so indifferent toward the persecution and for the persecution to last for so long.
The preliminary court judge also saw that [on the surface] this is a media libel suit, but in fact behind the allegations is the CCP and Jiang group's persecution policy against Falun Gong.
Reporter: This lawsuit took place in Milan, Italy, where lots of Chinese people live. Since the suit was in process for four years, many Chinese people would have learned about it. What is their reaction?
Lan: This suit first sent shockwaves through the Chinese community. Around 2002, pro-CCP Chinese media published tons of reports to slander Falun Gong. There were lots of such articles, so at the time few Chinese people knew the truth about Falun Gong. They had this propaganda suddenly shoved in front of them and they thought, "Oh, so Falun Gong is bad." They were busy pursuing their livelihoods and didn't have much time to learn the facts.
After Falun Gong practitioners filed the lawsuit against Europe Overseas Chinese News, the paper not only didn't print a retraction, but instead spread information of the lawsuit in the Chinese community in a very negative way. It was trying to foster hatred and instigate hatred against Falun Gong. That was its plan.
The actual outcome was exactly the opposite of what the defendants had expected. Many Chinese people didn't know about it in the first place, but after the publicizing done by Europe Overseas Chinese News, many Chinese people learned about it and said to each other, "Falun Gong practitioners have brought them to court. If Falun Gong practitioners were wrong, they wouldn't have the guts to file a lawsuit." So, many Chinese people started thinking about it and started to doubt the CCP propaganda.
During the past few years, many Chinese people asked us, "How is the lawsuit coming along?" Many people are really concerned about it. I believe the outcome of this lawsuit will greatly encourage many kind people and serve as a warning to those who follow in the CCP's footsteps. Laws in this world do not allow evildoers to bully kind and innocent people.
Reporter: After the verdict, what was the reaction of Europe Overseas Chinese News and people who published Falun Gong-slandering articles in the Italian Chinese media?
Lan: We haven't talked to them since the verdict was issued. Before, however, most of them knew that they had made a mistake. They told us that the Chinese Consulate forced them to do it, and they didn't want to do it, although there are still a few people who are not clear about Falun Gong. We hope they can clear-headedly, rationally and seriously think about their own future through this case.
Reporter: The case in Milan has ended. Is there any other lawsuit in progress in Italy?
Lan. Yes. Back in 2002, we filed lawsuits against all Chinese media and people who published or wrote articles to slander Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore there was more than one lawsuit. Several of them were filed in Rome and several were filed in Milan. All of these lawsuits passed the preliminary investigations and became official. They were tried in corresponding courts. The suit in Milan has ended and Falun Gong practitioners won the case, resulting in the chief editor and reporter Jiang Ming at the Europe Overseas Chinese News being convicted of libel. The lawsuit in Rome is still pending.
Reporter: What do you think will happen with the Rome lawsuit?
Lan: Our mentality throughout the entire lawsuit was actually calm and uncomplicated. We just wanted to uphold justice and make the facts known. Falun Gong practitioners follow Truthfulness- Compassion - Tolerance. We only speak the truth, that the CCP had no reason to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. All of the charges it came up with are fabricated and none of them are true. In a fair judicial environment where both sides can speak freely, the judge would naturally reach a fair verdict in accordance with the law.
Reporter: Thank you.
Before the Europe Overseas Chinese News in Italy was convicted of libel in court against Falun Gong, a similar lawsuit took place in Canada. In February 2004, the Ontario Superior Court convicted Pan Xinchun, the Deputy Consul General of China in Toronto, of libel. Pan Xinchun wrote an article in which he called Joel Chipkar, a Canadian Falun Gong practitioner, a member of "xx." [slanderous term omitted].
Judge Harvey Spiegel awarded Joel Chipkar CA$1,000 in damages and CA $10,000 in legal costs.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Recently, Mr. Julien Dray, a French MP in Essonne province, sent a letter to the French branch of the "Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG)". The letter was written by him to the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Philippe Douste-Blazy, and the English translation is as follows:
| |
| Mr. Julien Dray MP |
Mr. Philippe Douste-Blazy
Foreign Minister
July the 13, 2006, Paris
Dear Minister,
As you know, more and more information and evidence coherently expose the extremely severe human rights violation in China. I recently have been informed of an especially appalling thing happening at some detention centers in China: it is said that they harvest organs from some living persons who are not willing to donate their organs, then cremate their remaining bodies.
I want to know if the concerned departments of French government have obtained related information about the situation stated above and whether it is true or not? If it is confirmed that someone in China really committed such a crime, then I would like you to let me know what actions our government will take to stop such conducts and in what nature and scale the actions will be.
I am looking forwards to getting reply from you, Minister.
Kind regards,
Julien Dray
MP in Essonne province
(Clearwisdom.net) On June 19, 2006, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Liu Wenli from Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, was arrested by the police from the Donghe Police Department and the Guanqu Police Station in Baotou City. She was sent to the Baotou Detention Center, and died about ten days later as a result of persecution. The details are under investigation.
Police from the Guanqu Police Station notified Liu Wenli’s family of her death on July 5, 2006. Her children and relatives who work out of town went to Baotou City to see Ms. Liu’s body, but their request was rejected. The 610 Office and the police department forced the family to cremate her body as soon as possible in order to destroy evidence of persecution.
Because Ms. Liu Wenli’s family was deceived and threatened, they do not dare to reveal the truth that Ms. Liu Wenli was persecuted to death.
Ms. Liu Wenli, 54 years old, was a retired employee at the Baotou Railway Company and lived on Fourth Street, in the Donghe District, Baotou City. Through practicing Falun Gong, Liu Wenli’s health greatly improved and her previous illnesses all disappeared. On July 20, 1999, Jiang’s regime initiated the persecution against Falun Gong. In November 2000, Liu Wenli went to Beijing to validate the Fa and wrote to the local 610 Office to express her firm belief in Dafa.. Because of this, Ms. Liu was illegally detained and sent to forced labor camps three times, where she was tortured both physically and mentally. The accumulated term was about three years.
Relevant parties and personnel:
Bao Yin, Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee in Baotou City
Chen Jianzhong, Director of the Baotou City 610 Office: 86-472-5129407, 86-472-5129306
Qin Pusheng, Director of the Danghe District 610 Office: 86-472-4353236(Home), 86-472-5861677, 86-13947234777 (86-13947734777)(Cell)
Switchboard of the Baotou Police Department: 86-472-2126212
Meng Jianwei, Director General of the Baotou Police Department: 86-472-2124218(Office), 86-472-5362999(Office), 86-13514726188(Cell)
Shi Lei, Deputy Director of the Baotou Police Department:
86-472-2125872(Office), 86-472-5362995(Office), 86-13947258880(Cell) 86-472-5114653-8107(Home)
Baotou Detention Center: 86-472-4361541
Wang Yaoshou, Superintendent of the Baotou Detent Center
Li Ping, Instructor of the Instruction Branch
Guide officials: Li Gang, Zhang Jianfeng
Ren Xiaoli, Prison Doctor
Zhang Shuangming, Zhao, Leaders of National Security Team of Baotou City
Switchboard of Donghe District Police Department::
86-472-4144114, 86-472-4141875, 86-472-4143028, 86-472-4141028
Director General: 86-472-4141865(Office), 86-472-5150289
Commissar: 86-472-4141060, 86-472-2522169 (Home)
Deputy Director: 86-472-4144385, 3013(Office), 86-472-2322158 (Home)
Li Zhibin, Deputy Director: 86-472-3156338, 86-13039558833 (Cell)
National Security Team of Donghe Police Department: Hou, 86-472-2223958, Tian 86-472-2223118
Head of National Security Team: 86-472-4161517
Li Suhua, attending the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners for a long time: 86-472-4161517,
86-472-4873289, 86-13947239439 (Cell)
Liu Wei: 86-472-4150593, 86-13015045046 (Cell)
Zhang Sufen: 86-472-4156705, 86-13947223941 (Cell)
Resident Committee of Dongzhan Street: 86-472-4141553, 86-472-4141983
Bayantala Street Police Station: 86-472-4143098, 86-472-4150435
(Clearwisdom.net) In the beginning of June 2006, in Henan Province, Yuzhou City State Security Division Head Xia Yuxiao (male) threatened Mr. Wang Xiangshang's nephew, an employee of the Yuzhou City Criminal Police Division, and told him to look for his uncle Mr. Wang Xiangshang. Xia Yuxiao said that otherwise, he would be forced into early retirement. On June 19, 2006, after being forced to leave home for six years to avoid being arrested, Mr. Wang Xiangshang collapsed in front of his door after not having any contact with home the past six years. He died without a word.
