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News and Events from Around the World
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Resolution H. Res. 530 Urging International Censure of China for Human Rights Abuses
WASHINGTON, D.C. The House of Representatives today passed by a wide margin a resolution H. Res. 530 urging the international community to sternly rebuke the Peoples' Republic of China for a litany of human rights abuses. The final vote was 402-2.
H. Res. 530 urges the Bush Administration to sponsor and aggressively pursue a resolution condemning China for its human rights abuses at the annual meeting of the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights, which will meet later this month.
The excerpt of the resolution is as below:
"Whereas the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, is the most important international forum for discussing human rights and expressing international support for improved human rights performance;
Whereas according to the Department of State, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and international human rights organizations, the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to commit well-documented human rights abuses against the Chinese people;
Whereas the People's Republic of China has yet to demonstrate its willingness to abide by internationally accepted norms of freedom of belief, expression, and association by repealing or amending laws and decrees that restrict those freedoms;
Whereas the Government of People's Republic of China continues to ban and criminalize groups it labels as cults or heretical organizations;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has repressed unregistered religious groups and spiritual movements and persists in persecuting persons on the basis of unauthorized religious activities using such measures as harassment, surveillance, job discrimination, exorbitant fines, prolonged detention, physical abuse, incarceration, and closure or destruction of places of worship;
Whereas international human rights organizations have documented that torture, maltreatment, the use of confessions extracted through torture, and other abuses while in detention are rampant in the Chinese legal system;
Whereas the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has been particularly harsh;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China launched a brutal campaign to eradicate Falun Gong from their country;
Whereas since this time large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested, subjected to harsh reeducation efforts, and some have even been tortured to death;
Whereas Falun Gong practitioners continue to report harassment and acts of violence at the hands of foreign nationals which have occurred against them during peaceful protests in the United States and other countries;
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the possibility of links between attacks against Falun Gong practitioners in the United States and the Government of the People's Republic of China."
The actions that the resolution urged the administration take include:
- the United States Government should continue to insist that the People's Republic of China adhere to fundamental human rights principles and allow its citizens the full enjoyment of those rights;
- at the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, the appropriate representative of the United States should introduce a resolution calling upon the People's Republic of China to end its human rights violations in China and meet internationally recognized standards for human rights;
- the United States Government should take the lead in organizing multilateral support to obtain passage by the Commission of such a resolution and should draft the resolution in such a way as to highlight specific human rights abuses;
- all countries with representatives at the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission should support passage of such a resolution and resist efforts by representatives of the People's Republic of China to oppose the consideration or passage of such a resolution; and
- United States Government officials and officials from other governments should continue to speak out in international forums and elsewhere against Chinese repression of religious and political freedom, persecution [...]
The actions that the resolution urges the Government of the People's Republic of China take include:
- to take the necessary measures to stop the persecution of all religious practitioners and to safeguard fundamental human rights;
- to release from detention all prisoners of conscience, persons held because of their religious activities, and persons of humanitarian concern;
- to allow the Chinese people to practice freely and openly their religious beliefs;
- to adhere to the provisions and guidelines of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the 1951 Convention Relating to Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Congressman Chris Smith said in a press release, "On the religious front, there is ongoing aggressive repression of those who want to practice their faith. We see Falun Gong practitioners who are routinely rounded up and beaten and abused; and hundreds have been tortured to death while held in captivity. This oppression is extended to Catholics, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and others who face similar oppression."
"Already, the PRC is trying to generate favorable public opinion by claiming it will protect human rights and private property rights; but as we have learned over the years, China cannot be trusted to keep its work on human rights. We have a moral duty and obligation to aggressively raise this issue on behalf of the numerous victims who cannot speak for themselves," Smith added.
