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Upon learning that the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)Hu Jintao will come to the US in September, 2005, to attend the United Nations' 60th anniversary celebration and to meet with US President, Falun Gong practitioners in Texas formed a 'Rescue Orphans' car tour group. On August 19-21, 2005, the group traveled between major cities in Texas, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Waco, and President Bush's ranch in Crawford to hold activities to appeal through the media to let more people learn about the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, call for an end to the persecution, and rescue orphans of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution.
Meeting with Congresswoman in Houston
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Congresswoman has a photo taken with practitioners from "Rescue Orphans" car tour group
When the car tour group traveled from Austin to Houston on August 20, 2005, Saturday, it happened that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee attended a meeting related to "immigration law" that afternoon. Some local practitioners and the "Rescue Orphans" group also attended the meeting. After Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and relevant staff gave their speeches, there was an opportunity for the audience to raise questions. Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Huang introduced the congresswoman the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong.
 Practitioner introduces the persecution of Falun Gong in China to Congresswoman |
Little members of the "Rescue Orphans" group were introduced to the congresswoman. When the congresswoman learned that the little members of the group had traveled a far distance to come to Houston, she was very happy and had a photo taken with these children and Falun Gong practitioners. Local TV stations covered the event.
Let children have a free life
 Practitioner introduces the significance of "Rescue Orphans" car tour to the congresswoman |
Mr. Pan who was in charge of this "Rescue Orphans" car tour in Texas was from St Anthony. He said, "The route of this 'Rescue Orphans' car tour began from Austin, Houston, Dallas, Waco and ended up at President Bush's ranch in Crawford. During the three days, we had opportunities to hold several press conferences. For example, we held a press conference in front of Austin City Hall and introduced the significance of the rescue efforts to the western media Austin American State, and then we held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Houston, correspondent from the largest media outlet in Houston "Houston Chronicle" covered the activity. Bryan City is well-known around the world for its President Bush's library and renown university A&M. When we were there, reporters from the two local mainstream TV stations came to conduct the interviews. We also held related activities at Collage Station City Hall and other places."
Mr. Pan said, "In China, the CCP persecutes Falun Gong, which has brought misfortune to Falun Gong practitioners' families. As Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and persecuted, there are 2,784 confirmed deaths of Falun Gong practitioners as a result of the persecution. Their children have become orphans. These children not only haven't received any help, on the contrary, they have suffered great pressure. America takes freedom as its base for the founding of the country. Our group took the opportunity of Hu Jintao's visit to the US and his meeting with President Bush, through holding 'Rescue orphans' activities to let more people learn about the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. So we can work together to stop the persecution, rescue orphaned children and allow the Falun Gong practitioners' orphans to come to the US to enjoy a free life."
Car tour arrived in Dallas
After visiting Houston, Bryan City, the "Rescue Orphans" car tour group arrived in Dallas. At 10:30a.m. on August 21, they held a press conference in front of the largest Chinese supermarket calling for the local people and government to pay attention to the plight of Falun Gong orphans in China and rescue them to come to free countries to let them also have a warm home.
 Press conference |
 Clarify the facts to passers by |
There were ten persons in the group, and each person wore a white T shirt with words, "Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Children." Four were young Falun Gong practitioners.
They traveled along with their parents in these short two days in the hopes that through everybody's efforts, children of their similar age in Mainland China can enjoy a happy childhood like them. At the press conference, two young practitioners said in their speeches, "Please support the rescue of Falun Gong orphans in China."
 Call for rescue children of their similar ages |
The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong has caused more than 2,700 innocent Falun Gong practitioners to lose their precious lives. At present, according to verification, more than 250 children have lost their parents. These children have not only endured tremendous pain of losing their parents and difficulties in life, but also have been forced to face harsh environment, for example, they are being prejudiced against because their schools implement the persecution policy. Children of their similar age who have not learned about the truth pointed fingers at them, which greatly hurt their young hearts. They have endured too much. Representative for the Global Rescue ("Global Organization to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners.") said, "In order to rescue persecuted Falun Gong orphans to come to the US, Falun Gong practitioners in North America is holding a series of rescue activities together with Global Rescue. It is reported that Global Rescue has successfully rescued two children to come to the US to be reunited with their families through appeal and help of US congressmen, non-governmental organizations and the righteous people."
One of the initiators of the activity, Mr. Pan from St Anthony brought his daughter to take part in the whole activity. He said, "We know the CCP leader Hu Jintao will visit the US next month, we request the Chinese government to unconditionally allow Falun Gong orphans to leave China to come to the US or other countries, to let them have a stable life, and have a warm home like us."
The Epoch Times in both Chinese and English, NTDTV and Channel 8 sent reporters to conduct the interviews and cover the activities.
