Toronto Sun: Letter Of The Day

THE JIANG Zemin regime in China seldom misses a chance to poison people's minds. Witness the vague but alarmist announcement last Thursday that a "suspicious substance" had been found in a letter mailed to an American company.

The spokesman claimed the substance was placed in a booklet from Falun Gong, the meditation practice once lauded by the government but now enduring the most far-ranging and brutal persecution campaign since the Cultural Revolution.

With the world watching Shanghai, where Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other leaders were gathered for the international APEC meeting, and with the heightened state of alert over anthrax in North America, the real terrorists in China seized the moment, and directed attention away from their actions.

One of the terrorist instruments there is the regime's secretive "610 Office," completely above the law and charged with eradicating Falun Gong - tens of millions of peaceful people striving to live by the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

Tens of thousands are suffering in prisons, labour camps, and mental hospitals due to the 610 Office. Government insiders say more than 1,000 have died from physical and psychological torture.

The true terrorist threat in China now is its rulers. They systematically use violence, propaganda and fear to dominate everyone inside China, and export their terror to other nations, including ours.

Our government and business leaders should see this clearly as they negotiate coalitions and deals. They should press for change - it's in all our best interests.

Susan Mitchell

Toronto

http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/editorial.html