Genocide Catches the Attention of Various Groups
From January 26 to January 28, 2004, the international conference on "Genocide in the New Era" was successfully held in Stockholm, Sweden. Friends of Falun Gong Europe and International Advocates for Justice were joint sponsors of the event. Using the persecution against Falun Gong in China as an example, participants held comprehensive discussions from multiple perspectives concerning the symptoms of and possible responses to various forms of genocide in today's world.
Over 100 human rights attorneys, representatives of non-governmental organizations, celebrities, and diplomats from Europe, Asia, and North America attended the forum. Over four years of persistent suppression of Falun Gong as well as Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful resistance throughout this period has focused the attention of more and more legal experts on the serious charge of genocide in this persecution. Attending were the five attorneys who represented Falun Gong practitioners in the trials against Jiang on the grounds of genocide in the U.S., Belgium, German, Taiwan, and Spain attended, attorneys who represent Falun Gong practitioners' lawsuits against other high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong across the world, and other legal experts interested in the subject. Two of the attendees were attorneys who have won genocide cases against former dictators: Goerges-Hanri Beauthier, who participated in the trial against former Chilian dictator Pinochet, and Wolfgang Kaleck, a renowned German attorney who has successfully brought to justice the former dictator of Argentina.
While this conference was in session, an international forum on "Prevention of Genocide," sponsored by the Swedish government, was being held in the National Conference Center across the street. Delegations from 58 governments attended this forum. The simultaneous convening of these two conferences in this city has brought the urgent subject of genocide to the attention of governments, non-governmental organizations, and people in various disciplines in the international community. Discussions centered on genocide, its historic lessons and current evolution, how to expose it, and how to prevent and stop it.
According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of the United Nations, genocide is defined as intentional actions taken "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group" through such means as "killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part...."
This session of the international forum of "Genocide in the New Era" has transmitted an important and urgent message: A large-scale persecution depriving people of their rights to life and spiritual pursuits is taking place today in China. From the facts documented throughout the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China, we have witnessed that this genocide extends to the destruction and extinction of victims' beliefs and conscience in addition to simply killing human beings.
The 2004 Western United States Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference Commences in LA
On February 28, over two thousand Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world gathered in L.A.'s Pasadena Convention Center to participate in the 2004 Western United States Experience Sharing Conference. When Master Li came to the conference site at 2:10 pm, the entire body of practitioners gave a standing ovation to greet Master Li. After a thirty minutes¡¯ lecture, Master Li took more than two hours to answer the practitioners¡¯ questions.
During the conference, more than ten practitioners shared their experiences in their cultivation and clarifying the truth.
Canadian practitioner Joel Chipkar stated that last year, he filed a lawsuit against Deputy Chinese Consul-General Pan Xinchun in Toronto for publishing an article in the newspaper to slander Falun Gong and himself, and the judge found Pan Xinchun guilty of libel. Chipkar said that in the past four years, Jiang's group has been using hate propaganda and lies to cover up their crimes of murder, torture, and genocide against innocent practitioners. Many fellow practitioners have died due to this brutality and inhuman persecution. In Canada, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates are still spreading hatred and lies. He warned those who are continuing the persecution of Falun Gong, "Stop your crimes before it is too late, because you will pay for the crimes you committed, and you will destroy your future."
Li Ying, who was rescued to Australia last October, also spoke at the conference. She recounted the persecution she suffered for persisting in cultivating Falun Gong. Li Ying was once sent to a brainwashing class and later was sentenced to two years of forced labor. Her sister and brother are also incarcerated in a forced labor camp. Her elderly parents are left at home. While in the forced labor camp, Li Ying persisted in her belief, refused to write a "repentance statement," and regained her freedom.
Falun Gong Practitioners Participate in Global Chinese New Year's Gala in Washington DC
On February 26, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from the U.S., Canada, and Taiwan were invited to perform in New Tang Dynasty TV's Inaugural Global Chinese New Year Gala held in the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. This was the last of a series of galas that were also held in Taiwan, Toronto, New York and Paris.