As soon as Mr. Wang Xiangshang arrived home, Xiahe Town CCP and government officers surrounded his door. Xia Yuxiao forced the family members to give testimony, spread the rumor that Mr. Wang Xiangshang had committed suicide by taking poison, and tried to slander Falun Dafa.
In the past several years, Xia Yuxiao and others in the city have arrested several hundred Falun Dafa practitioners and had them detained, sent to forced labor camps, or sentenced to prison terms. Mr. Wang Xiangshang had no choice but to leave home to avoid being arrested. He was on the wanted list of the Yuzhou City Police Department. Xia Yuxiao would hide near Mr. Wang Xiangshang's brother's or sister's house overnight, or he would harass them at their houses. Mr. Wang Xiangshang's father Wang Jinghua (also a practitioner) died as a result of the long-term harassment. Mr. Wang Xiangshang's wife divorced him because of the pressure.
Mr. Wang Xiangshang, 38, had a B.S. degree, and was a former heat section manager in the Yuzhou City Power Plant. After cultivating Falun Dafa in 1998, he changed his bad temper, quit smoking and drinking, and worked very hard. He was able to fix an electronic scale with one thousand yuan when others needed several tens of thousands of yuan to do the same. His factory head had singled him out for recognition.
In April 2000, the Power Plant CCP Discipline Committee Secretary Zhang Xizhong tried to force Mr. Wang Xiangshang to betray Falun Dafa verbally, but he absolutely refused and said that being a good person is not wrong. The Political Security Office Head Zhang Guanlin from the City Police Department and Xia Yuxiao arrested Mr. Wang, detaining him for two months. The plant forced Mr. Wang to cancel his employment contract. In June 2000, Mr. Wang Xiangshang went to Beijing to appeal. Because the Central Government Appeals Office had turned into an "arresting office," he had to go to Tiananmen Square. He shouted, "Falun Dafa is great! Falun Dafa is righteous!" while holding a banner. Policemen swarmed around him, punching and kicking him in the head.
Mr. Wang Xiangshang was soon on the Yuzhou City State Security Division wanted list, and Xia Yuxiao and others were chasing after him all over the place. Mr. Wang Xiangshang had to leave home and lost contact with his family for six years. After Mr. Wang's nephew was threatened to find Mr. Wang Xiangshang, after six years without any contact, Mr. Wang Xiangshang appeared suddenly on June 19, 2006, on the road outside his home. He walked with difficulty, and then fell in front of his door and died. Xia Yuxiao and others arrived on the scene quickly and fabricated lies to slander Falun Gong. The suspicious circumstances of Mr. Wang’s death and ties to the CCP’s recent request to find him and their quick arrival on the scene await investigation.
After July 20, 1999, when the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong, there have been three Falun Dafa practitioners in Yuzhou City tortured to death, at least 50 practitioners sentenced to prison terms, at least 100 practitioners sent to forced labor camps, 500 practitioners detained, and over three million yuan extorted from practitioners and their families. Zhang Guanlin and Xia Yuxiao are the main individuals involved in carrying out the persecution through beating, cursing, extorting money, ransacking homes, detention, forced labor, and prison terms.
Relevant phone numbers: Xia Yuxiao, 86-374-8193666 (Office), 86-13700895361(Cell)
Geng Songtao (male), and Zhao Naicheng (male), 86-13937488589(Cell)
See also, http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/7/9/75243.html
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhang Hongwei is a Falun Dafa practitioner from Tonghua District, Jilin Province. In 2001, he was arrested in Beijing for making truth-clarifying materials and was sentenced to a long prison term of 13 years. He was sent to the Tiebei Prison in Changchun City late in 2001. Mr. Zhang Hongwei went on a 53-day hunger strike to protest the persecution that he was facing. In March 2002, Zhang Hongwei was sent to Jilin Prison for further persecution. He was tortured with solitary confinement, tied to the "Dead man’s bed," given the "Big Hang-up," and savagely beaten. His family members appealed against the brutal torture and therefore he was taken out of solitary confinement.
In the beginning of 2005, Mr. Zhang was again forcibly put in solitary confinement for an additional three months. Due to the long-term persecution he suffered in the Jilin Prison, his health was severely damaged.
In the beginning of 2006, Zhang Hongwei was coughing continuously throughout the day, every day. He was diagnosed as having tuberculosis with body fluid accumulating in his chest. In March, his illness became worse. He also suffered from pleurisy, high blood pressure and heart disease. He became very weak. Zhang Hongwei was then sent to the prison hospital in the beginning of 2006. Despite his failing health, the wicked people continued to persecute him. In March, the prison authorities applied for medical parole for him. However, the Prison Management Bureau of Jilin Province refused to approve the application even though he had met all the conditions for medical parole. The reason cited was that he must at least have a hole in his lung and be vomiting blood before he could be approved for medical parole.
At present, his family members are very worried. Zhang Hongwei’s father-in-law Song Wenhua died from persecution in the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp. The situation was very much like Zhang Hongwei’s situation is now. The medical parole was not approved leading to the illness being treated too late. Song Wenhua died a few days after he was sent home.
Wang Dehui, Director of the Punishment Division of the Prison Management Bureau of Jilin Province: 86-431-2750563
Director of the Bureau: Yu Guangsheng
Operator of the Jilin Prison: 86-432-4881551. Extensions: the prison hospital, education division, and prison district.
The Prison Management Bureau: 86-431-2750563,86-431-2750062,86-431-2750593,86-431-2750574
(Clearwisdom.net) In February 2002, I was arrested at work by the security personnel at my workplace. They also ransacked my home, and later illegally detained me at the private prison set up by them. They handcuffed me, shackled my feet, tortured me using the tiger bench, and tied me up in the iron chair with my limbs outstretched. They then beat me, force-fed me through my nostrils, and injected me with unknown drugs, etc. I did not yield to the persecution. Every month they deducted money from my salary. Later they sent me to the so-called "Law Education Center" for forced brainwashing and further persecution.
After arriving at the Law Education Center, early each morning I was sent to the hospital for force-feeding. Two people held me down in the chair and stretched my arms under the chair tightly. Then, a so-called doctor started to forcibly insert a tube into my nose. He was rough, and sometimes caused my nose to bleed. After force-feeding, I was sent to Wangcun Labor Camp Division 12 for brutal torture. At around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m., they sent me back to the Law Education Center.
