8/23/2000
Monitoring News of the Persecution of Falun Gong
á
FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER - Contacts: Gail Rachlin 212-501-8080, Erping Zhang
917-679-6944, Feng Yuan 917-912-3301, or Levi Browde 914-720-0963. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com á 8/18/00 (Sydney Morning Herald) The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Downer, has
ignored the advice of his senior officials and publicly warned China that harassment of
Falun Gong sect devotees in Australia would be unacceptable. Mr. Downer said yesterday
that officials had again raised the suspected harassment of Falun Gong followers in
Australia in private talks this week with a Chinese human rights delegation visiting
Canberra. á [Jinan] A 19-Year-Old Girl Tortured in Women's Labor Camp -
Chen Lili a 19-year-old girl and former college student of Qingdao University was held in
the Women's Labor Camp of Jinan City for the last five months. Police there, shocked her
repeatedly with electric batons until they ran out of power after discovering her
practicing the Falun Gong exercises. The police continued to torture her although her two
arms were covered with blisters from the electric shock. MEDIA ADVISORY: UN PROTESTS TO GREET CHINA'S PRESIDENT: China's President Jiang Zemin will participate in the UN's Millennium Summit in New
York City during the week of September 5th - 8th. Falun Gong practitioners will be
appealing during this period to the President and the Chinese government for the release
of illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners in China, and for official recognition of
Falun Gong by the government. For more information, or to attend a press conference,
please contact the Falun Dafa Information Center (below). NEW PUBLICATION AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: "The
Falun Dafa Quarterly," a journal for community leaders and concerned individuals,
plus "Falun Gong: The Real Story, Part 2," a 30-minute docu-video with
rare footage of interviews from inside China, as well as commentary from top scholars and
human rights experts. Contact the Falun Dafa Information Center for complimentary copies
for the media.
CHINA EXTENDS PERSECUTION OF FALUN GONG TO AUSTRALIAN SOIL
"We obviously wouldn't want to see harassment of any Australian citizens in Australia
or for that matter anywhere by any embassies or diplomatic officials," he said
yesterday. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian
Federal Police have been monitoring the activities of Chinese diplomats and others linked
with the Chinese Embassy in what appears to be a campaign aimed at countering the
activities of Falun Gong in Australia and the movement's links with its fellow devotees in
China. There are an estimated 2,000 followers in Australia and many have complained that
they have been pressured by Chinese diplomats, followed, their property damaged and phones
tapped. The Herald has confirmed that Chinese diplomats have contacted local government
offices and urged officials to deny the sect the use of community facilities. It is
understood that Chinese diplomats have also urged local government libraries to avoid
holding the movement's literature.
EDITORIAL (8/17/2000): In fear of Falun Gong. [Falun Gong practitioners] have
protested outside the Chinese Embassy and the consulate in Sydney, but their protests are
against the official oppression of their members. The local police say that of all such
protests they attend, those by Falun Gong require the smallest police presence. To all but
the ruling oligarchy in China, Falun Gong looks like any other of countless sects and
groups, benign and unthreatening. But inside China, the tradition of official intolerance
of anything which does not conform to the ruling order of things, the fear of difference,
comes into play. When China oppresses its people there is not much Australia or any other
outsiders can do, except speak up for the oppressed. If China's fear of difference extends
to its diplomats' behaviour in Australia, it is a more serious matter. NEWS FROM CHINA
[Shandong Province] After being arrested, a female
Falun Dafa practitioner was handcuffed to a utility pole for five hours and exhibited
publicly at the local town fair, with a wooden signboard hung around her neck with the
words "evil religion." [Miyun Detention Center] At the Miyun Detention Center,
one practitioner from Henan Province was kicked, beaten, and shocked with a stun baton,
and then dragged into a cell for further torture. There he was handcuffed with arms
outspread as if on a cross, then shocked repeatedly on the arms, legs, and mouth with a
380 voltage stun baton. They [police officers] revived him and then inserted the stun
baton into his mouth and threatened to inflict further torture.
[Tiananmen Police Station] Four policemen beat a
60-year-old lady with wooden sticks, for over four hours, causing her to vomit and lose
consciousness. After she was revived she could not stand up. The police forced her to
leave the station by crawling outside because they were afraid she would die while under
their custody.
[Hebei - Shijiazhuang City] A female practitioner was
beaten, kicked, and had her head smashed against the wall repeatedly by four policemen
(and women). Then the police then stuck a lit cigarette into the nostril of this
practitioner and forced her to smoke it by covering her mouth and not allowing her to
breathe. (Note: Falun Gong promotes clean living and practitioners do not smoke.) Then
they repeatedly burned her with the lit cigarette on the tip of her nose and her mouth.
[Guangzhou] A family of five practitioners, including
two teenage daughters in high school, was arrested but would not give their personal
information to the police. The police then began to interrogate one of the teenage
daughters. They burned her hands repeatedly with lit cigarettes until they were covered
with burns. The entire family was transferred to the Lanzhou City Detention Center and
forced to work, 15 hours a day, in the sun.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER - Contacts:
Gail Rachlin 212-501-8080, Erping Zhang 917-679-6944, Feng Yuan 917-912-3301, or Levi
Browde 914-720-0963. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com
Category: Accounts of Persecution
