News and Activities from Around the World -- November 11, 2005

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

On November 8, 2005, 15 practitioners who were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for their practice of Falun Gong have retained lawyer Carlos Iglesias to file a suit against Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai in Madrid's High Court. Bo is charged with committing the crimes of genocide and torture during the persecution of Falun Gong.

Media interview lawyer Carlos Iglesias

From 1999 to 2003, Bo Xilai directed and drove the persecution of Falun Gong and directly participated in the genocide when he was mayor of Dalian City, Secretary of Liaoning Provincial CCP Committee and Governor of Liaoning Province. Many times in meetings, he ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. Dalian is one of the worst cities, and Liaoning Province is one of the worst provinces in the persecution.

As of August 2005, in Liaoning Province, at least 341 practitioners have been tortured to death, including Ms. Gao Rongrong who was shocked with electric batons, disfigured and murdered. The notoriously brutal Masanjia Labor Camp is located in Liaoning Province. Bo Xilai, the former governor of Liaoning Province, must be held responsible for these crimes.

After filing the lawsuit, lawyer Carlos Iglesias was interviewed in front of the high court by many Spanish media. He said that nearly 100 hundred million practitioners were persecuted during the last six-years. Many families were broken up, tens of thousands were unlawfully imprisoned and tortured in labor camps, and several thousand practitioners were tortured to death. Under the totalitarian rule of the CCP, practitioners in China had no place to file a complaint, not to mention sue the former CCP's leader who initiated the persecution.

Many Spanish media reported the news. Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Commission have also verified that these frightful crimes are being committed in China.

Lawyer Carlos Iglesias pointed out that Spain is a democratic country and Spanish courts could try cases of foreign crimes. Bo, the Commerce Minister, is accompanying CCP leader Hu Jintao on state visits to three countries in Europe. The Spanish government has been asked to deny entry to such human rights villains. Mr. Iglesias said, "If he steps on Spanish soil, Spanish jurisdiction has the power to arrest him."

Bo Xilai is scheduled to arrive in Spain on November 13.

On November 8, 2005, Hu Jintao arrived at London and began his 3-day visit to Britain. Falun Gong practitioners held peaceful demonstrations along his trip calling for an end to the persecution.

Falun Gong practitioners call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong

Falun Gong practitioners sit-in to appeal

According to a BBC report on November 8, 2005, there were Falun Gong practitioners among the protesters. The rise of Falun Gong as a mass movement has been one of the most curious stories of modern China. It's a combination of spiritual meditation and exercise.

The report says, theirs were the biggest banners, written in Chinese and English, calling for the release of followers arrested for their beliefs. The Falun Gong followers mostly stood or sat in silent contemplation.

Michael Lee, one of the organizers of the Falun Gong contingent, said they were people seeking "compassion and forbearance."

"China has no human rights - how can it when our practitioners are imprisoned and tortured for simply seeking spiritual wellbeing," said Mr Lee.

"The Chinese Communist Party is persecuting our followers yet all we want to do is talk."

According to a report from Guardian (UK) on November 8, Amnesty International urged Mr. Blair to raise human rights issues during his talks with Mr. Hu. Stephen Bowen, Amnesty's UK campaign director, said China's economic progress should not "blind" the UK to the denial of basic rights. "China still massively restricts freedom of expression and information, still executes more people than the rest of the world put together and still harasses and detains people who stand up for human rights," he said.

Independent (UK) also reported on Falun Gong practitioners' petition on November 9, 2005. In particular, the article authored by Jonathan Brown told the story for Dr. Li Shao, now an academic at the University of Nottingham and a practitioner of Falun Gong. He has witnessed some of the worst of Beijing's repression.

According to the report, Dr. Shao said 2,800 of his fellow followers had died as a result of the persecution of their beliefs. A further 200,000 had been interned in labor camps. Among them is his sister-in-law, an accountant from the province of Guangzhow, who was arrested after she gave a seminar on Falun Gong in London. She now works 14
hours a day in a flower factory for no pay.

"When she was seen meditating by the guards she was handcuffed by her wrists and hung from a door frame," he said. "The British Government has never raised the issue with China. Tony Blair has never even uttered the words Falun Gong to a Chinese leader," he said. Falun Gong supporters will mount a vigil outside Buckingham Palace for the duration of President Hu's stay.

According to the report, Falun Gong tried November 8 to have the commerce minister, Bo Xilai, who is traveling with the party, arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to torture members of their religion in Liao Ning.

Hu Jintao will visit Germany and Spain after his visit to the United Kingdom.