After several days, the officials simply left me in the labor camp the whole time to be tortured. Division head Zhao Yongming, and assistant head Zhang Bo found a number of collaborators, including Kong Tiezhu, Hua Mingliang, Liang Zhaozheng, Liao Weixing, Yu Yongqiang, etc., to persecute me. They used various cruel means, and took turns to torture me continuously day and night. Zhao Yongming instructed them to take the wooden bench apart to hit me with. Some hit me with the wooden boards, and others beat me using the wooden legs. There were also some who punched and kicked me. It was just past the Lunar New Year, and it was very cold. They poured cold water on my head, and the water came down my neck, and soaked through my clothing. I was freezing and trembling. Zhang Bo instructed the thugs to tie me up, and threw me on the cold concrete ground.
During this persecution, they deprived me of sleep for four or five days. Hua Mingliang and Kong Tiezhu used thick jujube wooden sticks (with sharp edges) to hit my head more than 300 times. As a result, my entire head was swollen with extravasated blood. It was excruciatingly painful when the stick touched my hair, not to mention beating. My hair fell out, a bunch at a time. It did not take long before almost all the hair on my head fell out. As if that wasn’t enough, Hua Mingliang also brought some needles and thread, and stitched my lips together. They poked several holes in each of my lips.
Not to be outdone, Liang Zhaozheng tried to force me to read Chinese Communist Party (CCP) materials that slandered Dafa; otherwise he would hit my head, and slap me in the face. During the beating, I felt dizzy, and tumbled over again and again. This lasted four or five days, and my face became swollen. My entire face turned purple like an eggplant. When Zhang Bo saw me during his inspection round, he was shocked, and yelled loudly, "Turn your face away! I can’t bear to look at it!"
When people from my workplace came to visit me and saw me face to face, they did not recognize me. After two days, the swelling lessened, and they sent me back to the Law Education Center for further persecution. After hearing about it, my family came to visit me. Although the swelling was reduced, my face still looked awful. Under my family’s strong request, they sent me to Basan Hospital in Zhoucun for electroencephalogram.
In the Law Education Center, in addition to depriving me of both sleep and the use of the restroom, they also beat, scolded, and attempted to brainwash me, and used a sinister way to destroy my will—sitting still. There were stools of about 20 cm. (8 in.) high, with numerous hard pointed areas on top, some of which were almost as sharp as knives. Practitioners were forced to sit on the stools, facing the wall, with both knees close to the wall but not touching it. Practitioners were forced to place both hands on the knees, sitting still around the clock, and not allowed any movement nor access to the restroom. Otherwise, vicious beating would follow. After several hours, the buttocks became itchy and painful. The back and legs were also very painful and numb, and unbearable. Within less than two days, there would be several holes in the buttock. It was very painful once one’s buttock touched the stool, let alone sitting. When the exudating pus congealed, the flesh then stuck to the clothing, and it was very painful. When using the toilet, one first has to soak the buttock in water, and then manually loosen the clothing. Very often the flesh would be torn, resulting in a painful bloody mess as one poured out sweat. It was awful.
Even so, the thugs did not stop at that. Hua Mingliang turned the stool upside down, and forced me to sit on the four narrow steel legs for a very long time. They also hit me with clubs at the same time. For torturing me, these collaborators were rewarded with reduction of their sentences, and they were all released from the labor camp within six months. Because I did not yield to the evil, they sent me to the labor camp, where the persecution was intensified.
The above were just small parts of the persecution I received. More brutal persecution happened during the time when I was at the labor camp.
(Clearwisdom.net)
[Liaoning Province] Sun Yumei Arrested and Detained at Harbin Female Prison
Ms. Sun Yumei, who was an outstanding worker of the No. 2 Daqing Oil Gathering Factory, began to practice Falun Dafa in 1999 and lived by its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. She was arrested for a second time on November 13, 2005. She is presently detained at Harbin Female Prison.
[Guangdong Province] Feng Huang Arrested Again
In the morning of April 19, 2006, 610 Office staff from the Public Security Sub-Bureau for Guangzhou City, Yuexiu Borough arrested Mr. Feng Huang, a Dafa practitioner who was an engineer at the Guangzhou Geochemistry Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science, once again, when on his way to work. They took him to the Chatou Brainwashing Center, where he was tortured until the verge of death. In the beginning of June, we learned that Mr. Feng Huang was hospitalized due to the persecution. When the Research Institute took him out of the hospital on June 12, he was emaciated, had difficulty walking and needed help. He was sent home afterwards.
[Town of Botoufu, Hebei Province] Ms. Cao Fengqin Arrested in Beijing
Ms. Cao Fengqin, over 30 years old, resides in the Town of Botoufu, Hebei Province. She was arrested around 10 o'clock in the morning of May 25, 2006 while distributing literature about Falun Dafa in Beijing. Presently, she is detained at Beijing Changping Detention Camp.
[Shouguang City, Shandong Province] Dafa Practitioner Ms. Zhao Juhua Arrested
On the evening of June 14, 2006, Shandong Province, Shouguang City, Sunzhen Town, Xiaodianpu Village Dafa Practitioner Ms. Zhao Juhua was illegally arrested. Someone reported her to the authorities when she was distributing literature about Dafa.
[Wuhan, Hubei Province] Ms. Feng Zhenni Arrested
English teacher Ms. Feng Zhenni (over 30 years old) of the No. 2 Subsidiary Middle/High School of the Mid-China Teaching University in Wuhan City of Hubei Province was arrested on May 24, 2006 and taken to the Tangxun Lake Brainwashing Center.
[Rushan, Shandong] Around June 13, 2006, Rushan Police Arrested Dafa Practitioners Ms. Feng Xilan and Ms. Song Jinping
[Puling, Guangdong Province] Over Eighty-Year-Old Grandmother of Dafa Practitioners Ms. Jiang Jiayin and Ms. Jiang Lanlan Arrested
In the morning of June 16, 2006, the grandmother (approximately 85 years old, suffering from semi-paralysis and walking difficulties) of Dafa practitioners Ms. Jiang Jiayin and Ms. Jiang Lanlan was telling people about her family’s sufferings since July 20, 1999, the date when the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in the Puling City of Guangdong Province. She was informing the public via a poster, "Give Me Back My Granddaughters: Ms. Jiang Jiayin and Jiang Lanlan. An Open Notice to the Puling Government." Her family suffered arrests, imprisonments, property confiscations, and other forms of persecutions over 20 times. Her two granddaughters are missing. She told her story until noon, when police from the East End Local Police Station surrounded her, confiscated her poster board, handcuffed and arrested her.
[Changchun, Jilin Province] Additional Information Concerning Detainment of Dafa Practitioner Mr. Meng Qinglin
Police from the Anqing Local Police Station in the Automobile Factory District arrested Changchun Dafa practitioner Mr. Meng Qinglin at 3 p.m. in the afternoon of May 30. He was distributing truth clarifying materials in front of the Golf Hotel in the Changchun No. 1 Automobile Factory Area at the time. On June 9, police took the critically ill Meng Qinglin, who was on a hunger strike, to Chaoyanggou Labor Camp. They sentenced him for one year of forced labor and "reeducation."
[Gaobeidian City, Hebei Province] Dafa Practitioner Ms. Zhao Xiaoying Arrested Again
In the evening of June 14, 2006, after nine o’clock, police from Youyi Road Local Police Station arrested Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhao Xiaoying of the Renhe Area, Baigou Town, when she was distributing truth-clarifying materials. She was taken to the Gaobeidian City Detention Center that evening.
Head of the Youyi Road Local Police Station -- Mr. Guo Jianhui: (phone) 86-13803267356, 86-13333128583
[Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province] Zhuhai 610 Office Arrests Dafa Practitioner Mr. Han Xianqing on June 10, 2006
[Zhengzhou City, Henan Province] Dafa Practitioner Ms. Xu Jing Detained
On May 9, 2006, staff from Jinshui Borough Police Bureau of Zhengzhou Municipal Police Department arrested Zhengzhou City Dafa practitioner Ms. Xu Jing and her family members. They were imprisoned at the Zhengzhou Detention Center. Ms. Xu is on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
[Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province] Ms. Fu Minhua Is Illegally Held in the Luohu Detention Center
Shenzhen City Police arrested Dafa practitioner Ms. Fu Minhua who was considered missing. She is being illegally detained in the Shenzhen City, Luohu Detention Center.
