(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom.net correspondent Xin Yue reports from Toronto: On November 15, 2004, Toronto Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference to announce a civil lawsuit to be filed with Canada's Ontario Supreme Court against Chinese officials including Jiang Zemin, Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Wang Maolin and others who are mainly responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong. The practitioners filed for C$20 million in damages. The lawsuit charged Jiang and others with torturing and brutally persecuting the plaintiffs because they practiced Falun Gong. Attorney Kate Kempton and six plaintiffs including Zhang Kunlun, Lin Shenli, He Lizhi and eight Chinese and English media representatives attended the press conference. The CBC TV Station made a report in that evening's prime time news regarding the press conference and art exhibition. It talked about the persecution suffered by the plaintiff Professor Zhang Kunlun, his rescue and his artistic works.

Attorney and plaintiffs hold a press conference

Several Chinese and English media attend the press conference

The impact of the lawsuit is almost unprecedented on Canada

Attorney Kate Kempton, representing six Falun Gong practitioners in Ontario, filed a request to the Ontario Supreme Court to sue Jiang Zemin (former President of China), Luo Gan (currently Secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Committee's "610 Office"), Liu Jing (Currently Deputy Minister of Public Security), Li Lanqing (Head of the CCP's Central Committee's "Leadership Group for Handling Falun Gong Issues,") and Wang Maolin (Deputy Head of the CCP's Central Committee's "Leadership Group Handling Falun Gong Issues," and former Head of the Central Committee's "610 Office").

Ms. Kempton said at the press conference that the lawsuit's impact on Canada is almost unprecedented. This lawsuit is against the former Chinese head of state and head of the Chinese Communist Party, and several other high-ranking officials of the Party and the government. Under the illegal directives of Jiang Zemin and other defendants, the plaintiffs and other Falun Gong practitioners in China were subjected to systematic genocidal atrocities. This state-run campaign of terror is still going on in China.

The attorney pointed out that the case is based on the Canadian General Law. The plaintiffs charged the defendants with intentionally committing crimes: forced incarceration and illegal detention, physical assault, illegal confiscation and/or damaging property, financial interference, physical and mental torment, slander, and severe mental and emotional pressure. The persecutory action of the defendants also seriously violates basic human rights and international law.

Practitioners gather to support the lawsuit against Jiang

CBC interviews Professor Zhang Kunlun at the Art Exhibit

The press conference drew attention from many media outlets: eight Chinese and English media representatives, including CBC TV, Global TV, NTD TV, Ming Bao, and The Epoch Times came to conduct interviews. Reporters raised many questions and interviewed the attorney and the plaintiffs, including Zhang Kunlun and He Lizhi.

A precedent-setting civil lawsuit -- attorney believes that the legal basis is sound

Attorney Ms. Kate Kempton said that the case provides an unprecedented legal basis: the violation of civil rights under General Law resulting from torture. Prior to this lawsuit, two lawsuits against Jiang had been initiated in Canada. The two lawsuits are criminal lawsuits, and the Canadian Minister of Justice may need to offer his opinion in order to go further with the next step of the judicial procedure. Today's civil lawsuit doesn't require permission or involvement from the Minister of Justice. The Ontario court has its own judicial jurisdiction to assign damages.

When the reporters asked about collecting damages from defendants in China, the plaintiffs' attorney replied that the goal of the case is not the damages. No matter how much money the defendants pay, it would be impossible to make up for the huge damage caused to the plaintiffs both physically and mentally as a result of the persecution. We hope that through the case, we could create a precedent for this type of action of upholding justice. We also hope that through this lawsuit, more people would be aware of the brutal persecution that is still going on. Ms. Kempton also stated that this atrocity is similar to the genocide that occurred during WWII, but it still hasn't received sufficient public attention and concern. If we win the lawsuit, it will set a precedent and have a deep impact on the Canadian judicial system and society.

The attorney also pointed out that as high-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, the defendants abused their power in launching and executing this campaign of terror. They went beyond the power endowed upon them by the law and violated both Chinese law and international law. Therefore, their actions were carried out as individuals rather than state officials, and they cannot enjoy immunity as government officials.

The persecution has impacted Canada

Reporters asked that since the torture and persecution took place in China, would the Ontario court accept the case and did it have jurisdiction. The attorney replied that Professor Zhang Kunlun was a Canadian citizen when he was subjected to torture for practicing Falun Gong in China. Two other plaintiffs, He Lizhi and Lin Shenli, had obtained permits to immigrate to Canada around the time they were illegally arrested and detained. The six plaintiffs have all experienced more than one instance of detention and torture. Sometimes it lasted for several months, and the longest detention term was three and a half years.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Ontario because they are all living there, and they are still enduring the severe physical and mental pain caused by the persecution and torture. These Falun Gong practitioners have no way to uphold justice through laws in Chinese courts, so they hoped to obtain a fair and just verdict through the Canadian court system.

