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On July 20, 2005, from 6:00p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Falun Gong practitioners in New York City gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to call for an immediate end to the brutal and senseless persecution of Falun Gong that has lasted for six years. Practitioners peacefully practiced the exercises. The banner reading, "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners" in both Chinese and English was very eye-catching.
Falun Gong practitioner Yi Rong said that on July 20 six years ago, Jiang, out of jealousy of Falun Gong's popularity all over China, colluded with the Chinese Communist Party to manipulate the entire state machinery and launch a brutal persecution campaign against Falun Gong. The genocidal persecution has lasted for six years, and continues today. 2711 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died as a result of persecution. With the righteous voices from both inside and outside of China, on the surface, the persecution is constrained, but it is actually still going on covertly. Nevertheless, we have already seen that they will definitely end in shameful failure. With the long, tireless and selfless efforts of Falun Gong practitioners inside and outside China, more and more governments and people around the world have learned the truth about Falun Gong, and people from all walks of life in China have also learned about the truth through various means, and recognized the CCP's wicked nature. Places where the evil can hide have been fewer and fewer, and the trial of them can be expected soon. In face of long, violent and ruthless persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have been persistently, rationally and peacefully clarifying the truth with great compassion and great forbearance. In the battle between the righteous and the evil, the righteous strength has become more and more formidable. We believe the ultimate triumph will soon arrive. All this has established a model of morality, justice and spiritual strength for human beings.
An older Chinese lady living in Manhattan's Chinatown said that when the persecution just began in 1999, the entire Chinese community was gullible to the malevolent CCP's propaganda, and was hostile to Falun Gong. Her whole family felt the great pressure. After passing through six years, the situation has changed tremendously. In Chinese community, more and more people have learned the truth about Falun Gong, and have also begun to support Falun Gong. They even admire Falun Gong and are also happy to invite Falun Gong practitioners to participate in the community's parade.
Falun Gong practitioner Sha Quan expressed that through tireless and persistent clarifying the persecution facts to the government, government officials of different levels in New York have understood to certain degree the brutality of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, and they showed their sympathy and concern. Every year, these government officials would issue proclamations and show their support to large-scale activities held by Falun Gong practitioners. Anti-torture exhibits have been held in Manhattan for a year. Now there is a big stream of people passing by every day. Many people take truth clarification materials and sign petitions in support of Falun Gong. Sometimes practitioners were kept very busy because there were lineups waiting to sign the petition. The Chinese colleagues in companies have also begun to learn the truth, accept the information about Falun Gong, and condemn the persecution. During six years of peaceful anti-persecution efforts, Falun Gong has been introduced to over 80 countries and regions, Zhuan Falun, (the main book of Falun Gong) has been translated into over 30 languages. More and more people of different races and nationalities have begun practicing Falun Gong. With the extensive dissemination of the truth, the persecution will definitely end in failure. The perpetrators will definitely meet ultimate justice.
The gathering concluded after 9:00 p.m.
Six years ago, Chinese Communist leader Jiang Zemin started the persecution against Falun Gong because he regarded the great popularity of the practice, which was known to improve health and moral values, as a challenge to his personal power and the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The political powers of the CCP, which has been responsible for 80 million deaths since coming to power in 1949, allowed Jiang to realize his orders to "destroy Falun Gong practitioners physically, bankrupt them financially and ruin their reputations."
Practitioners in Stockholm gathered at the Chinese Embassy on July 20, 2005, six years since the official launch of the persecution, to appeal for an end to the ruthless violence against Falun Gong practitioners. They demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, held up a big banner reading "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong" and distributed flyers to passers-by. The exercise music created a peaceful atmosphere that touched the public. Many people found out about Falun Gong practice and the persecution that practitioners have been suffering.
The Falun Gong Information Centre in Sweden has confirmed that the number of death cases is now 2,676 (July 20, 2005), but fears that the actual number is many times higher. The Swedish practitioners appealed to the media and to the Swedish Government to condemn this persecution of innocent Chinese people, which now enters its seventh year.
Appealing outside the Chinese embassy in Stockholm on July 20th
Wife of Korean citizen Mr. Guo Binghao, Falun Gong practitioner Gao Chengnu, arrived home in Korea on July 20, 2005. She was warmly received by Falun Gong practitioners and others.
Korean citizen Guo Binghao and Gao Chengnu got married on May 18, 2003 in China. As Ms. Gao was preparing to emigrate to Korea, the Chinese Police Department refused to issue her a passport because she would not renounce the practice of Falun Gong. On May 7, 2004, she was abducted and detained in the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp.
