Finnish Newspaper Kaleva Publishes Letter from Falun Dafa Association of Finland: China Covers Up Information and Pressures Other Countries

(Clearwisdom.net) Mrs. Pirjo Svensson, who was born in Finland, was in jail in Thailand for over one month. The day after she was arrested, the Swedish embassy demanded an explanation from the Thai authorities about the arrest. (29.4.2003)

On the same day when Pirjo Svensson was arrested, there was a top meeting in Thailand about SARS, in which Chinese representatives were attending. Obviously the Chinese government pressured the Thai authorities to arrest Pirjo Svensson.

Despite the request from the Swedish embassy, no official explanation for the arrest was given. From the authorities' side there has only been a voice saying that "it is inappropriate" to have in one's possession material that reports about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, which has been going on for almost four years.

Pirjo Svensson has exposed China's human rights violations and told people what Falun Gong is. The same material is being spread around the world and it is freely available on the Internet. Falun Gong is not prohibited in Thailand, nor is it prohibited anywhere else outside China. Chinas' cover-ups and lies about the persecution of Falun Gong are violations against humanity; the number of tortured and dead is rising all the time, but still the Chinese government is not willing to even talk about these human rights violations.

An ordinary citizen of China doesn't know what is happening at the forced labour camps, mental hospitals or prisons; the people are being deceived.

In the same way, the SARS cases are being covered up. The health authorities of Beijing have admitted to the WHO that a lot of suspected SARS-cases are not reported publicly. In April there might have been over 200 cases a day, then there was only 12. What's the real situation?

Has China's "tradition" of covering up the truth and lying to the populace and to the rest of the world led to a situation, where many countries just quietly accept lies from the Chinese regime as official information and might even act according to it, arresting people without a reason?

Also, during the summer of 2002, the government of China pressured the authorities of Iceland to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from entering during the visit of former president Jiang.

By habitually covering up the facts, China has already caused great economic damage to itself and to countries that have trade relations with China. The whole world has suffered from the SARS epidemic because the authorities' covering-up the disease led to its spread outside China.

The media has an important role to reveal the truth, and nothing should be able prevent it.

In Oulu, 30.5.2003

The Falun Dafa Association of Finland

Anja and Veijo Pekkarinen