 The media interview |
On August 12, 2005, The Star Tribune (Minnesota, USA) published an article called "Misleading story hurt Falun Gong" in the "Commentary" section of the newspaper. (/emh/articles/2005/8/13/63891.html) The article was written in response to a Beijing propaganda article appropriated by the Associated Press called "Falun Gong Followers Renounce Group," published in many American media outlets in January. The article was viewed controversially because it did not give an accurate depiction of Falun Gong and the events of the so-called "self-immolation." Falun Gong is accepted and proclaimed by over 50 countries world-wide and that the international community views the "self-immolation" as a staged event used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to incite hatred against Falun Gong and justify its brutal persecution of Falun Gong.
The defamatory propaganda article was suitable in a very stylistic way, as it appeared to be balanced, and many newspapers saw it as balanced. But, like many "Westernized" articles, it started and ended with a positive view of the CCP and a negative view of Falun Gong. The problem with the "positive view of the CCP" is that they is based on an extreme hoax. The premise of the article was that Western media were interviewing a "reformed" Falun Gong practitioner who tried to set himself on fire in 2001. In the article, everything he said was a lie and orchestrated by the CCP. Amnesty International, International Education Development (IED), and the United Nations on Human Rights have all acknowledged that the "self-immolation" was staged. Falun Gong practitioners are taught not to kill, as they follow the principle of compassion. How could this person be a Falun Gong practitioner?
The rebuttal article, written by Minnesota Falun Gong practitioners, "clarifies the facts" about Falun Gong, the "self-immolation," the CCP, the international community's stance on these issues, and the current situation regarding overseas persecution and the fate of the CCP. The article is written in a concise, accurate, and eloquent manner. Since the defamatory propaganda article was published nationwide, it has poisoned countless minds of Americans unfamiliar with Falun Gong. Also, the CCP has re-printed the article in mainland Chinese newspapers to make the people believe that the Western world has the same stance on Falun Gong. This response article is unprecedented, and the The Star Tribune is the first newspaper to publish an article which refutes the propaganda and clarifies the truth about what happened and the current situation.
However, to achieve this we had to go through a long six-month process. Minnesota practitioners began contacting The Star Tribune immediately after the defamatory article was published on January 22. Two weeks later we had our first meeting with representatives of the newspaper. However, we were constantly met with interference. The two representatives had nothing to do with the article. Furthermore, they did not treat us respectfully, refusing to listen to our comments and requests. They said that they trust that the AP uses accurate information.
About a week later, a University of Minnesota professor wrote a letter to the editor, which was both accurate and credible with third-party investigative facts. We requested another meeting the following week, but our request was rejected. A little more than two weeks after this, Minnesota practitioners sent out another letter with more detailed information about the truth. Moreover, we requested that the newspaper conduct an independent investigation of these incidents, offer an official apology letter with corrections, publish an article detailing the truth behind the "self-immolation," and also stop reporting false information about Falun Gong.
In regards to this issue, we made several contacts with State Senators. Senator Mark Dayton was especially supportive of this issue, as well as many other Falun Gong related issues. He suggested that we file a complaint with the State Attorney General. In turn, the State Attorney General's office advised us to file a complaint with the Minnesota News Council.
The Minnesota News Council is a public service "designed to promote fairness in the news media by giving members of the public who feel damaged by a news story an opportunity to hold the news organization." The organization sent a letter to the editor at The Star Tribune telling him that if the paper could not resolve our complaint by June 13, they would conduct a public hearing on August 18.
The Star Tribune set up a meeting with two staff members: a managing editor and the assistant managing editor that chose the article. Although our complaint was supposed to be resolved by June 13, we were unable to have a meeting until June 22. We were met with more interference, as the assistant managing editor went on a personal leave on June 11.
The meeting went reasonably well. We gave them the video "False Fire," provided them with the Epoch Times newspaper reporting on CCP defector Chen Yonglin, and clarified the truth about Falun Gong. Both sides listened to each other respectively, but the newspaper still held that they would not issue a public apology or correction. A resolution was agreed upon, and Minnesota practitioners feel that it is a step in the right direction for them to publish the article, "Misleading article hurt Falun Gong."
The whole process was a long one, and we encountered much interference and resistance. We are grateful for the help of the public officials and The Minnesota News Council.
The publishing of the recent response article may convince other newspapers to follow this example. Practitioners from other states can contact organizations like The Minnesota News Council to put legal pressure on newspapers that published this propaganda article.
CBS2 - Palm Springs, California - On May 27, 2005, a Falun Gong practitioner was invited to CBS2's morning news to talk about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A two-minute segment was scheduled for the interview, but the producers changed their minds and decided to also invite the practitioner to join the second morning news hour in order to talk about the practice of Falun Gong as well. The presenter of the news program was called Tom Tucker, and the practitioner was Pia-Maria Sandas from Europe.
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Tom Tucker: Falun Gong is a practice that is done by millions of people around the world, particularly in China, but unfortunately many there are being persecuted for practicing that faith, that belief system. And joining us now to talk a little bit more about this is a Falun Gong practitioner, Pia-Maria Sandas, who is joining us to shed light on the subject this morning. Pia-Maria, thanks for joining us. It is good to see you today.