In August 2004, Korean Falun Gong practitioners established a "Ms. Gao Chengnu Rescue Committee" and appealed to all the citizens of Korea to join together in rescuing Ms. Gao. During that time, 236,740 kind-hearted Korean citizens signed a petition supporting this effort. Twenty-four congressional representatives drafted a letter to the Chinese government demanding the unconditional release of Ms. Gao and delivered it to Mr. Hu Jintao, the President of China. The Cheonan City Senate, the Chungcheongnam-do Legislative Assembly, and many other organizations, including 71 local parliaments and government groups passed resolutions calling for the Chinese government to unconditionally release Ms. Gao. On the afternoon of May 13, 2005, Ms. Gao Chengnu was released from the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp. She arrived in Korea at 1:10 p.m. on July 20.
Being interviewed by several media outlets, Ms. Gao made a speech and said, "I'm grateful to Korean Senators, local parliaments and Korean people for rescuing me, so that I can step on this free democratic land today to breathe fresh air and be reunited with my husband. But tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who pratice 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' in China are still illegally imprisoned and suffering tribulations."
Finally, she called for all kind-hearted people to show concern over the brutal persecution Falun Gong practitioners have been suffering, and put an end to the unprecedented catastrophe happening in China as soon as possible.
The United Nations expressed an urgent concern to the Chinese government in November 2003 about China's persecution of Ms. Yang Fenglian and her daughter Ms. Du Likun and urged the Chinese government to comply with international laws. The statement was presented at the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
China's Persecution of Ms. Yang Fenglian and Her Daughter Du Likun
Ms. Yang Fenglian is a 50-year-old schoolteacher at Kuangshan Architecture Technology Academy in Handan City, Hebei Province. Her daughter Du Likun is 21 years old this year. Shortly before China's 16th National People's Congress in 2002, under the order of the Chairman of Hanshan Precinct Police's Political and Security Division Mr. Dang Dianjun, policeman Xing Jianjun, a police sergeant, and the police from Kaiyuan Police Station went to Ms. Yang's residence. They smashed her windows, broke into her home and kidnapped her daughter and her from their home to the police station. Once at the police station, several policemen started beating Ms. Yang and shocking her with high-voltage stun batons until her head was terribly swollen from the electric shocking and her body was covered with cuts and injuries. Later the police transferred them to Handan City No. 2 Detention Center. Ms. Du Likun was only 18 years old. It was not until three months later when their family paid the police ransom of over 10,000 yuan under the pretext of a bail that she was finally released. However, her mother Yang Fenglian was incarcerated there until August 2003. The police also extorted 5,000 yuan from her in the name of a fine. A month later, the police abducted Ms. Yang Fenglian again on September 27, 2003. This time the police sent her to a local forced brainwashing center where she was imprisoned and subjected to mental and physical tortures. As of March 2004, Ms. Yang was still incarcerated in the brainwashing center.
The United Nations' Report on China's Persecution of Ms. Yang and Her Daughter:
On November 14, 2003, the United Nation's special agent on speech freedom and the special agent on torture and protection of body and mental health, and a special agent on violence against women expressed the United Nation's urgent concern to the Chinese government and inquired after Ms. Yang Fenglian and her daughter. On October 1, 2000, Ms. Yang and her daughter went to Beijing together to appeal for Falun Gong. After they returned from the trip, they were both illegally detained in Handan City No. 2 Detention Center. At the end of 2000, the police unjustly sentenced Ms. Yang to one year in Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp against the law and without any legal trial. There she was subjected to repeated beating, electric shock using stun batons, hand and foot shackles, the hanging torture and sleep deprivation. Her daughter was once forced to wear hand and foot shackles that weighed about 50 lbs. In addition, her daughter was subjected to the cruel torture of electric shock four times. In fact, her daughter was stripped naked in two of the electric shock tortures. The electric shock tortures marked many injuries on her body and mind. She was not released until nine months later and until her family paid the police ransom of 3,000 yuan in the name of bail. However, she was already expelled from her school. As for Ms. Yang Fenglian, she was not released until one year later. Afterwards, her school had several men taking turns watching her outside of her home. They also suspended her husband from work and forced him to divorce her.
On July 6, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners from Wellington, New Zealand accepted the invitation from Victoria University to participate in the arts festival organized by the university. At the arts festival, practitioners set up a booth. Some practitioners demonstrated the exercises while others distributed materials that "clarified facts" and introduced Falun Gong to people who were interested.
The arts festival was held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Many students were passing by and going back and forth. Practitioners gave them truth-clarification materials with a smile. When they met Chinese students, they took the initiative to hand materials to them. As the arts festival was held around lunch time, in order to make it convenient for the people having lunch, a few Chinese practitioners took the initiative and made a few hundred dumplings the night before for the students.
There was a middle-aged Chinese woman who initially watched us demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises from far away. Later on, she came to us and took a copy of truth clarifying material from a practitioner. The practitioner also gave her a Chinese VCD. She expressed that she will take a good look when she got home.
A Taiwanese student was sitting nearby and kept watching us giving
out the
materials and clarifying facts about Falun Gong. When he left, he said
to a
practitioner, "Keep it up!"