July 21, 2000

The Ottawa Citizen

Canadian practitioners of Falun Gong asked the federal government yesterday to urge China to ease its year-old crackdown on the religious group.

"Today, the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is holding national events in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver to reveal the truth of Falun Gong and to call on the Canadian government to urge China to stop persecution," said Xun Li, a national spokesman for the association.

Thousands of Chinese Falun Gong members have been arrested or lost their jobs since the Chinese government branded the spiritual practice a cult and banned the practice last July 22, saying the group spreads "superstitious, evil thinking." Group members say at least 24 practitioners have been killed while in police custody (Amnesty International says at least 12), and thousands of others have been sent to labour camps. "If governments of the world, including Canada, continue to maintain silence in the face of these human rights violations, China may interpret this as international support for their course of action," said Dan Sky, a McGill University student who practises Falun Gong.

Mr. Li says the Canadian government spoke out against the Falun Gong ban when it first came into effect, but has been silent on the issue lately. Falun Gong, which draws from tenets of martial arts, Buddhism and Taoism, is a combination of spiritual guidance and meditation techniques. Followers say there are up to 100 million practitioners in China, but the Chinese government says the number is closer to two million.

The Chinese government also blames the group for several deaths, saying followers had refused medicine, committed suicide or killed others. Canadian members held a press conference and a quite demonstration of Falun Gong meditation yesterday on Parliament Hill. Later in the afternoon, they marched to the Chinese Embassy hoping to talk to embassy officials.

Earlier in the day in Beijing, hundreds of Falun Gong members protesting their suppression clashed with police, resulting in numerous arrests.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy brought up human rights issues, including those surrounding Falun Gong members, with Chinese officials while on a visit there last weekend, says Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Marie-Christine Likoff.

The Canadian Embassy has also made a formal complaint about the lengths of prison sentences for Falun Gong members, she says.

"We remain concerned by ongoing reports of suppression of freedom of expression, and spiritual practice of Falun Gong, and their ill-treatment by Chinese authorities."

Jinyu, Li, a seamstress who was on the Hill yesterday, says her husband has been kept in a Chinese labour camp for more than six months. When Chinese authorities found out she was a Falun Gong member, Ms. Li says she was thrown out of the country instead of being arrested because she's a Canadian citizen. The newly married couple had not yet arranged for Ms. Li's husband to become a citizen and he was taken into custody.

"China's government has to be changed," Ms. Li said, "I hope the Canadian people will have the voice of justice."