The attorney pointed out that the perpetrators should not be allowed to remain at large because they hold power in foreign countries. The attorney told reporters that recently, a court in the UK accepted a lawsuit filed against an official from Saudi Arabia for torture. This was a case where officials were held accountable in a foreign court for their actions in their home country.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners around the world

Professor Zhang Kunlun and He Lizhi spoke at the press conference on behalf of other plaintiffs. Professor Zhang Kunlun said that Jiang Zemin issued a directive of "defaming their reputation, bankrupting them financially and destroying them physically" to try to eradicate Falun Gong practitioners. He said, "When I was in China, because I followed the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance and practiced Falun Gong to become a good person, my home was ransacked, and I was illegally arrested, detained and sentenced to three years of forced labor. The police beat me and shocked me with electric batons. The head of local police station Zhang Huisheng said blatantly, 'The highest leader General Secretary Jiang Zemin said, so long as you are Falun Gong practitioners, no matter how you are mistreated, that doesn't matter; if you are tortured to death, you will be dragged out and buried, and you will be labeled as committing suicide...' The police took various means to persecute me, including lies and deception, psychological tactics, deceiving me into actions in front of a video camera, and then concocting programs on TV and articles in the newspaper to defame me. They deceived the public in China and around the world. Such mental torment is far more severe than the physical torture applied against me, and even now I am still reluctant to recall that nightmarish period of time. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have suffered more severe torture than me. More than 1,000 practitioners have died as a result of the persecution, and countless people have been deceived by lies. I call for the Canadian court, media, and all kind-hearted people to help me uphold justice."

Former gold medal winner for outstanding engineering design Mr. He Lizhi said, "Four years ago, I was detained only because I wrote to my friends to tell them the true situation of Falun Gong. I was sentenced to prison for three and a half years. Those 1,290 days and nights are beyond description. The physical and mental torture I suffered during the detention almost killed me. My health deteriorated severely. I had a high fever for 45 days and my chest was in great pain, but I was given no treatment. Forced labor caused me to vomit blood, and I suffered serious inflammation in my lung and kidney. I could not breathe normally due to damage done to my lungs."

He Lizhi said, "Physical injuries can heal over time, but that kind of mental torment is so long-lasting and deep that I am still trying to recover. You may find it hard to believe that I'm still afraid of my name being called even now, because when I was detained in China, police guards called out my name countless times: every time they called out my name, they took me to be interrogated, to be subjected to electric shock and other physical torture, to do heavy labor, to receive brainwashing, and to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. All of these experiences made me very nervous and shiver uncontrollably whenever others called my name, even now. There is a Chinese saying that good will be rewarded with good and evil will be met with evil. We hope that these chief perpetrators of the persecution of Falun Gong will be held accountable in Canadian courts."

Plaintiff Ms. Gan Na told reporters, "I'm very glad to represent other Falun Gong practitioners to file the lawsuit against these chief perpetrators. When I was detained in China, I often thought about when I could help bring these chief perpetrators to justice. I know many Chinese Falun Gong practitioners have such a wish, and today the wish is materializing." Ms. Gan Nan once worked at the customs office at Beijing Airport. She was expelled from work for practicing Falun Gong and was arrested and detained six times. Her company leaders and police deceived her into going to a mental hospital to torture her. She was illegally sent to Chaoyang District Detention Center in 2001, and later to Beijing's Xin'an Women's Forced Labor Camp to serve a forced labor term. The police guards brutally tortured her both physically and mentally in order to try to force her to renounce Falun Gong.

Art exhibit and signature collection calling for the Canadian community to support the lawsuit against Jiang

After the press conference, Toronto practitioners held activities including group practice, truth clarification and signature collection to support the lawsuit against Jiang near the conference site. They wanted to raise awareness among more Canadian people about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and to call for an end to the persecution and bring the chief perpetrators to justice. Many people expressed their support after learning about the truth and signed postcards to denounce the persecution. At the same time, an arts exhibit entitled "Uncompromising Courage" was held at the Toronto City Hall opposite the hotel where the press conference was held. CBC reporters conducted an interview with Professor Zhang and covered the art exhibit after the press conference.

After today's activities, more than 60 Toronto practitioners will set off during the night to Ottawa to take part in a large-scale activity to be held on November 16 in front of Parliament Hill. They will call for bringing Jiang and other chief perpetrators to justice. After that, Toronto practitioners will join practitioners from the East and West coast in Canada to hold a series of activities including postcard signature collection, anti-torture exhibits and other activities to help more Canadians learn the truth about Falun Gong and help stop the persecution.