[Beijing] Practitioner Ms. Zhang Hong Is Being Brainwashed
Staff from the Changping County, Beiqijia Local Police Station arrested Beijing Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhang Hong on April 25, 2006. Her computer was confiscated. Presently, she is detained at the Changping Legal System Training Center and suffering brainwashing. She is on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
[Dalian City, Liaoning Province] Ms. Yang Chunling Arrested and Persecuted at the Liaoyang Detention Center
In April of 2006, Liaoyang National Security Police arrested Dafa practitioner Ms. Yang Chunling again. She is being persecuted at the Liaoyang Detention Center.
[Changsha City, Hunan Province] Dafa Practitioners Ms. Zhou Yulin and Others Arrested
Police arrested Changsha Lumber Factory worker Ms. Zhou Yulin at 9 a.m. on June 15, 2006, while on her way to work. A young male Dafa practitioner who happened to be near the railroad mechanical section was also arrested.
[Yitong County, Jilin Province] Mr. Yang Jun Sentenced to One Year of Forced Labor
On April 12, 2006, Mr. Yu Mingyang and others from the Dagushan Police Station of Yitong County, arrested Dafa practitioner Mr. Yang Jun of the Xinli 3rd Team of Dagu Mountain. After they illegally detained him for fifteen days, they extorted money from his wife for room and board while in detention. Afterwards, they sentenced him to Chaoyanggou Labor Camp for one year.
[Yongji County, Jilin Province ] Practitioner Mr. Liu Jinsheng Is Reported to Authorities When Clarifying the Truth and Is Illegally Sentenced to a Four Year Term
[Kaifeng City, Henan Province] Practitioner Mr. Song Zengce Taken to a Detention Center and Persecuted by the 610 Office
[Daming County, Hebei Province ] Mr. Guo Shezhao Arrested and His Home Ransacked
In the afternoon of May 20, 2006, Dafa practitioner Mr. Guo Shezhao from Guo Fenggu Village, Niantou Township, Daming County was arrested. Over a dozen level II police officers from the County Township ransacked his home.
[Zibo City, Shandong Province] Practitioner Mr. Tang Zhaosheng and His Wife Suffer Persecution and Extortion
Dafa practitioners Mr. and Mrs. Tang Zhaosheng, and Mr. and Mrs. Tang Shenyou are from Zhifang Village, Tumen Town, Zibo City, Yiyuan County of Shandong Province. Police arrested them in April 2006 and extorted 10,000 yuan. They also took them to a brainwashing class.
[Ningxia Province] Practitioner Mr. Hu Jiancai and Mr. Qiao Jianhui Arrested
Dafa practitioners Mr. Hu Jiancai and Mr. Qiao Jianhui were arrested in May 2005. It has now been more than one year. They suffered extortion, confession by torture and abuses at a labor camp. Mr. Hu Jiancai and Mr. Jiao Jianhui were recently sentenced to four and a half years at a labor camp.
[Zibo City, Shandong Province] Practitioner Ms. Li Aiying and Others Illegally Detained at Wangcun Forced Labor Camp
Zibo City Data practitioner Ms. Li Aiying was recently sentenced to one year of forced labor. She is imprisoned in the Zibo City Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. Two other Dafa practitioners were sentenced to two years at a labor camp.
(Clearwisdom.net) Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net).
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Lin is a 67-year-old widow who lives in a nursing home in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province. One night in May 2001, Wang Dongwei, secretary of Dongxianpo Township CCP Committee and Wang Rui, head of the Judicial Bureau, along with four other officials broke into Zhang Lin's residence and took 500 yuan in cash. Later in the evening, Zhang Lin was taken to Dongxianpo Township government. The officials handcuffed Zhang Lin to the heater radiator in the evening and forced her to spread her arms around a big tree in the daytime. They tortured her for two days.
Late at night on September 26, 2001, six lawless officials headed by Wang Dongwei and Wang Rui broke into Zhang Lin's room. They searched her body and her place and took 500 yuan in cash and also a purse containing 2,500 yuan. They took Zhang Lin to Daxiang and beat and kicked her. They tortured her for eighteen days and extorted more money before letting her go home.
(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."
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net) After the horrifying discovery of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners and the immediate cremation of their bodies to destroy the evidence was exposed on April 4, 2006, the Falun Dafa Association and the Minghui/Clearwisdom website founded the "Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China" (CIPFG; also called "Coalition to Investigate the Persecution"). The CIPFG collects information from those willing to come forward. CIPFG asks people who know the truth to further expose the crimes concerning illegal organ harvesting in China. We call on all kindhearted people of conscience to lend your help in exposing the facts of this vicious persecution of Falun Gong practitioners inside the secret concentration camps, forced labor camps, prisons and hospitals in mainland China. The sooner this atrocity is fully exposed, the sooner this brutal persecution will end. Below is information that came to light recently.
I have a friend who works in Friendship Hospital in Beijing and who also participates in organ transplants. We met with each other a while ago, and he told me that during April and May of this year, his hospital performed organ transplant surgeries every day. There was one day that ten organ transplant surgeries were performed. The total number of organ transplants during those two months was over 100.
Dr. Jia Jinfeng in Beijing 309 Hospital participates in organ transplants. He often travels to different cities to obtain organs.
His contact information: 86-316-3125518 (Home), 86-13903164750 (Cell)
(Clearwisdom.net) I had an argument not long ago with my younger sister, a fellow Falun Dafa practitioner. With a hot temper like an ordinary person, I used many ordinary people’s words in the quarrel.
I thought that I was a diligent practitioner. I did all the three things and could always see others’ shortcomings. Being particularly strict with my younger sister, I often criticized her in a less than compassionate way upon seeing her problems because I thought that as her sister I should be stern with her. One day, I went to her residence to share experiences with her. I pointed out to her that she should be more diligent, and asked her to let go of human attachments. I had only spoken a few sentences when she got angry at me, "You always see my problems. What’s the good of you? How well do you cultivate anyway? Always finding fault with me!…"
At the moment I told myself to endure. I shouldn’t get angry despite her harshness. But her words became even harsher, and some words seemed to penetrate my bones and hurt my heart. Eventually, I couldn’t endure any more, and just like a regular person, I argued with her with a voice even louder than hers. In my anger I walked out taking my bicycle with me. She yelled at me while I was leaving, "Go back and look inward at yourself!" I got so mad that my heart beat fast and my whole body felt as if it were on fire. I said to her in my mind, "You can do whatever you like. Whether to cultivate or not is your own business." Though I knew it wasn’t right for me to get angry, my heart was still seething after I had got on the bicycle. But I said to myself, "I’m doing this for her benefit. Why doesn’t she look from the perspective of the Fa? Why can’t she treat herself as a cultivator?" I was still pushing the problem outward as I left, thinking about the mistakes that she had made.
I calmed down a bit after I got home. I realized that getting angry was a demonic outburst, not a cultivator’s behavior. With such a serious demonic quality after years of cultivation, I really need to cultivate myself to get rid of it. But I couldn’t focus on Fa study, sending forth righteous thoughts, or my work. I tried lying in bed to calm down, but it didn’t work. I realized that I must be having a problem, but I couldn’t find out which human attachment had caused it. I thought, "We had a harmonious relationship before we practiced. We got along well. I used to do well financially, and I helped her in many ways without complaining or regret. We should have had a better relationship after we practiced. Why would our relationship get worse?"
