An Open Letter from Canadian University Students to Students in China

Greetings fellow students and teachers!

We are university students from Canada. We sincerely hope that your studies and work are going well. We would like to take this opportunity to let you know about the persecution of some of your fellow Chinese people.

In Canada, we are distressed and concerned to hear about the harassment, torture, rape and even murder of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Falun Gong is an ancient part of Chinese culture. Through the practice we, ourselves, have come to better know about Chinese culture and customs. We have come to love and respect China. In addition, Falun Gong is practiced and honored in over 50 countries, receiving over 600 proclamations from various government officials (please see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/recognition.html). Falun Gong has improved the physical, mental and spiritual health of many people worldwide. As you may recall, at the 1993 Oriental Health Expo, in Beijing, Master Li was honored with "The Award for Advancing Boundary Science" and "Qigong Master most acclaimed by the masses" (please see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/recognition.html#china). We find it very difficult to understand why this meditation system is now being treated so unfairly in its country of origin.

When an American student who is a good friend of ours went to Beijing to teach English as a second language, he found the situation there unbelievable. He was there for nearly one year and found that he wasn't allowed to even practice Falun Gong exercises in the privacy of his own home without having to worry about getting in trouble. He is a fairly fluent Chinese speaker and can read the Falun Dafa books in Chinese. He practices the same exercises as those in China and follows Zhen-Shan-Ren, just as the practitioners in China do. However, the treatment that the practitioners in China face is different than in any other country in the world. In no other country have stories and propaganda been created about this group. We know that it is hard for you to know the truth with all of the Chinese state-run media claiming horrible things about Falun Gong-- that's why we are writing this letter to you.

Foreign media have investigated many of the propaganda stories that are in your media as well. For instance, Phillip Pan, a reporter from the Washington Post, looked into the 'Self-Immolation' incident that occurred in Tiananmen Square. He discovered that the woman who burned herself and her daughter were not even known to have ever practiced Falun Dafa. In addition, they were not even doing the exercises correctly when the self-immolation took place, yet they still claimed that they had practiced for several years. Also, if you are to look at the CCTV footage of the incident with it being slowed down a little bit, you will see for yourself how fishy it looks. It appears to be set up and through the smoke you can even see a man strike the woman who died over the head with an object. Take a look for yourself (please see http://www.faluninfo.net/, look at the top right hand corner). CCTV taped this themselves.

The purpose of practicing Falun Gong is to improve health and well being in order to live a better, more enriching and longer life. In addition, practitioners strive to be more compassionate to others and value all lives unconditionally. The principles of Falun Dafa strictly prohibit killing. How could these possibly be Falun Dafa practitioners that set themselves on fire? How could setting yourself on fire help bring an end to the persecution of Falun Gong? Did you know that the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, as well as Falun Gong practitioners have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize two years in a row, precisely because Falun Dafa practitioners are known world-wide for their peaceful and non-violent forms of appeal? But Jiang Zemin won't let you know this. We're not asking you to believe us, please look into it for yourself.

We are not against the Chinese government, nor are we against China. We love China. In addition, we do not have any political motives. We just want the persecution of Falun Gong to stop. The practitioners in China feel the same way. These are your fellow Chinese citizens. They are good people.

The persecution is affecting Chinese students as well. Ten students from Qinghua University were jailed for clarifying the truth and distributing Falun Gong materials via the internet. "Around 300 Qinghua University students have been temporarily detained or sent to labour camps in connection with Falun Gong activities since the crackdown on the group began in July 1999, the centre said." (AFP, Feb. 2002)

It is Jiang Zemin that is violating the law by initiating this persecution. It goes against the Chinese Constitution as well as international laws that he has signed. Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution allows freedom of speech, of assembly and of demonstration. Outside of China, the rest of the world already knows this and it is just a matter of time before all people know the truth. Recently Liu Qi, Mayor of Beijing and President of the Beijing Olympic Committee, was served with a law suit filed in U.S. District Court for his responsibility in overseeing severe human rights abuses against Chinese and international Falun Gong practitioners. Charges against the mayor include "Torture; Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment; Arbitrary Detention; Crimes Against Humanity; and Interference with Freedom of Religion and Belief."(for proof, please see http://www.faluninfo.net/DisplayAnArticle.asp?ID=5286). Other countries will not tolerate Jiang Zemin and his accomplices' horrendous actions.

In order to reach you in China (and Chinese that now live abroad, but still follow Chinese news) to let you know the truth, Falun Gong practitioners from foreign countries have spent their own time and money in order to travel to China. They have put their own safety at great risk to go to Tiananmen Square to request that the persecution of Falun Gong be stopped and to tell you that Falun Gong is good. This is not a Chinese issue, but an international one. (please see http://www.faluninfo.net/news_frame.asp?category=Media&subcategory=Asia&title=Asia)

Day by day, more people are realizing that the persecution against Falun Gong is inhumane and irrational. Can China continue to ignore its implications? For instance, how can China maintain it's economic and trade relations with other countries and solidify its legitimacy if it loses respect for violating human rights? Furthermore, for China to compete in the global economy and to gain and secure a status in the global order, it must consider the restructuring of its human rights policies and to actually 'walk the walk', to act upon its words. You may believe that money is the sole motivation for everyone and makes everything possible, but it is only a short-term solution. However, human rights and moral issues are ingrained in the minds of the people and cannot be ignored. For a nation to prosper in the future, the present leaders must demonstrate moral conduct in their administration and creation of policies. This would set a good standard for the young generation to model in order to carry the nation into the future. As the young generation, future leaders and teachers of the young generation, it is our duty to stand up against inhumane action - the crackdown on Falun Gong.

We wish you much success in your future endeavors. Happy Chinese New Year!

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Sincerely,

Some Canadian University Students