(Clearwisdom.net, February 16, 2004) On February 14, Falun Gong practitioners from the United Kingdom held a press conference and candlelight vigil to protest the Chinese authorities' brutal persecution in the recent three months. Practitioners called to bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice. Former UK diplomat, Lord Thurlow said in the press conference that only when more people understand the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong, can this unprecedented inhuman violation of human rights be ultimately stopped.
According to reports from Clearwisdom Net, from November 2003 to January 2004, 26 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed to have been tortured to death in China. These Falun Gong practitioners were from nine different provinces and municipalities. The tortures that they suffered included beatings, electrical shocks, force-feeding*, and injection of drugs that damage the central nervous system. The practitioners who were tortured to death include a 65-year-old woman and 32-year-old man. As of February 14, 2004, at least 884 practitioners were confirmed to have been killed during the persecution against Falun Gong.
During the press conference held at 4:pm, some practitioners sat in front, holding in their hands portraits of the practitioners who were tortured to death. Some practitioners standing behind them unfurled banners imprinted with eye-catching words in both Chinese and English, "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to Justice." These four people play the most malicious role in this persecution. They suborn the 610 Office, the Ministry of Public Security, labor camps and other institutions to persecute Dafa practitioners with extremely cruel means. They also issued the order that Falun Gong practitioners can be beaten to death, and their deaths are counted as suicide. They even assign a death quota to each labor camps.
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| Press Conference | Candlelight vigil |
During the press conference, a representative from the UK Falun Dafa Association said, "Jiang and his follower's persecution of Falun Gong violates both the Chinese Constitution and international laws. No mater what roles the evildoers play in the persecution, they will be eventually brought to justice."
During the candlelight vigil, practitioners held in hands lotus-shaped candles and quietly sat in front of the Chinese Consulate. Accompanied by the peaceful music, "Pudu", they mourned for fellow practitioners who have died in the persecution and called for justice and conscience.
*Force-feeding is the number one cause of death for Falun Gong practitioners. The purpose of police force-feeding is not to nourish, but rather to torture practitioners and to cause so much pain that they will renounce the practice of Falun Gong. To that end, the police have used many different means to cause excruciating pain and injury, including inserting and withdrawing the feeding tubes repeatedly, leaving the feeding tubes in the stomach, knocking out teeth while attempting to force-feed, force-feeding saturated salt-water, vinegar/liquor, or urine/feces, etc.
Category: Rallies & Protests