Pia-Maria: Hi Tom, thank you for inviting me.
TT: You have been involved with Falun Gong for a number of years. You have friends in China who have been persecuted for the practice of this life style. Talk about what you know.
PM: My close friend's husband was tortured to death in China for practicing Falun Gong. Falun Gong is simply an ancient form of meditation practice, very similar to Yoga or Tai Chi, and it teaches people how to have a healthier lifestyle, how to be a better person by following Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, but the practice has, as you mentioned, been persecuted in China since 1999 by the Chinese Communist regime. Between 1992 and 1999 Falun Gong was supported by the Chinese Government, but...
TT: It was supported?
PM: Yes, they even promoted it, and many officials -- government officials -- also practiced it. But it was at the end of 1998 when Jiang Zemin, the former dictator, decided to do a government survey of civil groups, and when he found out that over 70 million people practiced Falun Gong in China he just turned to tables on it, banned it, started defaming the practice, and it has been severely persecuted since that.
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TT: Let's go and take a look at some pictures that we have. The first one here, I believe, this is a friend of yours and her child.
PM: This is Jane Dai. Her husband was tortured to death in Communist China five years ago simply for practicing Falun Gong.
TT: Let's take a look at the next one. Is this her as well?
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PM: Yes it is. Another very sad and well-known case is that of a mother who was tortured to death together with her 8 month old baby boy because the mother practiced Falun Gong. And as of today we have been able to verify over 2,200 deaths due to torture but estimates are well over 10,000, and about 100,000 practitioners have been put into labor camps. And the torture methods they use are terribly brutal. Amnesty International has also documented many of these cases. It is so sad and unbelievable that something like this can be happening in 2005.
TT: It certainly is! You have a book here and as you are going to be staying with us we are going to be talking some more a little bit later on this morning. Unfortunately, we are out of time right now but we look forward to talking about it some more. Pia-Maria, thanks for joining us this morning to talk about Falun Gong.
[The program cut to some other news before returning to the interview.]
TT: Falun Gong is a practice that is practiced all over the world by millions. It is an ancient spiritual practice, and joining us this morning to talk a little bit more about Falun Gong is practitioner Pia-Maria. Thanks for joining us today. It is good to see you again.
PM: Hi Tom, great to be here.
TT: Tell us about Falun Gong. What is it?
PM: Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese practice, rooted in Chinese history and tradition. It was introduced to the public in 1992 by Master Li Hongzhi, and today it is practiced in over 78 countries by about 100 million people. The practice itself consists of two parts: first, the exercise part which is very similar to Yoga or Tai Chi. There are four standing exercises and then one calm peaceful sitting meditation.
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TT: Let's go and take a look at some of the pictures, we can have one coming up here. First, let's talk about what they are doing.
PM: That is the sitting meditation. All of the exercises are really easy to learn, they are fun, energizing, and they are great for health! The youngest person I know who practices is 5 years old and the oldest one 96, so it is for everyone!
TT: Terrific! And you are one of them as well. We have a picture of you here as well sitting on a beach meditating, where is this?
PM: That's in the Canary Islands. I have been practicing for six years and it is the most fantastic thing!
Then the second aspect of the practice, which is the more important one, is the "theoretical part" so to say, which is based on three words: Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, some of which you find in, for example, Daoism, Buddhism and Christianity as well. They are Universal Principles, and it consists in how to learn how to live according to these principles, and how to become a better person. "Mind over matter", so to say. Today Doctors know that about 70% of illnesses are psychosomatic, so when you achieve an inner peace and peace of mind it really affects the body in a very powerful way! And another thing that is great about Falun Gong is that it is free. All over the world it is free, so no matter rich or poor, young or old, everyone can practice it!
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TT: And you don't need a membership to do it, right?
PM: No you don't.
TT: In the first hour we talked about the persecution in China against the Falun Gong practitioners. You have some friends and friends of friends who have died as a result of this persecution.
PM: Yes, one of my close friend's husband was tortured to death in Communist China five years ago simply for practicing Falun Gong. A Communist Dictatorship obviously does not maintain its power by any good principles and they rule by inducing fear and by manipulation, and Falun Gong teaches principles that are very opposite to that.
TT: Unfortunately we are out of time but we do have a website address you would like to give out for those who would like to learn more about the persecution, and the address is:
PM: www.faluninfo.net
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TT: And then we have a different one here on
the screen which is
www.falundafa.org
PM: Yes that is for the practice, and from there everyone can learn the practice and also download the book Zhuan Falun for free (shows the book to Tom).
TT: And let's give the other one more time that you gave.
PM: www.faluninfo.net
TT: faluninfo.net
PM: That is for information about the persecution, and falundafa.org is for learning the practice.
TT: Sounds terrific! Pia-Maria, thanks for joining us today shedding light on the subject. We appreciate it!
PM: Thank you Tom.
http://clearharmony.net/articles/200508/28417.html