The gala presented wonderful performances. Several large-scale vocal and dance performances recalled the Tang culture and Dunhuang Arts. "Spirit of the Great Tang Dynasty," and "Heaven's Gate Opens" enabled the audience to appreciate the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty; "Heavenly Spectacle" led people to the amazing Buddhas' paradise. There was also an alto's vocal solo, "Longing for China Proper" and an Erhu solo that made people feel the coming of spring.
The Falun Gong practitioners' performances were especially appealing; for example, a choir composed of Falun Gong practitioners from North America sang the song, "Coming for You" in Chinese and English.
The song "Coming for You" was inspired by an event in November 2001, when 36 Western Falun Gong practitioners traveled from around the world to Tiananmen Square to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong. They sincerely hoped that the precious Chinese people could listen to the voices from their hearts: "Traveling across thousands of mountains and tens of thousands of rivers, I came for you again and again. I come because I love you... Precious Chinese people, do you know that the world says, 'Falun Dafa is good,' please do not miss an opportunity that will never come again."
Many officials and staff of the U.S. Congress and federal government, as well as ambassadors and officials from other countries, viewed the performance.
Members of the European Parliament Talk about the Human Rights Violations in Paris
On February 10, Belgian member of the European Parliament Nelly Maes and Italian MEP Gianfranco Dell' Alba attended a press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France for the incident regarding the arrest of Falun Gong practitioners and dissidents because of the Chinese authorities¡¯ pressure during Hu Jintao's visit to France.
When talking about the Paris incident, Ms. Nellya Maes a member of the committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, said, "I feel very sorry about it. It involves several serious questions. I think we should give higher priority to human rights than trade.
"The infringement of Falun Gong is obviously a human rights abuse. I have never seen any group that is as peaceful as Falun Gong. When visiting China, I asked Chinese authorities many questions about Falun Gong. As soon as they heard of Falun Gong, they started to be angry. It made me feel doubtful. In my opinion, Falun Gong practitioners didn't commit any crimes, and they were not supposed to be treated like this, neither in China or in France as well, of course."
When talking about how the international community can help improve this kind of situation, she said, "I think we must put human rights in the first place, and be sincere. All governments that intend to avoid this topic should be condemned."
Italian Member of European Parliament Gianfranco Dell' Alba is a member of the Sino-Italian Relationship Delegation of the European Parliament. When talking about his views on the Paris incident, he said: "I think this is a dangerous event, which represents certain viewpoints of the government: China now talks like a superpower, so we should obey Communist China's wish, and should not talk about human rights, freedom of belief as well as freedom of speech. This is the same as the incident in which Falun Gong was not allowed to participate in the Paris Spring Festival Parade, and is a serious issue. We have already brought up this issue to the European Parliament's Committee on Human Rights and the European Commission, and asked them to investigate this matter."
He said, "I think that the Chinese government had pressured French authorities to do so. The Chinese government and its embassies in various European countries have long been trying to stop people from being concerned about China's human right issues. Should there be any Chinese delegations visiting the European Parliament, I'll try my best to emphasize this matter to them. Our delegation will have an official visit to Beijing in March, and I will also use this opportunity to raise this topic to them. The Chinese government might think that they have overpowered many people, and conceal their abuses about human rights. Fifteen years have passed since the Tiananmen incident. It is unacceptable for people turn a deaf ear to the incident. We keep trying our best to prevent them from doing things at will...We should respect democratic opinion. However, I think it is even more serious that we not only have forgotten everything that happened in China, but also allowed these things to happen in Europe. It is really intolerable."
In talking about how the European Parliament should monitor implementation of the principles of democracy and freedom when facing this kind of event, he stressed, "One of the European Parliament's principles is to advocate civil rights and freedom. Therefore we cannot, on one hand, request the European Union's members to observe the system of democracy and freedom, while on the other, accept agreeing to the Chinese government's human rights abuse for economic deals. Therefore the European Parliament always supports actions that stand for civil rights and freedom.