Before this I had to leave my own home to go into hiding due to the persecution. It’s been six years since I came to my sister’s by following Master’s hints. We experienced a lot of hardship together during the past six years. I overcame many xinxing tests. Sometimes, I passed well, sometimes I didn’t pass. I really should check where I had a problem. I was determined to find the root of the problem.
I pleaded with Master to strengthen me. Even if it were deeply hidden granite or a hard stone I would find it out and eliminate it, and I would not let it hinder our cultivation diligence. At this time Master opened up my mind. In my mind I saw our past experiences of coming across one barrier after another and the twists and turns during the past six years. I remembered in each xinxing test what my sister had said or accused me of, how I had felt, what words had been difficult for me to accept, and what words I hadn’t been able to accept or let go of for a long time. Then, I remembered how well I had gotten along with other practitioners - even when there was a xinxing barrier I passed it very quickly. So why did I still remember what my sister had said? Upon thinking about this I still felt uncomfortable about her words. Sometimes I would think, "I am her sister and treated her so well in the past. How could she treat me like this just because I hide in her place during the tribulation?" I felt deeply hurt.
When these thoughts arose I recognized that they were human thoughts and that I didn’t want them. I also continually tried to eliminate them. But why did they continue to come up? I couldn’t discern what attachment caused them. As I didn’t grasp the fundamental attachment it stayed in my mind for a long time. Then, as soon as I compared my sister with other practitioners, my heart shook, and I thought, "Isn’t this the attachment of being unable to forgive? This is the attachment that has hindered our diligent cultivation together. There are still many people waiting for us to save them. Yet, as we often couldn’t coordinate with each other, we haven’t been able to go to the places that we planned to go for various reasons. The attachment of being unforgiving derives from sentimentality, and it has entangled me. It’s a regular person’s attitude toward another everyday person. If you don’t treat me well I won’t treat you well either. It’s not looking at a problem from the perspective of the Fa. In other words, it is the human notion that makes me feel that my younger sister should follow my suggestions because I’m her elder sister. For me, xinxing tests associated with affection for family are hard to pass. In particular, when the entire family practices Falun Dafa and when one family member isn’t strict with himself in cultivation, it can be difficult for him to look within the Fa to solve the problems with the family. He may often look at things using human attachments, and as a result become trapped in demonic tribulations for a long time.
Are other practitioners having the same problem and becoming trapped in it? If we can let go of human attachments and jump out of sentimentality we can pass the tests by treating our family practitioners as fellow practitioners. Otherwise, we would always wander around with the attachment to sentimentality. I hadn’t found this human attachment of mine during the last five years. Upon finding this attachment I remembered a dream that I had four or five days before. In the dream a male acquaintance came up to me. He tried to stab me with a small knife. I neither tried to avoid the stabbing nor was I scared. In the dream I forgot that I was a Dafa practitioner, nor did I remember Master. I thought that I would fall to the ground soon. But I neither felt pain nor fell. At this time I suddenly woke up. My heart was beating fast, so I sent forth righteous thoughts for a moment. Then, I enlightened that my younger sister’s words were like a knife that scoured my heart and penetrated my bones. After I found the root of my problem, a disgusting scar the size of a basin appeared before my mind when sending forth righteous thoughts. This is what has troubled me. Now that I’ve known it and seen it through, I feel that I see flowers and light after a shadowy and dark period. My heart is clean when sending forth righteous thoughts, and my body feels very relieved.
At this time I enlightened that when we don’t take a step well or pass a test well it’s because we don’t do things according to the requirements for cultivators, we have xinxing problems, and we don’t understand Fa well. Essentially, it’s because we don’t study the Fa enough. When this happens you are in a state of delusion, and you are a human because a human does everything for himself. This caused me to be attached to being unable to forgive, which I didn’t notice for some time. My human attachment surfaced whenever something came up. I didn’t dig out the root because it was hiding slyly. My superficial understanding was that I had sentimentality about her and worried that she couldn’t cultivate diligently. What a beautiful cover! Actually, underneath the sentimentality a more serious attachment was hiding more deeply, the inability to forgive. In other words, one attachment covered up another.
Now that I’m clearer with the Fa principles that Master taught and have discovered the attachment I can understand the deep, predestined relationship between my younger sister and myself. This relationship was made throughout numerous lifetimes. Nothing a cultivator encounters is by chance. My Fa-rectification cultivation path was arranged by Master long before. Then wasn’t my younger sister coming from far away Northern China to settle down here paving the way for our Fa-rectification cultivation?
After understanding the truth of the Fa I regretted my selfishness even more. My mind believed that my own self-respect shouldn’t be hurt, and that I didn’t want to suffer or endure. I only wanted to live a good, comfortable life. I didn’t think like a practitioner. To protect me she had to take pressure from the family and society. She protected me in the onslaught of persecution. Her level was high. Yet I was unwilling to be hurt a bit. How selfish was this attachment of mine! The new cosmos is without selfishness. We all cultivate compassion. Yet, my selfishness was very serious. We all signed pacts with Master before we came down for sentient beings. Why can’t we help each other so we can go back together? It is Master’s and all sentient beings’ expectation that we be strict with our every thought, every word, and every behavior, and upgrade together, do the three things well, and realize the grand vows that we made before history.
Whenever we don’t pass a test well we must find the root. It is not just restraining bad thoughts, as upon restraining them there will be an outburst sooner or later because the substance is still there. With time you will be cultivating in demonic tribulations, which will affect your ability to upgrade your xinxing. Master said
"When you cultivate an upright Fa and [are achieving] righteous Enlightenment, you are to restrain and eliminate your demon-nature. In the past, cultivation in Buddhism was about restraint--restraining demon-nature and enabling Buddha-nature to come into full play. In the end, when one's power of restraint had grown very strong, the person's demon-nature could no longer have any effect, as if it had been locked up. This Fa-rectification is to effect fundamental changes throughout the entire cosmos. That is why during Dafa disciples' cultivation things are being adjusted for them anew, starting from the microcosmic level, and whatever isn't needed is removed directly. It changes the state of a being at a fundamental level. It's different from how things were when people cultivated before." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles" in 2006)
I indeed feel that cultivators should study the Fa more, and that looking within is fundamental for upgrading and is the only sublimating way for cultivating the heart and letting go of attachments. Master talked tirelessly about the importance of studying the Fa. But I wasn’t following Master’s words. Now I realize that I’ve always looked outward, seen others’ shortcomings and thought that I was good. How could I make progress without seeing my own shortcomings? By always accusing fellow practitioners of their shortcomings, in the long run it may add to their psychological burden, which becomes their omission that can be found easily by the old forces’ dark minions, rotten ghosts and Communist evil specters to keep fellow practitioners from cultivating diligently. In actuality, I have added bad substances to the other practitioner’s dimensional field.
Master said,
"…What I am saying is that the overall cultivation form of Dafa disciples has to be one where each person looks within! (Applause) The overall environment of Dafa disciples must not be one where people improve by criticizing and blaming each other! (Applause) So as your master, I can only encourage you to look within, and to, when problems arise, try to find your own shortcomings. If everyone could do this, that would be the best. When a person can't recognize an issue, of course it's not wrong for him to point it out. But when you point something out, it must be done with kind intentions. You are cultivating compassion, so you must have kind intentions. So you need to be mindful of both of these things and be able to do both. Then, I think, you will be able to resolve a lot of problems with ease." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles," 2006)
Today, I am writing down this experience of falling and enlightening, hoping to be of help to fellow practitioners, so that we can upgrade as a whole body and do the three things well to live up to Master’s earnest expectations for us.
