Script:

• Over 100 million people in 60 countries freely practice Falun Gong. Yet Jiang Zemin's government continues its relentless persecution in China.
• The peaceful courage of practitioners shocks and moves both their oppressors and the people of the world.
• While China continues to block information about the persecution, FGM TV brings you the stories you won't hear anywhere else.

Hello, and welcome to the FGM TV weekly news review on January 14, 2003

I'm David Tompkins.

In this week's update from China...

• 551 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have died from torture while in custody, with 6 death reports received in the last week. Reliable sources inside China, however, put the actual death count in the thousands.
• In the last 7 days, torture reports have come in from 13 provinces, including the cities of Beijing, and Shanghai.
• 737 people declared statements made as a result of torture to be void, now that their minds are clear. They say they will continue practicing Falun Gong.

Our top story this week:

• 43 confirmed new torture deaths reported since November 1, 2002. Falun Gong practitioners worldwide call for an end to the killing.
• And some of our other stories:
• The Jiang regime brainwashes a wife into betraying her husband
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hosts a forum in support of the global campaign to "Rescue our Falun Gong Relatives" persecuted in China.
• Chinese lawyers disobey Jiang's new laws and begin to represent practitioners in court
• Talented Dafa practitioners hold successful concerts in Australia and Germany.

43 New Torture Deaths confirmed since November 1, 2002.

• Falun Gong practitioners in major cities around the world held 3-day events in front of Chinese embassies and consulates from January 11 through the 13th.
• They want to raise public awareness of the increasing genocide in China and once more call for an end to the killing.
• Chinese government sources say that for every report of wrongful death, as many as three others go unreported. Falun Gong practitioners are asking that these cases be investigated and the perpetrators be stopped and punished to the full extent of the law.
• Christine Loftus was at the Chinese consulate in Toronto.
• Thanks Christine.
• And from Melbourne, Australia, we have this report.
• Boston practitioners joined in the global effort to raise awareness of the recent deaths.
• And from Japan, more footage of practitioners braving winter cold to bring attention to the accelerating genocide in China.

An Evening of Music and Song in Sydney, Australia

• On January 4, a free concert titled "Music of Spring", celebrated the theme of "sincerity, friendliness and understanding."
• An audience of nearly 1000 filled the Marana Auditorium in Sydney, Australia.
• Sponsored by Tongsong Music and Culture Promotion, Inc., the Hurstville and Greater Sydney Chinese community enjoyed singing, piano, instrumental, dance and choral performances and, a Tang Dynasty fashion show.

Jiang regime brainwashes a wife into betraying her husband, a prominent scientist.

• Thirty seven year old Mr. Chengtao Lin is on the verge of total mental collapse from extreme torture and the most depraved brainwashing in Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp.
• Mr. Lin, a Falun Gong practitioner, holds a masters degree and was an Assistant Research Scientist in the Fundamental Research Institute of Concord, at the University of Medical Science in China. He was an important figure in the National "863" High-Tech Research Program, and the US Chinese Medicine Foundation CMB Project.
• He was kidnapped by authorities in October 2001. For months, he was deprived of sleep for long periods and suffered other severe physical torture including being slammed against a wall, which made him lose a lot of blood. Those concerned about him reported that he became very distant and would no longer speak to anyone.
• Meanwhile, his wife was brainwashed in Xin'an Labor Camp and was forced to turn against her belief in Falun Dafa. She then sent a letter to the leaders in Tuanhe Labor Camp suggesting that they torture her husband, to force him to give up his belief. She said they should use electric shock, physical punishment, psychological abuse and sleep deprivation on him.
• The police forced Mr. Lin to read his wife's letter over and over again. Finally, he could not take such mental stress, and rushed into the hallway, shouting loudly. Since then, his mental condition has remained severely damaged.
• The original term of Mr. Lin's illegal sentence was due to expire on December 19, 2002, but it has been extended and the torture continues.