"I am very happy that this morning the European Parliament passed a resolution regarding the preparation for the UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva. The resolution urged the European Union to initiate a motion at this year's Human Rights Conference to condemn the human rights abuses in China and a series of other countries. In the resolution, the persecution of Falun Gong was mentioned in the text about China. Let's see if the EU member states will make some active responses to the European Parliament's initiatives."
Reporters Without Borders: Five Falun Gong members jailed for posting "fabricated" news online
20 February 2004
Reporters Without Borders has condemned jail sentences handed down to five members of the Falun Gong movement on 19 February, ranging from five to 14 years in prison.
They appeared before Court No. 1 in western Chongqing on 19 February accused of helping to post news on a web site about ill treatment in prison of a student member of the movement.
The international press freedom organisation also called for the release of all 22 Falun Gong members now imprisoned for posting news on the Internet.
"The crackdown on members of this spiritual movement is completely unjustified," it said. "The five Internet-users were convicted for posting online what is already very well known to human rights organisations, that members of Falun Gong are systematically tortured in prison."
[...]
Lu Zengqi, accused of writing the incriminating document, and Yan Qiuyan, who was said to have helped him published the article, were both sentenced to 10 years in jail. Li Jian, who reportedly posted the article on a site run by the movement, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Chen Shumin, head of the company where Lu Zengqi worked was jailed for 12 years. Yin Yan was sentenced to five years but without any evidence being given of the part he played.
Apart from the five people sentenced on 19 February 2004, 17 members of the Falun Gong movement are currently in jail for using the Internet.
Seven cyberdissidents, Jiang Yuxia, Li Chunyan, Li Yanfang, Lin Yang, Ma Yan, Huang Kui and Zhang Yuhui, were arrested for posting news on the Net.
One cyberdissident, Zhang Haitao, is in jail for creating an Internet site about Falun Gong. Nine Internet-users, Meng Jun, Dong Yanhong, Liu Wenyu, Wang Xin, Wang Xuefei, Wang Zhenyong, Yao Yue, Zhang Ji and Quan Huicheng, were simply charged with downloading and spreading news about the movement and repression of its members.
Reporters Without Borders has already drawn attention to repression against Falun Gong members in its report "The Internet under Surveillance". This report also explains that the Chinese authorities block access to all sites that refer to the movement and bans discussion of the subject on online discussion forums.
Swedish Ministry of Commerce: "We are resolutely against the arrest and torture of Falun Gong practitioners!"
Dear [Falun Dafa practitioner],
Thank you for your letter dated the middle of December 2003. Enclosed in the letter was information on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, as well as your petition form and your hope that this persecution will end.
I would like to express that on different occasions the Swedish government has censured the Chinese government on its torture of Falun Gong practitioners. Of course, we will continue to do so. We are absolutely against the violent treatment of peaceful citizens making appeals and oppose the arrest and torture of Falun Gong practitioners who are thrown into prisons or labour camps.
As you should know, at present, the European Union is actively engaged in open dialogue with the new Chinese government's parliament and research department. In the dialogue, we raised the problem of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and our viewpoints. We also pointed out that this violates the international treaty which China has signed. The EU has also raised the issue of the infringement of human rights of Falun Gong practitioners in the United Nations convention.
Lastly, I would like to thank you for your information on Falun Dafa.
Sven-Eric Sder
January 2004 in Stockholm
Canadian Senator Raynell Andreychuk: Canadian Soil Is Not to be Used For Propaganda And Hate Inducement Against The Falun Gong
On February 5, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference at the Canadian Parliament to inform the media about the court's verdict against Deputy Consul General of China in Toronto, Mr. Pan Xinchun. Toronto Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Joel Chipkar recently filed a libel lawsuit against Pan for libel and Pan was convicted by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice on February 3. Canadian Senator Raynell Andreychuk attended the press conference to support the event. After the conference, Senator Andreychuk sent an email to a Falun Gong practitioner to ensure that propaganda and hate inducement against the Falun Gong is not done on Canadian soil.