(Clearwisdom.net) My baby is now seven months old. Since he was three months old, he has been pretty hyperactive and cried a lot, especially when I sent forth righteous thoughts. As a result, my time spent on the Fa study became less, and I could no longer guarantee the time for sending forth righteous thoughts.
As the baby looks so lovely, I always enjoyed watching his face while he was asleep. At night when I lay down, seeing his little face, I often fell asleep while watching him without getting up to study the Fa. I planned to read a lot but often fell asleep. My attachment to the baby affected my determination in cultivating diligently, so I failed to do the three things well.
Because of my attachments, the interference from the baby has increased. Recently he cried even more and I had to hold him quite often, which made me almost unable to study the Fa. At night he only wanted me to hold him. When I finally put him to sleep, he woke up within half an hour. Several months ago, I could make use of the nighttime to study the Fa and practice the exercises. But later even at night I was not free, as the baby kept waking up and crying at night. Later he would not stop crying unless I sat up and held him in my arms.
I saw the seriousness of this matter. What should I do? He caused much interference, and I thought of eliminating the evil elements causing this interference for me. So I often sent forth righteous thoughts together with my mother to eliminate the interference behind him, but we did not see much effect. I looked within, what was the problem with me, which attachment of mine has caused such interference? I couldn’t find it straight away. Did I have too much sentimentality towards my baby? I didn’t think so. I was not overly attached to him, and it is reasonable to care about the baby. Before, I was always attached to looking after the baby by myself, and was unwilling or fearful to send the baby to my mother-in-law. I worried that he would become selfish if he stayed with her. But recently I have also eliminated this attachment. So why does the baby still cry so much?
Two days ago, I went with my mother to a fellow practitioner’s home and happened to meet several practitioners who were all there. One practitioner told a story. There was a person who had so much indulgence in her child that none of that child’s desires were kept unfulfilled since a young age. Later the child wanted to buy a skirt but the mother did not buy it for her. The child could not bear it and committed suicide. Since from a young age, all of her desires were satisfied, when her desire to buy a skirt was denied, she committed suicide. Overindulging one’s children and satisfying all their desires only further strengthens and develops their desires, and actually harms them.
Did I treat the baby in a similar way? Whenever he cried, I immediately held him and tried to comfort him, which kept strengthening and reinforcing his habit of being held. Even according to ordinary people’s principles, this is not good, as the child would be overindulged. But as a cultivator, my indulgence of the child made him more unsettled, so that he almost does not sleep, cannot get away from my arms, and requires only me to hold him. He does not allow me to have any time of my own at all.
I know the real reason is that I failed to give proper priorities to Dafa and the baby. Doing the three things well cannot be interfered with by anything. Even if the baby cries, I should do the three things well. It was because I always failed to prioritize this well.
The words of several fellow practitioners helped me see my attachment to the baby. After realizing this, I became more determined. When sending forth righteous thoughts, however he cried, I remain unmoved and was firm in sending forth righteous thoughts well. I let the baby play by himself. I study the Fa and make sure to do the three things well.
The other day several practitioners studied the Fa together and sent forth righteous thoughts every hour. We also specifically sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference behind the baby. When sending forth righteous thoughts for the first few times, he cried so much that he sweated a lot. But I prioritized well and was determined to do what I should do well. That day he indeed cried a lot. I was firm in sending forth righteous thoughts and did not hold him until after sending forth righteous thoughts. I firmly studied the Fa and let him play by himself. Sometimes I also held him and listened to fellow practitioners reading the Fa.
That night, we slept at a fellow practitioner’s home. The baby slept through the night and did not cry. It was so amazing. Furthermore, since then, he has gone to sleep very early and often sleeps through the night. In the middle of the night he was breastfed once or twice, and he sucked quietly. Before, my breast milk supply was always not enough, but since that day, it has been unexpectedly abundant. When I study the Fa, he plays by himself and no longer cries. When I send forth righteous thoughts, he almost never cries. Occasionally when he cries, I just don’t get too affected and concentrate on sending forth righteous thoughts first.
The baby turned out to be well-behaved, and it is such a miracle. Since that day, he has indeed totally changed. Sometimes in the morning when I wanted to sleep a little bit longer, he would cry and I would get up to study the Fa. Then the baby would stop crying. He reminds me to cultivate diligently, and it is indeed that:
"After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!" (Zhuan Falun)
I reminded myself that Master has taught that
"When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide" (Hong Yin II)
Actually, in the past, the baby’s being unsettled was due to my failing to prioritize well and not cultivating diligently. Now my situation is as if I did not have a child, and I’ve got enough time to do the three things well. When I do not do well, the baby will remind me with his crying, and when I do well, he will quietly play and sleep by himself. He sleeps so well; even when he has had enough day naps, he continues to sleep at night. Dafa is supernormal; when I do well, miracles can happen!
We still need to look within to find out our gaps. I wrote down this experience of mine in the hopes of providing some help to fellow practitioners who might be in similar situations.
(Clearwisdom.net) I am a practitioner in Chicago. During the lunar calendar New Year of 1999, I was reading the book Zhuan Falun on an airplane flying back to Taiwan. At that time, I studied the Fa because I wanted to quit smoking. I had this thought because one of my friends in California told me that one could quit smoking by reading the book Zhuan Falun. She mailed me Zhuan Falun. First, I did not have the mindset of giving up smoking. I did not know that I should try to finish reading the book without any interruptions. Neither did I know anything about interference. I would feel very sleepy whenever I read the book. I would continue reading the book after waking up. I put the book aside when I was busy. I would pick it up and continue with my reading if I had some spare time. I spent quite a long time before I finished reading the entire book. As a result, I did not give up smoking. Neither did I have any intention to quit it in my mind. I am not a very sensitive person. Therefore, I did not feel anything after reading the book. I only knew that I liked to read that book whenever I had some time. I did not understand why.
Since I came to the U.S. in 1985, nearly every year I would go to see my accountant during tax preparation time. Every year, she would tell me some stories of cultivating Buddhahood, or that she practiced such and such qigong and felt pretty good, etc. She hoped that I could join her to learn them. Then she would give me contact phone numbers and addresses. From what I could remember, it seemed that each year there was a different qigong, which had different addresses and phone numbers. I did not go to any of them and neither did I care to. At that time, I was perhaps like many people who have three children and are busy all day long working for a living. My children had to borrow money to attend college. How could I find time to go to learn qigong with her? Now my family situation was different. Three of my children have graduated from college. Moreover, some of them have jobs and even their own families. In the Spring of 1999, I went to the accountant’s office asking her for help on my tax preparation. She looked pretty healthy and younger. Before she began telling me about what new qigong she was practicing, I told her that one of my friends in California mailed me a book with a golden cover. I told her that I could not remember the title of the book. I told her that I had already started reading the book but had not yet finished it. She was very surprised and said, "Is it called Zhuan Falun?" I said it might be. She was very happy and immediately told me the practice site location and schedules. On March 17, a Wednesday, after work I went to look for the practice site following the address given to me by my accountant. The address was accurate. However, I could not find the gate after walking around that area for a long time. Later on, after a fellow practitioner’s help, I finally found the gate. That was when I truly began to practice Falun Dafa.
Not long after I joined the group practice, one day morning while I was driving to work, I suddenly had a thought, "Should I practice this Gong? I am a nurse. If I practice, I should not take the materials from the hospital." I thought it over again and told myself that what I took were only some things worth a few dollars. However, a practitioner should not take others' materials. I should get rid of this bad habit and follow the law principles on the book written by the Master. I should let go of the ordinary people’s pursuit of benefit. Once I had that thought, I saw a whole new different world in front of me. I was filled with happiness. I can still remember that beautiful feeling even now.