With the increasingly busy and hectic lives that many people living in London lead, it must have been quite a shock to come face to face with a young Chinese man who seemed to be bleeding heavily from a face wound, under close scrutiny from what appeared to be a Chinese policeman.

Falun Gong practitioner re-enacts the torture that is currently taking place in China

Fortunately this scene was just a re-enactment. The anti-torture exhibition exposed merely the tip of the iceberg - the persecution of Falun Gong that is taking place in China.

On Saturday the 5th of November, Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition near the St. Martins Church, opposite Trafalgar Square, in a very busy part of London. The location meant that a great deal of people had the opportunity to find out about the torture and brutal persecution that is currently taking place in China. This event marked the start of activities running up to the arrival of the Chinese Premier Hu Jintao, due to arrive in London on Tuesday, November 8.

Signing a petition to help stop the persecution	Passers-by reading about the persecution

Many people were shocked at the brutality and sheer viciousness of the persecution, and despite the inclement weather, they took a step towards stopping the persecution by signing their names in support of Falun Gong. Others viewed the exhibition from the sides, reading the posters detailing the cruelty, amazed that such atrocities are still occurring today. Not only that, what shocked them the most was that they had never heard of the persecution before, though it has been ongoing for over six years. Only when the Faun Gong practitioners stepped forward to speak to members of the audience, explaining the Chinese Communist Party's use of widespread propaganda and deceptive means to ensure that other countries don't find out about their crimes, did they truly come to understand what is going on.

After the exhibition, the participants felt that their efforts had made a big impact. Seeing the reactions from the audience throughout the exhibition, and looking at the list of names on the petition, the practitioners felt gratified knowing that they have helped more people know about the persecution.

During an activity at Paris Square in Berlin on November 5, 2005, we met many people, who with their signatures requested that the German Federal President talk to his Chinese guest concerning the issue of the persecution of Falun Gong.

During the many conversations held at our information stand, we clearly felt the sympathy of the people for the persecuted victims in China.

Once again, it was a 'live' anti-torture exhibition, which made the pedestrians take notice of the cruelty of the communist regime in China. How easily do we ignore such news when it is presented to us on television or in newspapers.

I observed two young people who squatted next to the cage in which a Chinese practitioner was sitting, thereby being able to listen undisturbed to the voice coming from the tape recorder which explained the background of the persecution of Falun Gong. Thereafter, those two young people still had many questions. They also wanted to see the pictures of tortured practitioners in China.

Paris Square, which is very close to the Brandenburg Gate, the emblem of Berlin, is a tourist attraction and people from all over the world come here. Luckily, we had information material in many languages with us. First thing in the morning, three buses of Chinese teenagers arrived. All of them were dressed in black school uniforms. While we waved to them, they looked shy in the other direction, and from time to time risked a curious look in our direction and at our banner which carried the Chinese words Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance).

A big announcement was planned for the afternoon, which was a special surprise for us. At about 3:00 p.m., thousands of people flowed into Paris Square carrying red flags, with loud drumming and music through which they expressed their protest. Yet many of them also perceived astonishingly the calm, harmonious field of Falun Dafa and observed the Falun Gong exercises, which we demonstrated continuously. We were astonished ourselves that our soft meditation music coming from our little music box was able to succeed so well against the loud roaring music from the protest activity. People seemed to be open and gladly took our information material. We often referred to our internet website and we were photographed many times during the day.

Just another small incident in passing. In the morning, when we set up our stand, three policemen patrolled the square. We had a long and friendly conversation with them and this produced very pleasant effects for the three of us. First, after we presented our permit, we received permission by way of exception to park our car on the square itself. Secondly, the policemen clearly explained to the organizers of the big rally, that we, the Falun Gong group also had a permit for this day and naturally would stay here the entire day. Thirdly, the older policeman showed me a written remittance, which stated that we were allowed to wear our srivatsa -badges and that this would not be any cause whatsoever for the police to take criminal measures.

When the Chinese State and Party Chief, Hu Jintao, visits Berlin the following week to meet with the German Federal President, he will hopefully feel that Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is strong in Germany and that they can correct his thoughts and actions.

On November 6, 2005, after 1:00 p.m., Singapore Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Huang Chay Huay encountered Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew on Orchard Road and called for him to treat Falun Gong fairly.