Senator Andreychuk wrote: "Further to your email with respect to your successful court action against a Chinese Consular Official, I was pleased to be able to attend your press conference and to give support to you and the Falun Gong of Canada to ensure that Canadian soil is not used for propaganda and hate inducement against the Falun Gong. I will take every effort available to me to impress upon the Canadian Government that they must take action with the Chinese Government to ensure that this type of action stops immediately."
French MP: "We should give human rights higher priority than economic benefits"
Recently, a French practitioner wrote to Franck Marlin, Member of Parliament for Essonne and Mayor of Etampes, pointing out the unfair treatment Falun Gong practitioners received in Paris at the end of January. The MP replied that he completely agreed with the practitioner and thinks "we should give human rights higher priority than economic benefits." His complete reply is as follows.
Republic of France
Freedom, Equality and Fraternity
French Parliament.
Franck Marlin
MP of Essonne
Major of Etampes
Paris, February 11th 2004
Sir,
In your letter on Feb 3rd, you reminded me of the persecution that Falun Gong practitioners are enduring and the chain of events that Hu Jintao, the Chinese leader, brought during his visit to France.
You know my stance on this issue, and I completely agree with your feelings in regard to the other issues you raised.
Falun Gong is not regarded as a cult in France and I think because of that, the government should have authorised this peaceful parade and given a higher priority to human rights than economic benefits.
I will not forget to pass my thoughts on this to Nicolas Sarkozy, Minister of Domestic Security and Local Freedom.
Thank you for the enclosed materials and your good wishes and please convey my best wishes to your family.
Sir, please accept my best wishes.
Franck Marlin
Mayor of Spain's City of Toledo: "I will take every possible opportunity to appeal for the end of this persecution." The Mayor of Toledo wrote the following reply to a Falun Gong practitioner's letter:
Respectful Sir,
I carefully read your letter introducing the information about the Spanish Falun Dafa Association and the terrible situation that Falun Gong practitioners face under persecution in China.
As you may know, the city of Toledo has always been well known for its multi-cultural tradition. In history, Christianity, Judaism and Islam peacefully co-existed for many centuries. This spirit of tolerance has become a major characteristic of this city, and is also a valuable inheritance for our future generations.
I want to let you know that I have carefully read the information you sent to me. I will take every possible opportunity to raise your issue to the relevant people in Spain and abroad, and to appeal for the end of this persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Please accept my sincere wishes.
China: Retired Teacher Died from Injection of Toxic Substance in Forced Labor Camp
A report on February 13, 2004 report confirmed Ms. Zhang Shuzhen died from injection a toxic substance in the forced labor camp.
The infusion led to violent stomach pains. Her belly swelled larger than that of a pregnant woman. Zhang Shuzhen died on October 9, 2002 as the result of this horrible act.
Zhang Shuzhen was 51 years old and lived in Haidian District, Beijing. She was a retired teacher and started to practice Falun Gong in 1992. In 2001, police arrested her and sent her to the Qinghe Forced Labor Camp for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials.
The officials in the forced labor camp deprived her of sleep for several consecutive nights. The police shocked her with electric batons, seized her by the hair and struck her against a wall. Furthermore, depraved people infused unknown liquids into her anus, which caused the violent pain in her stomach, making her belly again swell up bigger than that of a pregnant woman.
According to information, the police used various torture methods in the attempt to force Zhang to reveal the names and addresses of other Falun Gong practitioners but Ms. Zhang refused to say a single word.
The police afterwards sentenced Zhang to one year and 6 month forced labor. She suffered a violent stomachache on the way to the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp. Fearing to shoulder the responsibilities, the labor camp officials ordered her family to take her home. Zhang Shuzhen was sent to the Haidian Hospital on October 9, 2002 at 7:00 p.m, but she died two hours later.
