Issued by Clearwisdom Net

On June 7, 2006 the World Cup France-China warm-up match was held at Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint Etienne in central France. Soccer is the favorite game of the French people, and the stadium, seating 40,000 people, was filled to capacity. Before the match, at the entrance of the stadium, French Falun Gong practitioners exposed the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) seven-year-long persecution of Falun Gong and the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Many French fans took balloons that read, "Falun Dafa Is Good" and, "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" into the stadium.

The world needs "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance"

The Falun Gong practitioners' booth was set up at the stadium entrance, where the spectators lined up to enter the stadium. Western practitioners used a loudspeaker to explain to people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and many kind and righteous people walked out of the queues to sign the petition to call for an end to the persecution. A group of Chinese people also waited in the queues. Chinese practitioners used a loudspeaker to read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party to them. These Chinese people quietly listened until they entered the stadium.

Falun Gong practitioner Stephane is being interviewed by the French Station TV3

In a pre-game interview with French Station TV3, Falun Gong practitioner Stephane said that the soccer match was a good opportunity to talk about issues in China. "We aim to tell more people about the human rights abuses that Chinese Falun Gong practitioners suffer. We believe that the genocide and human rights situation in China has reached a point of crisis. There are a large number of Falun Gong practitioners in China suffering the atrocity of having their organs removed when they are still alive. We are here to call for an urgent rescue!"

When asked whether it was difficult to hold such an activity near the stadium, Stephane replied that during World War II, people's disbelief in the existence of the Nazi's genocide in concentration camps made it very difficult for witnesses to come forward with their own experiences. "Right now it is still a challenge for us to gain widespread support, especially since the French government is under tremendous economic enticement and pressure from the Chinese Communist regime."

A gentleman who took Falun Gong leaflets told the reporter that where there is totalitarianism there are death camps and concentration camps. But all these will collapse just as the former Soviet Union had done, he continued. He felt that the Falun Gong practitioners had done well in making people aware of what is happening in China. The CCP is more unscrupulous than the former Soviet Union, as the CCP holds onto its power through controlling the economy. Yet, this man is certain the CCP will crumble.

A French woman helped practitioners distribute truth-clarification materials. She said, "As I am a human rights defender, I think we must fight various barbaric acts that are against civilisation. Today the Chinese team is invited to play in this match. This is a good opportunity for us. Such protests are very important for maintaining human dignity."

She also said, "People's pursuit of spiritual beliefs should not be prohibited. This is a basic human right."

Many French fans had their photos taken with Falun Gong practitioners after obtaining balloons that read, "Falun Dafa Is Good" and, "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." Practitioners Stephane and Mathieu went into the stadium wearing shirts that read, "36 Death Concentration Camps in China," and, "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong." After the game, they called out to the Chinese officials in the VIP section, "Falun Dafa is good. Stop persecuting Falun Gong!"

International human rights attorney Mr. David Matas

The Group to Investigate the CCP's Harvesting Organs from Live Falun Gong Practitioners, which consists of the former director of the Asian Pacific Division of Canada's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr. David Kilgour and well-known international human rights attorney Mr. David Matas, wrote to the Chinese Embassy in Canada, requesting a meeting with Chinese Ambassador, Lu Shumin. The Investigation Group wishes to conduct an independent investigation in China this month. The group will publish its investigation report based on the collected evidence soon.

The Group requests an independent investigation without the CCP's control

Mr. Kilgour and Mr. Matas wrote to the Chinese Embassy on June 2. In their letter, they said that they hoped to visit China in June to investigate the CCP's harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners, which has resulted in the death of many practitioners.

They stated that it is proper to request a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador and other Chinese government officials before they applied for visas to visit China. In their meeting, they would like to discuss with the ambassador about this visit and the conditions of their investigation in China.

Mr. Matas emphasized that they were requesting an independent investigation free of the CCP's manipulations. Mr. Matas said that the investigation would be meaningless if the CCP decides who they could meet or talk to.

Mr. Matas hoped that when they are in China, they will have the freedom to investigate the issues directly, instead of receiving evidence provided by the CCP.

The coordinator of "The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG)" in Canada, Mr. Yang Kaiwen said during an interview that, in order to cover up the truth of persecution and deceive the international community, the CCP always makes some arrangements before the international investigation groups come. The CCP arranges the itineraries and interviewees for the group. The CCP also forces the interviewees to answer the questions in a way that the CCP pre-arranged.

According to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, on January 9, 2004, the UN's International Labor Organization visited Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp in Beijing for an investigation. As if facing a formidable foe, the camp authorities took all of the imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners inside and confined them in a single area. They did not allow the practitioners to go outdoors nor require them to work, either. To set up a so-called "free interview" for the international investigation team, Group 3 arranged for Pan Jun, a graduate from the Legal and Law University, and Mu Yuan, a graduate of Beijing University of Technology, to answer the visitors' questions. Both of these practitioners had been brainwashed and put through multiple rehearsals in advance. They were also warned that they would have to "take responsibility" if they went off track.

Falun Gong practitioners Zhao Ming and Chen Gang who were illegally imprisoned in Tuanhe Labor Camp, testified that the guards in Tuanhe Labor Camp always force Falun Gong practitioners to stand straight up, sit without moving, bow down for long periods of time, or run in the yard. They also lock practitioners on the bed for a long time or confine practitioners in the rooms where people boil water, in the summer time. The purpose of all the tortures that the guards applied to practitioners is to break down practitioners' will, so they use extreme methods. Falun Gong practitioners who were beaten or not allowed to sleep, or threatened, often develop white hair, weight loss, muscle pain, organs dysfunction, depression, and memory loss. More importantly, although the physical pain due to the torture will often abate as time goes by, the mental and spiritual injuries will influence one's life for a long time.

Mr. Yang Kaiwen used the investigation by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Manfred Nowak as an example. He said that the CCP interfered with the investigation badly. They spied on and monitored the investigators. They also made trouble with the investigators' plan. Moreover, they threatened the interviewees and witnesses and their family members. So, it is very important that the investigation groups can conduct an independent investigation without the CCP's interference.

Publishing the investigating report is the first step of the complete investigation.

Based on interviews with witnesses outside of China, and a lot of collected evidences, two investigators are working on an investigation report. Mr. Matas said that no matter whether their request is approved or not, they will keep doing their work and finish the report.

Mr. Yang Kaiwen said that the investigation by the two investigators is independent. They will draw their own conclusions based on the evidence they collect. According to the evidence we collected, it is undeniable that the CCP has been harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners in labor camps and secret concentration camp. But because it is difficult to conduct a complete and independent investigation in China, we don't know exactly the degree and scale of the persecution.