French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand was holding a photography exhibit entitled "Bird's-eye View on the World" on the sidewalk going from Liat Towers to Forum Galleria on Orchard Road. On November 6, 2005, after 1:00 p.m., Ms. Huang Chay Huay passed by while holding photo display boards with the words, "A call for the CCP to stop killing Falun Gong practitioners." The display also had some pictures and information exposing the torture and murder of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Gao Rongrong. Ms. Huang noticed that Lee Kuan Yew was viewing the photo exhibit and was escorted by his bodyguards. One guard hinted that Ms. Huang should not speak. However, Ms. Huang told the guard, "You know Falun Gong is severely persecuted in China, and also receives unfair treatment in Singapore. Give me an opportunity, I want to speak to Senior Minister Lee." Ms. Huang then shouted out the words that had been in her heart for a long time, "You can't treat Falun Gong like this. You should treat Falun Gong fairly. The whole world is watching you." "Remember 'Falun Dafa is Great.'"

Lee Kuan Yew did not say anything and left.

Ms. Huang said, "Since the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong, in Singapore, Falun Gong practitioners' activities have been unreasonably restricted. The community centers have canceled practitioners' free instructions on Falun Gong to residents. Practitioners cannot get a permit to hold many activities. Regarding the MacRitchie Incident in 2000 and the Esplanade Park Case in 2004, in particular, I was a client in both cases. I feel I was unfairly treated, and Falun Gong was unfairly treated. In the past years, I have been writing to the government and Senior Minister Lee, and even requested to meet with the Senior Minister. Several days ago, I also wrote to the government, requesting redress for the MacRitchie case and the Esplanade Park case, because both cases were wrongly handled. I want to restore Falun Gong's reputation and retrieve the fines that were levied on me in both cases. Unexpectedly, I came across Senior Minister Lee today and spoke out those words from the bottom of my heart face to face with him. I feel that God arranged this opportunity for me."

In 1996, Falun Buddha Society (Singapore) was registered as a legitimate organization. This was the earliest among the Falun Dafa Associations registered outside of China. In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong. At the time, the Singapore media republished in full a lot of the CCP's news attacking Falun Gong. In 2001, Lee Kuan Yew said in a media interview, "Falun Gong is a political group." In 2002, the Singapore government approved an unregistered group to hold a photo exhibit attacking Falun Gong. Some Falun Gong practitioners of Chinese nationality face difficulties in their lives simply because they practice Falun Gong. Some of them cannot get an Employment Pass. Some have had the duration of their visas shortened. Recently, police officers forcibly took a practitioner in her 70s to the police station simply for distributing Falun Gong flyers. A young Chinese couple, Mr. Zhang Zhaopei and his wife, both Falun Gong practitioners, could not get permanent resident status because they practice Falun Gong and clarified the truth to the public. Mr. Zhang could not even get an Employment Pass. Eventually they immigrated to Canada as refugees. The Singapore government once issued a scholarship to Mr. Zhang Zhaopei.

Background Information:

The MacRitchie Incident: On the evening of December 31, 2000, several dozen Falun Gong practitioners in Singapore held a candlelight vigil at the quiet MacRitchie Reservoir in memory of Falun Gong practitioners in China who had died as a result of persecution. The police sent out a large number of riot police, surrounded the practitioners and detained fifteen of them, charged them with "illegal assembly" and brought them to trial. Later, these practitioners were either sentenced to prison or fined. Afterwards, most of them were asked to leave Singapore. It is known that activities that constitute "illegal assembly" must have an element of violence, but that night, the atmosphere was sad and solemn, without any violence.

The Esplanade Park Case:

In April 2004, the Singapore police indicted Falun Gong practitioners who, on February 23, 2003, had done the Falun Gong exercises and clarified the truth about Dafa in Esplanade Park. They charged the practitioners with "Assembly without a Permit" and "Possession and Distribution of VCDs without a Certificate."

Practitioners did not accept the charges and asked an attorney to defend them in court. After a preliminary hearing, the judge announced that all charges would stand and imposed a large fine of S$20,000 and 24,000 respectively on both practitioners. The practitioners felt the verdict was unfair to them. On September 20, 2005, they appealed to the High Court of Singapore. The Falun Gong lawyer pointed out that in line with freedom of belief in the Singapore Constitution, citizens have the right to spread their beliefs, and even have the right to clarify when their beliefs are subjected to libel and slander.

The lawyer also pointed out that the fundamental material evidence provided by the police, a receipt for confiscating VCD, did not have his client's signature. Other witnesses and evidence were seriously insufficient. Moreover, five persons can constitute an assembly, but only two persons had charges brought against them. The Chief Justice did not answer the lawyer's questions. He cited purely political reasons such as "Our country is too small. We are powerless to influence a large country" "I won't let you off so easily next time." This is the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners expressed that they would defend themselves all the way to the court in The Hague.