Talented Dafa Practitioners in Germany Hold a Concert to celebrate the New Year

• Practitioners from many cities in Germany gather in Erbach each winter to spend some time together between Christmas and New Year. Traditionally, they study the books of their teacher, Master Li Hongzhi, and also practice the exercises together.
• This year, was different! Over the last eighteen months, Dafa musicians and dancers around the world have been showcasing their talent and skills, to give the public a chance to experience the beauty and peacefulness of Dafa through theatrical performances.
• German practitioners have also begun composing music and songs, and choreographing lyrical dances.
• To celebrate the beginning of 2003, they added a concert to their Erbach tradition. It was enjoyed by young and old, Easterners and Westerners!

Chinese lawyers risk their jobs to help practitioners

• One of Jiang Zemin's new laws to persecute Falun Gong made it illegal for lawyers to represent practitioners.
• Recently, when a Falun Gong trial was to be held in North East China, relatives and friends of the illegally detained practitioners told some lawyers the facts of the persecution and inspired them to represent the accused.
• These men have put their profession on the line to uphold truth, compassion and tolerance in their country. This is a triumph for the legal system in China.
• The lawyers charged minimum fees or worked for free. One of them also arranged to take the accused out of their cells for "interrogation" so that he could give them Master Li's new articles to read and encourage the practitioners to remain steadfast in their beliefs.

MIT Forum Focuses on Falun Gong's Campaign to Rescue Family Members

• In late November, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology held a forum in Boston, to help Falun Gong practitioners get their family members, who are illegally held in China, released.
• Three MIT groups participated: the Falun Dafa Club, the local Amnesty International Chapter, and the Program on Human Rights and Justice. The evening began with a video called, "Human Rights Violation." It describes the relentless persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Many people in the audience had tears in their eyes after viewing the violence that practitioners' family members suffer because they won't renounce their beliefs.
• Several practitioners told their family stories, including the wife of Dr. Haiying He, of Harvard Medical School. She related how her husband's mother and sister were sentenced without trial to labor camps.
• Although they have now been released, they are under constant police surveillance. Dr. He's brother -- also a doctor -- is currently serving a 10-year prison term because of his beliefs.
• An excellent question and answer session concluded the program with one person voicing the thoughts of many: How can people help?

The following are two stories of practitioners who peacefully overcame the persecution aimed at them:

• A male practitioner who was being held in the most infamous No. 1 cell was beaten so brutally by the criminals detained together with him, that he
  lost control of his bowels.
• Seven or eight prisoners then stepped on him at the same time. As the abuse continued to get worse, he thought, "Teacher, please help me."
• All of the criminals who were standing on top of him suddenly fell down, and from that point on, they no longer dared to assault him.
• In another city in China, the authorities kidnapped a mother and daughter, just as the daughter's wedding date was approaching. The invitations had already been sent to all their relatives and friends.
• However while facing the persecution, their minds and hearts remained calm and confident. They began a hunger strike to protest the persecution and were both released four days before the wedding.

New Discovery: A Ring of Stars Circles the Milky Way

• At the 201^st meeting of the American Astronomical Society, two separate groups announced the discovery of portions of what appears to be a giant ring of previously unseen, and surprisingly old stars surrounding our Milky Way Galaxy. If an entire ring exists, theorists might have to rethink details of how the galaxy formed.
• Astronomers generally think that most of the galaxy's tens of billions of stars, reside within this relatively thin disk and a thicker bulge near the center. Stars are expected to be more numerous toward the center of our galaxy, thinning out towards the edges. The newly discovered ring contains about 100 to 500 million stars. So it was really a surprise to find millions of stars out by the fringe.
• Brian Yanny of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory said that the ring appears to be about 10 times thicker than the disk.
• "This ring is unusual in that it appears to consist only of old stars," Rodrigo Ibata of the Observatoire de Strasbourg in France and a member of the European-led team said. "Though there are several galaxies known with bright rings of young stars, none are known to have a ring similar to that of the Milky Way."
• Although there are many interpretations about the ring's forming, astronomers believe that this ring is still a puzzle.

Thanks for watching FGMtv...

• dedicated to breaking through China's information blockade, exposing the state terrorism, and bringing you the truth of Falun Gong.