A staff from Yuanda Middle School in Haidian District confirmed the time of Zhang Shuzhen's death.
China: Tortures and Sexual Abuse in the Fanqiang Forced Labor Camp
In the Fanqiang Forced Labor Camp, some special rooms were set up for torture. The windows and doors were covered with newspaper or bed-sheets to avoid being witnessed and exposed to the public. Authorities continued to use inhumane mental and physical torture in an attempt to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief.
Sixty-seven year-old professor Chen Pangen, Hu Chunqing and a graduate student had been cursed at and beaten daily by the camp wardens. Some practitioners were beaten to the point of losing control of their bowels and bladder. They were not allowed to wear pants, and instead had to wear shorts after midnight while they were doused with 16 basins of cold water.
Liu Jufang is a farmer, who had his Adam's apple pinched and injured, and therefore could not speak. Despite this he was watched and tortured by a prisoner.
Hu Chunqing's ear was pinched, torn, and deformed. The guards used cigarette butts to burn, needles to stab and various other methods to torture Falun Gong practitioners.
The police threw female Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Gao Yulan in with male prisoners to create an environment of terror. They directed a male criminal to strip Gao naked and allowed him to sexually abuse her as he pleased. Their actions caused complaints from some policemen who still had a conscience, and also sparked indignation from other prisoners within the camp who learned of this situation. This incident was reported to the Jiangsu Provincial Committee for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Department of Forced Labor. However, the incident was swept under the rug and no specific action came out of it.
The authorities at the labor camp call their persecution and torture "help and education." The guards persecute and torture practitioners without constraint. They also threaten practitioners after they leave the camp. Their behavior tramples on human rights. They knowingly used this labor camp, where Falun Gong practitioners were detained, as a place where they can perpetrate any crime without fear of being held responsible by the law.
China: Ms. Jiang Chunxian Tortured to Death at Female Prison
Ms. Jiang Chunxian is a 34-year-old resident in Jilin Province. She was sentenced to eight years in prison on January 15, 2004, and sent to the Heizuizi Prison in Changchun City. Due to her tuberculosis peritonitis, the prison rejected her. With complete disregard for her life, the Dehui City Court issued an enforcement order, and sent her to the prison on January 16. She died on February 19, 2004.
Upon finding out where she was, her family went to visit her in the prison on January 30. She was still in a relative good spirits, but very pale, especially her lips, and she was passing bloody stools. Her family visited her again on February 6, and found her very sick. Worried about her health, her family went there on February 18 for a third visit, when she was severely ill had to be pushed around in a wheel chair, and spoke with a weak voice. Her family members strongly requested to 2 male police officers on duty release her on medical parole, but their request was denied.
Around midnight of February 19, the prison police notified her family that Ms. Jiang had died. The police claimed she was sent to a hospital around 4 p.m. on February 19, and she died half hour later due to suddenly heart failure. But her family found her body still at the prison.
Ms. Jiang never had heart disease. Her family discovered that at the back of her body, an excessively large pooling of blood had occurred, and that there were two large red areas on the insides of her thighs. These wounds indicated that Ms. Jiang was tortured, perhaps with electric baton.
The prison forced her family to have her body cremated quickly, before it could be checked.
Before she was sent to Heizuizi Prison, Ms. Jiang was arrested on November 7, 2002, and was tortured both physically and mentally for more than 400 days. She was tortured with the "Big Hang Up," method, brutally force-fed, shocked by electric batons, and beaten in many ways. Then she was tortured to death within just a month, and leaving a 10-year-old child.
China: Prisons Make Profits from Abusing Prisoners
In China, prisoners are often used as cheap labor to manufacture commodities. These commodities are then packaged in Guangdong Province and sold to Japan, United States, and Southeastern Asian countries. Most of the work done by prisoners involves making clothes, polishing jewelry, making hair products, or smoothing paper edges. For example, the Jewelry Association Factory, located in Guangxi and Fujian Province, owns 100,000 jewelry machines which have all been set up in prisons. Some Chinese-owned enterprises in Thailand have also purchased many jewelry machines and have set them up in several prisons in Sichuan Province to have the jewelry processed. The Hong Kong Lepachu Industrial Co. Ltd. uses prisoners to make hair products, and the Guangdong Liren Clothes uses prisoners to make their clothes, which are sold to United States and other southeastern Asian countries.