Right after that, I went to the Chicago Overseas Chinese Educational Center and attended the 9-day seminar. I watched Master Li’s lectures and learned the exercises. Since then I began to practice cultivation. Every day I studied the Fa and did the exercises. I tried very hard to follow what Zhuan Falun said. Soon, I found I didn't need those medicines I took every morning to cure my backache and thyroid gland. I also had been taking drugs that prevent thrombosis and vitamins. In addition, I threw away all those books at home with bad information in them.
During the second week after I participated in the group practice, one morning, I remembered clearly that I put the cigarettes and the lighter in my pocket. However, when I arrived at the office at the hospital, I found that the cigarettes and the lighter were not in my pocket. If it happened before, I would immediately go back home and get them. However, on that day, I thought to myself, "Today I will give it a try and see whether I can give up smoking." As a result, I did not think about smoking for the whole day. Moreover, I did pretty well at work. I could not believe that was real. However, as soon as I got home, I found ten packs of cigarettes. I only finished five of them. It would be a waste if I did not finish smoking them all. Therefore, I began to smoke again. Although I smoked again, it tasted weird. At that time, I did not have a better understanding of the Fa, and finished smoking the remaining five packs. That night at around 8pm, I remembered clearly that it was another test for my xinxing. I thought to myself "Should I go and buy some more cigarettes?" At that moment, I immediately thought about what Master Li said in Zhuan Falun,
"Smoking is another attachment. Some people say that smoking can give them a lift. I’d say you’re only fooling yourself, really."
"Smoking doesn’t do the body one bit of good. If a person has smoked for a long time, when a doctor does an autopsy he’ll find that his trachea is all black, and even the insides of his lungs are black."
"Aren’t we practitioners trying to purify our bodies? We want to keep purifying our bodies, and keep moving up to higher levels. So what are you putting that in your body for? Isn’t that the opposite of what we’re trying to do? Besides, it’s another strong desire."
"See yourself as a cultivator, and treat it as an attachment today and try to quit, see if you can quit. If you really want to cultivate I urge you to quit smoking today, and I guarantee you can quit. In the field of this class, nobody thinks of smoking. If you want to quit, I guarantee you can quit, and when you next pick up a cigarette it won’t taste right."
I thought about that for quite a long time. Finally, I decided to quit smoking. Thus, I finally got rid of the smoking habit. All my friends who knew I smoked before felt Dafa is amazing, especially my children. I became healthier and happier after giving up smoking. I became a much nicer and more peaceful person. My relationship with my children has improved. They gradually felt the wonderfulness of Dafa! Although at present they have not obtained the Fa yet, they know Falun Dafa is good in their heart!
In June 1999, Chicago held its first Fa Conference. Master Li came to the conference. That was my first time seeing our great Master. I felt extremely lucky! At that moment, since I did not have a better understanding of the Fa, and didn’t study the Fa deep enough, I could not remember too much of what Master Li said in the conference. However, I felt I was more fortunate than my ordinary friends since I was a disciple of the great Master! Whenever I think that I am a disciple of Master, as a Dafa practitioner in this Fa rectification period, I would require myself to follow what Master Li says and try to be a genuine disciple.
Right after the conference, there was the "April 25" incident and on July 20 Jiang Zemin began the full-scale persecution of Falun Gong in China. Suddenly, vicious propaganda, rumors and slander, of Falun Gong appeared everywhere. The CCP spread its evil influence to many countries around the world. In the U.S., some television stations influenced by the CCP played programs smearing Dafa and slandering Master Li. At that time, since I had not practiced very long and didn’t study the Fa deeply enough, I was not that calm when compared to senior fellow practitioners. I didn’t watch the CCP’s television programs and strove not to be interfered with by the evil. In the meantime, I continued to participate in group Fa study and practice. We exchanged our understandings of Fa and strictly followed the path of Fa rectification until today.
By the end of 2004, according to the U.S. government regulations, I reached the age of retirement. I thought to myself that I would have more spare time to study the Fa, practice the exercises and do some Fa validation work after retirement. Senior fellow practitioners in Chicago are very fortunate. We have a very good cultivation environment. In addition, we have those younger fellow practitioners who are enthusiastic to help us. Therefore, as long as you have the willingness to do some Dafa work, you can find them any time. The younger fellow practitioners are very active and enthusiastic in installing the programs that allow fellow practitioners in China to download Dafa materials anytime. At home, you can send faxes and make truth-clarification phone calls. You can go to the Chinese Embassy to send forth righteous thoughts. On Tuesday and Friday, we deliver newspapers to many locations. On Thursday, we distribute the English newspaper in subways and some major locations with more traffic. Saturday morning is the best day. In the morning, we go to the Chinese Embassy to send forth righteous thoughts, do the exercises and distribute truth-clarification materials. In the evening, we attend group Fa study and discuss with each other our Fa understandings. We try to look for our shortcomings and try to work harder and upgrade together as a team.
Master Li asked us to do three things well. He said,
"The three things that Master has taught you in the Fa to do well seem simple, but [things such as] whether you are diligent and the Attainment Status you will achieve are linked to it." (Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006)
In the same Toronto Fa Conference lecture, Master Li said:
"So everything that you do, be it your balancing well your family relationships while you live among ordinary people, balancing well your relationships in society, how you perform at your workplace, how you conduct yourself in society, etc., none of these are things you can just go through the motions on. All of these are part of your cultivation format, and are serious matters."
I must remember Master Li’s teaching, "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be." I will firmly follow the path arranged by Master Li until the end, follow Master Li and return to my genuine home.
Thank you!
(Clearwisdom.net) On Friday July 15, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners re-enacted scenes to raise public awareness about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) practice of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners to sell on the transplantation market. After their organs are stolen, the practitioners' bodies are cremated to destroy any evidence.
This activity was one of several in Slovakia marking seven years of persecution against Falun Gong. It was in July 1999 that former CCP head Jiang Zemin misused his power to turn the CCP and the country against Falun Gong practitioners. Jiang was jealous of Falun Gong's popularity after the number of practitioners was found to be higher than the number of Communist Party members. Nearly 3,000 deaths of practitioners have been confirmed in the last seven years whilst the real number is thought to be many times higher.
 |  |
| Organ harvesting re-enactment | Practitioner interviewed by Slovak TV |
 |  |
| People came to find out more | |
The re-enactment attracted a lot of attention. A doctor stood by an operating table, on which there lay a patient covered by a blue sheet. The doctor removed something from the patient's body. It looked very real and some passers-by were almost shocked. Fortunately, on the operation table there was a sign saying: "This is a simulation but in China it is really happening."
Many people stopped and watched without a word, as if they couldn't believe their eyes. "Is that really happening?" was frequently asked. Nearby were leaflets that explained more about the persecution of Falun Gong and the CCP's crimes of organ harvesting. Over 300 people signed a petition calling for an end to the human rights atrocities against Falun Gong.
A reporter from Slovak TV came to film the event. He interviewed two practitioners and learned a lot about the persecution of Falun Gong, organ harvesting in China and some of the support for persecuted practitioners from dignitaries such as the Vice President of the European Parliament Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott. He combined these facts into a report, which was broadcast on the national evening news.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200607/34481.html
Alarming Allegation
Beijing: An alarming allegation is being announced throughout the world. A former Canadian cabinet member and a renowned human rights attorney accused China of murdering detainees for organ harvesting. It is alleged that the victims are Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun Gong is a blend of meditation and exercises. The Chinese regime banned Falun Gong in 1999 and called it an enemy of the state. According to human rights associations, thousands of members of this group were detained in slave labour camps, without a court sentence.
