From the Heart

Good Afternoon!

We are very glad to be here in Gothenburg. Nearly 500 of us have gathered from all over the world, people of all ages with different backgrounds.

This week we are sharing our experiences and practicing Falun Dafa, more commonly called Falun Gong.

Falun Gong is a practice with ancient roots from China. When we study Falun Gong, we learn to practice "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." We try to be better people at home, at work, with our families and friends. Falun Gong also teaches us to practice qigong exercise and meditation. We find that this improves our health and enriches our lives. Most of us, perhaps all of us here would agree--Falun Gong is very profound, something that we treasure very deeply.

In 1992, Falun Gong was introduced to the public of China. Prior to that it had been taught in seclusion, passed on from a Great Teacher to his students. Now people practice Falun Gong in at least 40 countries. The number of people who practice could be well over 100 million.

Many of us took time away from work, school or our families to come here. Many people traveled great distances to be in Gothenburg during this special week when the EU Council is holding its meeting.

We came here because we know we have to do something. We need help.

In China, Falun Gong was once widely accepted and encouraged by the government. Now it is outlawed.

For two years, the Chinese government under the direction of Jiang Zemin, has done nearly everything in its power to persecute people who practice Falun Gong. Well over 50,000 people have been arrested; 20,000 have been detained and abused in labor camps. Over 1,000 perfectly normal and healthy people have been forcibly detained in mental hospitals and abused with horrible torture and toxic drugs. At least 228 have been beaten or tortured to death!

The government does not just tolerate these atrocities - it orders them!

And why?

Chinese leaders have tried "eliminate" the practice of Falun Gong simply due to the number of people practicing in China, and out of fear that their own corruption will be recognized by a people whose hearts awaken to truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

For two years, Chinese Public Security, has abducted innocent citizens, beat them, molested and raped them, tortured them and murdered them. They have inflicted unimaginable suffering upon their fellow citizens, the very people whom they are supposed to protect.

On May 29^th, Chinese police abducted Ms. Chi Yulian, a Falun Gong practitioner, from her home in Dalian City. Despite her husband's appeals, the police forcibly shackled and detained her. After one week in custody, she suddenly died. She leaves behind a heartbroken husband and ten year-old child. Police have given no explanation for her death and will not release the body.

Our hearts go out to the family of Ms. Wang Lixuan, an innocent woman 27 years old, who along with her 8-month-old baby boy, were tragically killed by police in China. Ms. Wang and her child Meng Hao were arrested last year by Chinese police when she traveled to Beijing to appeal for freedom to practice Falun Gong. Late last year, her family learned that Lixuan had been brutally beaten. Her neck was broken. Young Hao, a baby, had also been beaten to death and showed bruises on his ankles where police had hung him upside down.

We are appalled by the case of Ren Pengwu, a 33-year-old man from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. After he tried to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong, police arrested him and beat him to death. All of his bodily organs were illegally removed.

Countless Falun Gong practitioners have risked their lives to send reports of the persecution out of China. These are just a few examples. We have with us today compiled reports of over 10,000 human rights violations, many revealing acts of terrible cruelty, and the number and severity of these cases are escalating.

We hope that people will better understand the situation. We are not seeking help just for Falun gong practitioners. We cannot accept killing under any circumstances. We cannot ignore it when people suffer like this.

We ask the world community to join us to seek the release of all detained Falun Gong practitioners in China, including residents of Europe, Hong Kong, the United States and Canada. We especially appeal to the European Community to join us in demanding the release of Zhao Ming, a postgraduate student from Ireland, who remains imprisoned and tortured in XinAn Labor Camp.

We appeal to the European Council to formally request that China end this persecution immediately.

We are committed to seeking direct dialogue with the Chinese government in order to peacefully resolve this human rights crisis. We are optimistic that change in China is possible and that the Chinese government's unwarranted violence against Falun Gong practitioners can soon end.

Today marks the beginning of a new worldwide appeal called---"SOS! Save Falun Gong Practitioners from Being Killed in China." This effort will help Falun Gong practitioners who have been tortured, people whose families have been broken, children who have been orphaned, people whose livelihood has been taken away and who have been left in poverty, people who have been disabled. This will be a worldwide effort, beginning with individual people, citizens from all over the world, organisations both large and small. We hope you will join our appeal.

Thank you.