The only supermarket chain permitted by the Judiciary Department, the Red Flag Supermarket, does not pay prisoners their salaries according to the prison laws. To make it worse, the Supermarket also makes money from prisoners by placing a lot of orders in the prisons and not paying them overtime. In Sichuan Province, the Deyang Prison produced 150 thousand products for the Deyang Second Heavy Machinery Factory in 2003. These products were sold to Germany. The entire prison system in China is one enormous production line and a huge moneymaking machine.
The Jiang regime is using a 25% of China's GNP to persecute Falun Gong. A large number of Falun Gong practitioners are being detained in prisons, labor camps, and detention centers where they are forced to perform slave labor. The prisons use the slave labor from these Falun Gong practitioners and other tens of millions of prisoners to reap huge profits. They then take this money to intensify and sustain the suppression of Falun Gong.
The treatment for Falun Gong practitioners is worse because they are being persecuted while also having to perform the long-hours of slave labor. Practitioners who refuse to cooperate with the persecution are locked up in a dark cell or deprived of sleep. In the second prison block of the intensified-management team, more than 50 practitioners receive all kinds of physical punishment from the police. The police use them as an example to warn other prisoners that if they don't accomplish their tasks, they will be treated like the Falun Gong practitioners.
Using this method, products made in the prisons in China are transported to cities along the coast and quietly sold all over the world after they have been packaged. These products from the prisons have a great advantage in competing against similar products in the market. The prisons use the prisoners' blood and sweat to make huge amounts of foreign exchanges and this money is then used for the brutal persecution against Falun Gong. A prisoner said, "The Deyang Prison treats us like livestock. We dare not imagine having any human rights; that would be too far away from us. No one will pity us because we are criminals. However, you Falun Gong practitioners should not be persecuted; you should be respected by society."
Agence France Presse (AFP): Canadian supporter of Falun Gong protests over Hong Kong ban
February 19, 2004 Thursday
A Canadian member of the Falun Gong movement has been barred from getting on a flight to Hong Kong to promote his book about a protest in China, the author and airline confirmed Thursday.
Zenon Dolnyckyj was stopped from boarding his China Airlines flight 10 minutes before it was due to take off from Taipei after the airline received a fax marked "urgent" from Hong Kong's immigration department. A fax, released by Dolnyckyj, 26, at a press conference in Taipei said that he should not be taken to Hong Kong unless he had a valid visa issued by the department.
No reason was given for the decision. The airline confirmed it had received a fax that prevented him from flying but declined to comment further.
Canadian citizens are normally allowed in Hong Kong for 90 days without a visa, according to the Hong Kong Immigration website. The department Thursday declined to comment on the case.
"I was very shocked that (the immigration department) was treating this as some kind of emergency and that I'm being tracked and followed. I entered Hong Kong twice in the past with no problems," Dolnyckyj said.
"This is absolutely deplorable that I'm being treated this way. It's a serious issue. What they are doing is a violation of my human rights," he said.
Dolnyckyj had been in Taiwan for two weeks promoting his book and planned to move on to Hong Kong before returning to Canada.
The book, Coming for You, is an account of his life as a Falun Gong member and his journey to Beijing's Tiananmen Square from Canada for a demonstration at which the group says he and 35 others from 12 countries were arrested.
The writer, who was deported after taking part in the protest two years ago, claimed that he was banned because he was considered a "threat to China" and pressure was put on the Hong Kong government. China outlawed Falun Gong [...] in mid-1999 and practitioners have subsequently faced often brutal repression.