The two human rights activists put together their findings after a two-month investigation. The former state secretary, responsible for Asia and the Pacific, David Kilgour, and the attorney David Matas based their results on telephone conversations with prison camps and hospitals that performed transplants. The official representatives for these institutions promised a speedy delivery of organs.
Besides that, the former wife of a Chinese surgeon said that her former husband had removed over 2,000 corneas from human eyes over a period of two years.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200607/34467.html
Originally published in German at: http://www.clearharmony.de/articles/200607/32426.html
Wed, July 26, 2006
Dana Zhao (left), Tianqi Li and Heidi Luo explain cause at city hall. (C. PROCAYLO Sun)
Several Chinese refugees went to city hall yesterday to ask for help in fighting their homeland's crackdown on the Falun Gong meditation movement -- and found at least one supportive politician.
The horror stories of "mass killings" of Falun Gong practitioners and allegations of sales of their organs -- as told by the handful of refugees visiting Winnipeg, as well as a growing number of members of the Chinese spiritual movement -- have prompted Coun. Jenny Gerbasi to recommend that city hall take action against the Communist government's clampdown.
CONDEMN ILLEGAL HARVESTING
Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) will ask this week that the city push Ottawa to condemn any illegal harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners -- a practice that Winnipeg human rights lawyer David Matas says has become common in China.
She'll also recommend the city demand that the provincial government tighten laws against organ trafficking and require doctors to report evidence that a patient has received an organ in such a way.
The Chinese refugees, who live in Toronto, came to Winnipeg as part of a trek across Canada to call attention to the alleged persecution by the Chinese government and to ask authorities here to help stop it.
Tianqi Li, a 60-year-old who moved to Toronto from China in 2003, says he was imprisoned at a Chinese labor camp from 2000 to 2002 as punishment for practicing Falun Gong -- a spiritual, meditative and non-political movement that started in 1992 and has grown to an estimated membership of more than 100 million.
"They want to brainwash us, because the Chinese government doesn't allow people to practice Falun Gong," Li told the Sun. "They force you to give it up."
Gerbasi pointed to Matas's research and said an estimated 41,000 organ transplants are "unaccounted for" in China in recent years.
Through a translator, Li said former president Jiang Zemin launched the clampdown.
"When he started the persecution, he made it a policy that all the Falun Gong people need to be eradicated and that their bodies be destroyed," Li said. "And, politically, they need to be condemned and restricted from any political involvement."
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2006/07/26/1702717-sun.html
Mary Byrom paints a tiny scene on the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick
Photo by Andrew Moore
It takes a few minutes to find a mid-ground -- or speaking speed -- that accommodates typing fingers and the fast-moving mind of Mary Byrom, of South Berwick. But eventually the artist taps the vocal brakes enough so her story can be followed.
It's hard to believe this live wire is capable of sitting for hours in a bucolic setting, catching cloud formations; sun-dappled trees or seascapes on canvas. But sit she does, brush in hand, putting balance in her life with a change in subject, from her alternative work that addresses the world's horrors.
The product of these respites is on view at the Portsmouth Kennedy Studios through July 31.
"You have this beautiful nature all around you, and then you have all these people doing these horrible things. I find myself in the middle of these extremes. I think of it as a line; the beauty of nature on this side, then, on the other side of the spectrum, horrible crimes. I'm in the middle seeing both," she says. "I find the landscapes a perfect balance to the human rights (art), "because I'm looking at pieces of the planet that are still beautiful. I'm also able to see moments of beauty, for example, the way the light will strike something at a time of day. "It's part of the whole big picture."
Painting any subject is "a return to the life she once knew." It's been more than a decade since Byrom has had a major show. A professional artist since 1975, her career came to an end when she was struck by a car on Bow Street in 1989. Painting, along with most her life, was put on hold for the next 10 years. Byrom broke all three large bones in her left leg, and her knee was destroyed. There was nearly a month in the hospital, followed by seven years of daily physical therapy.
About mid-way through the period, she started dreaming about landscapes, a departure from the abstract and three-dimensional work she'd been creating before the accident. But it was only dreams, she says.
She also met and married Marcus Gayle during this period.
"My husband started practicing Falun Gong. He looked really good, really healthy. So, I thought I'd try it out."
It consisted of sitting meditation and a physical practice similar to tai chi. "It was easy and I learned in a week; and immediately I had physical improvements."
She says, while such immediacy doesn't occur for all, it's not uncommon for those who have ailments when they begin the practice. In time she gained back the strength in her leg, along with a sense of "being very energized and light," which motivated her to return to her work.
In time she was able to hike again, and that's when she took up the practice of painting beautiful regional places "" just as she'd dreamed during those years of rehab.
Even though Byrom attended more than four colleges from '71 to '76, she is a product of an era when many institutions didn't teach the art basics. When she made the decision to return to painting, she decided to get the basics.
In 1999 she signed on to study with renowned painting instructor Sean Beavers, at Eliot's Sanctuary Arts.
"He teaches traditional oils. I wanted to get back the control and get the solid foundations." She stayed with him for years, and went on to study with other instructors. Armed with her new understanding she began plein air or on-site painting.
In addition to her Kennedy show, Byrom has a painting from this series on display in Concord, at the Pierce Law School, in LACA's "Exhibit A: Summer Art at Pierce Law," through Sept. 4. Her painting received the "Viewer's Choice Award."
But it was her newly found belief system that turned her eye and skill on to human rights issues, in about 2004. Through her practice she started meeting people who left China owing to persecution, including numerous art instructors who had been imprisoned and tortured for their practice of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong).
Her first human right's series addressed the issue of torture. Today she's painting on the human organ trade.
"The only reason I'm addressing it is because people are too afraid to do anything on China. People want to be quiet about issues there "because they have business there."
Works from this series will be exhibited at Copley Square Plaza in Boston, July 24 through July 27. The event will include an address by two Canadians, [human rights lawyer]David Mattas, [and former]parliament member David Kilgore. It's the work of these two men that has inspired her, she says. Together they did independent investigation on China's live organ harvesting business, which exports all over the world. The exhibit is timed to be in the city during the World Transplant Conference at Boston's Hynes Center.
Most of those used for organ harvesting are practitioners of Falun Dafa, she says. "They're rounding them up, holding them in prison connected to hospitals, and they've set up a business, "selling the organs." She also took part in a 2005 exhibition on torture in Chicago.
"This work is motivated because I want to help people; definitely. "There is nothing wrong with making the world a better place to live in. It's so unnecessary that so many people should be affected so horribly. There are better ways for us all to live." But it can be difficult to go to these dark places, which takes her back to the paintings of beautiful vistas.
"The time spent alone interpreting the beauty and moments of nature are what make it possible for me to see clearly and act directly to effect change when I see these huge crimes being committed," she says. "I want to put something into the art, to share a moment of time or of beauty or of understanding, put them out there as message for anyone that can possibly gain from it. It's like a language, a different language of the spirit. And other people out there notice it and understand it completely. "My life has come full circle."
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07252006/entertainment-f-jy25-profile.html
| Title | MTV: Set Them Free | |||
| Words and Music: Randall Effner | Vocals: Randall, Dianna, and Sara Effner Arrangement, Guitar: Adrian Morales | |||
| ||||
| Online Watch | Real format | |||
| Download | Real format (7,245KB); MPEG format(61,247KB) | |||
The Clearwisdom Review is a weekly newsletter, which will highlight current information about the persecution, practitioners' activities worldwide, and the benefits of Falun Dafa. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide current and updated information about Falun Dafa in a brief and easily accessible format. Through new articles each week, the newsletter will strive to provide a balance of coverage on a range of topics relevant to Falun Gong. The newsletter can be downloaded in PDF format for viewing or distribution.
Download Clearwisdom Review 2006 Issue 23:
