(Clearwisdom.net)

Hi Everyone,

A friend of mine recently drew my attention to the fact that a Falun Gong practitioner from Japan is now imprisoned in China and being tortured. I would like to ask my friends to consider the information below and to act soon to save her from further suffering and possible death.

Yoko Kaneko, whose Chinese name is Luo Rong, was born in China but has been living in Japan with her Japanese husband, Atsushi Kaneko. (The name Yoko is based on the Japanese pronunciation of her Chinese name.) She is a practitioner of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa. Practicing Falun Gong is prohibited in China for some reason incomprehensible to me. The Chinese government has been persecuting a large number of Falun Gong practitioners. The confirmed death toll stands at over 400. The real number could be several times larger.

When Yoko went to China with two other Japanese Falun Gong practitioners, the Chinese police arrested them. The two Japanese practitioners were sent back home, but they kept Yoko because she is a Chinese citizen. She has apparently been tortured both physically and mentally. According to her husband Atsushi, who was able to see her recently with assistance by some Japanese House of Representative members, "Yoko is not in her right mind. She seemed to be an entirely different person."

I would like to refer you to the following web sites for further information on Falun Gong itself and news on Yoko Kaneko.

What I would like to ask you to do is to help rescue Yoko and other imprisoned practitioners in China. We suggest the following actions.

  • Sign an on-line petition provided by the Support Committee to Rescue Yoko at the following link. (In Japanese) The Committee is planning to submit an appeal when the Japanese Foreign Minister visits China in September.

http://www.falundafa-jp.net/features/jz_sign/jz_sign_form.htm

  • Those of you who prefer to write in English can still write to the Support Committee at the following address.

kitajima@1-0.jp (0 is a zero, not an O.)

  • Write to Japanese Prime Minister Jun'ichiro Koizumi.

http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/forms/goiken.html (Japanese, but English is probably accepted. The top box on this web page is for subject, and the second, large box is for your message.)

  • Write to Japanese Foreign Ministry

http://www2.mofa.go.jp:8080/mofaj/mail/qa.html (Japanese)

http://www.mofa.go.jp/feedback/note.html (English)

I understand that we cannot always apply Canadian or Japanese standards to judge things in different countries. By any standard, however, the treatment Yoko Kaneko and thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners endure from the Chinese government is unacceptable. If the Chinese government itself is not going to change its policy of persecuting Falun Gong, then as part of the international community, we must apply pressure to stop them. I hope that Yoko would be released before it is too late, and that our efforts would also help other innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

Links:

General information on Falun Gong

http://www.falundafa.org
http://www.falundafa-jp.net/ (In Japanese)

Collection of many articles on Falun Gong, including ones about Yoko Kaneko

http://www.clearwisdom.net/

Atsushi Kaneko's visit

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/8/22/25619.html

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Category: Rallies & Protests