TO ADDRESS MEDIA IN GENEVA -

Interviews available upon request.

GENEVA - Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world have traveled to Geneva to share their own experiences of torture and suffering under the Chinese regime's violent persecution.

Included among the victims are:

• a university art professor from Canada who was tortured in a Chinese labor camp,
• a 65 year-old woman who was beaten and tortured into a coma,
• a young woman who was detained and who witnessed another practitioner being tortured to the point of paralysis,
• a practitioner from Germany who was detained and whose close friend was tortured to death.

Background:

• The Chinese regime, under the direction of President Jiang Zemin, has done nearly everything in its power to escalate its illegal crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners, resulting in the torture, rape and death of ordinary citizens. To date, at least 189 people have been killed by torture and police brutality. The majority of these deaths have occurred during the past five months.
• The United States has advanced a resolution to censure China at this year's U.N. Commission on Human Rights. China, as it has done at past commissions, is trying to block discussion of its human rights violations by issuing its own motion for "No Action." On 18 April, the commission is scheduled to vote either to uphold or defeat China's motion.
• Falun Gong is a non-political practice to improve personal health and spiritual awareness. It consists of five slow qigong exercises and teaches the practice of honesty and compassion in everyday life.