China Crisis News Bulletin #56

8/30/2000
Monitoring News of the Persecution of Falun Gong

FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER - Contacts: Gail Rachlin 212-501-8080, Erping Zhang 917-679-6944, Feng Yuan 917-912-3301, or Levi Browde 914-720-0963. Email: [e-mail]

BREAKING NEWS: CHINA THREATENS TO EXECUTE PRACTITIONERS

80+ MEMBERS OF U.S. CONGRESS SIGN LETTER URGING CLINTON TO SPEAK TO CHINESE LEADERSHIP ABOUT THE PERSECUTION

AMIDST NEW ARRESTS, CHRISTIANITY NOW ALSO CONSIDERED A 'CULT' IN CHINA

ALERT! BREAKING NEWS -- NEW CHINESE GOV'T PLAN TO "ERADICATE FALUN GONG IN 3 MONTHS;" THREATENS EXECUTIONS OF PRACTITIONERS AS WARNING TO OTHERS

Reliable sources in China have disclosed plans by the Chinese government to mount a new attempt to wipe out Falun Gong within three months. The new plan is called "Destroying the reputation of Falun Gong completely, exhausting Falun Gong practitioners financially, and eradicating Falun Gong within three months."

Reports received by the Falun Dafa Information Center indicate that on August 21, 2000, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security held a nationwide telephone conference to relay new orders from the leadership. Its key point: "further intensify the crackdown on Falun Gong." The plan recommends that some practitioners considered "backbone figures" be "heavily punished." The authorities also reportedly discussed executing certain practitioners who have remained faithful to their beliefs. The purpose of such a move is apparently to threaten a large number by killing a few. The Falun Dafa Information Center welcomes further media investigations of this new policy before it is implemented.

MORE THAN 80 US HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES SIGN 'DEAR COLLEAGUE' LETTER URGING CLINTON TO SPEAK OUT ON CHINA'S BRUTAL CRACKDOWN ON FALUN GONG

In a letter dated August 28, 2000, to President Clinton, 82 US House Representatives cited news reports of Chinese regime's unrelenting suppression campaign against Falun Gong practitioners, and urged President Clinton to "reiterate United States opposition to Beijing's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the strongest possible terms and in every available forum." This letter also urged President Clinton to bring up this issue to China's Jiang Zemin in their September meeting in New York City where a UN Summit will take place. As a follow-up to the House Resolution 217 passed last November, which condemned China's crackdown on Falun Gong, this dear-colleague letter called on China to free all detained and imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners in jails and mental institutions, reaffirming that "it is not Falun Gong or other political and religious dissidents who are destabilizing the country, but rather the government's brutal reaction against its own citizens." (Please see www.faluninfo.net for the full text of the letter.)

FOR AN ATHEIST CHINESE LEADERSHIP, EVEN CHRISTIANITY COUNTS AS A 'CULT'

Globe and Mail (UK), Friday, August 25, Beijing - While one of China's top religious leaders was visiting North America and praising the new "golden age" of religion in his officially atheistic country, Chinese officials were arresting and jailing 130 members of an underground Christian church in central China.

Reuters, August 24: It [The church] was one of at least 14 Chinese Christian sects branded evil cults and banned by Beijing -- the same fate as the Falun Gong spiritual and meditation movement.

LA TIMES ASKS: IS THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY IN TROUBLE?

LA Times, August 27: Over the past month, hundreds of Chinese followers of Falun Gong have risked imprisonment to demonstrate in Tiananmen Square to protest the Communist Party's yearlong crackdown on their spiritual movement. Falun Gong, rather than being just another oddity on China's colorful panorama of human rights abuses, is actually an indication that the Communist Party is slowly losing its grip on political stability in China. No matter how hard the authorities try to stamp out Falun Gong, its followers keep popping up, willing and ready to be arrested for the cause. In contrast with China's democracy advocates--few and disorganized--Falun Gong followers number in the tens of millions and act with remarkable discipline. They are determined and stoic, eager to endure personal hardship for the broader right to practice their beliefs. It is no surprise that with China's rapid change and social dislocation, many people are searching for something to believe in. Nor is it a surprise that many are latching on to mystical teachings like Falun Gong, with its nativist blend of Buddhist and Taoist elements, or its emphasis on clean living, self-sacrifice and health through meditation and breathing exercises. For the vast majority of the movement's followers, Falun Gong offers an appealing refuge from the big social trends in China today, crass commercialism and the pursuit of money. Falun Gong does not offer any political platform, and it seems unlikely to pose a direct threat to China's government. But its resilience in the face of a tough campaign points to a weakening of old methods of control. And the protesters keep on coming.

FALUN DAFA RADIO BEGINS NEW CAMPAIGN TO REVEAL CHINA'S ABUSES

August 28, World Falun Dafa Radio Team -- To raise public awareness of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and to get the facts out to the public, World Falun Dafa Radio has added new transmitters and frequencies. Effective as of August 28, the new broadcast schedule is as follows: 6AM-7AM Beijing local time: 15.670, 15.680, 15.690, 15.700, 12.120, 12.130, 12.140, 12.150, 13.575, 13.580, 13.585, 13.590 MHz; 10PM-11PM Beijing local time: 9.350, 9.370, 9.380 MHz. World Falun Dafa Radio started transmission on July 1, 2000, aiming to break through the Chinese information blockade and bring factual reports on Falun Gong to the Chinese public. Fearing that the truth of the persecution would be revealed, the Chinese regime quickly began jamming the transmission. The newly added frequencies are expected to counter the jamming.

NEWS FROM CHINA

[Chongqing] - According to reliable sources, the Xishanping Labor Camp of Chongqing City (Tel: [phone]) gave practitioners forced injections of heroin in order to destroy them physically and mentally, while in detention. [Shenyang] - A 15 year-old girl was tortured by police, for 4 hours, with two electric stun batons. She told the police "I'm still a minor You're violating the law knowingly! Do you also use the electric baton to shock your own children?" After receiving this torture she was in extreme pain with a fever, vomiting, and frequent seizures. [Hebei Province] - An elderly woman in her 70's from Laishui County was tortured for 24 consecutive hours. There were wounds all over her body, especially on her buttocks, where the skin was torn and the flesh gaped open. She was then denied food and drink for several days. At the same detention center, a teenager was hung up and beaten once a day. Other practitioners were stripped naked while being hung up and tortured.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR U.N. SUMMIT IN NEW YORK CITY:

Falun Dafa practitioners will be showing a presence during the week-long Millennium Summit at the United Nations in New York City next week. For interviews or details, please contact the FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER - Contacts: Gail Rachlin 212-501-8080, Erping Zhang 917-679-6944, Feng Yuan 917-912-3301, or Levi Browde 914-720-0963. Email: [e-mail]