Washington Post: 'New' China, Old Repression
By James Mann, Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Has China been transformed
Urged on by the French defense industry, Chirac contends that China today is different from 10 or 15 years ago. That argument seems to dovetail with visitors' impressions of a glitzy China and with the currently fashionable cliches about how China is being integrated into the international community.
The problem is that in fundamental ways relating to human rights and political repression, China today is not much different than it was a decade ago. Yes, China has been brought into the international community, if we define that phrase exclusively in terms of economics. But ordinarily the international community is not defined solely by membership in the World Trade Organization.
To illustrate this point, let's take an example: China's unwillingness to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons.
China has never allowed the ICRC (which is an excellent example of the international community) to visit its prisons. One stumbling block has been that the Red Cross insists on the right to interview prisoners privately and with its own interpreters.
Over a decade ago, on the eve of President Bill Clinton's first meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said at a news conference that China was prepared to let the ICRC into Chinese jails. This was treated as a great breakthrough, and it eased the climate for Clinton's meeting.
But nothing happened. At first there were suggestions that China might give the Red Cross access to its prisons only after the Clinton administration dropped its attempt to impose human rights conditions on China's trade benefits. Clinton did that, but China didn't act on the ICRC. The Clinton administration raised the issue of prison access again and again in Clinton's second term, without success. The current Bush administration has tried too, but today, 10 years after China first hinted it was about to open up its prisons to inspection by the international community, it still hasn't done so.
This is not some abstract or bureaucratic issue. The significance of ICRC access to prisons was explained by one International Red Cross official in this way: "At a minimum, our visits give the prisoner the solace of an hour's conversation with a reasonable human being in his own language. In the most extreme cases, a visit can prevent the prisoner from disappearance and death."
Those eloquent words happen to have been spoken with a particular case in mind -- the U.S. detention camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Last year, the ICRC said publicly that the U.S. policies at Guantanamo were unacceptable, and its criticisms, many of them legitimate, were widely reported in Europe.
But please note that at least the United States permitted the ICRC to visit Guantanamo. That's more than China has done for its entire prison system. And yet the Europeans who are so forthright in condemning American policies at Guantanamo seem to be silent about a Chinese regime whose jails are still considered entirely off-limits to the ICRC. That is a classic double standard.
Over the past 10 years, China has managed to defuse international human rights complaints by channeling them into endless disputes over meetings, visits, human rights "dialogues," requests by various organizations for offices in Beijing -- anything that doesn't substantively require China to alter its policies.
Yes, China has changed in some ways in the past decade. The Chinese people now have the freedom to wear what they want. Ordinary citizens can generally say what they want in private or in some public settings -- so long as they remain completely unorganized and unchallenging to the regime.
But when it comes to tolerance of any political opposition, or to human rights standards as generally defined by the international community, China is essentially the same as it was a decade ago. The regime has never expressed the slightest remorse for using weaponry against its own people.
Chirac is right about one thing -- something has changed over the past decade. But it's not China. Rather, the rest of the world has become far more tolerant of the same Chinese political repression that it condemned in the early 1990s. A lifting of the EU arms embargo would be one more big step in this tawdry policy of accepting repression.
James Mann is a senior writer-in-residence at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former China correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
Associated Press: Canadian Falun Gong follower refused boarding onto Hong Kong-bound flight
February 18, 2004
By MIN LEE; Associated Press Writer
HONG KONG - A Canadian Falun Gong follower who once was kicked out of mainland China for protesting in Beijing now has been barred from flying into Hong Kong, the group said Thursday.
The meditation group charged that Hong Kong was undermining its own freedoms and rule of law by refusing to admit 26-year-old Zenon Dolnyckyj, who wanted to visit Hong Kong to promote a book he has written about practicing Falun Gong.
Falun Gong was outlawed [...] by China in 1999 but remains legal in Hong Kong, where Western-style freedoms were maintained when the former British colony was handed to Beijing rule in 1997.
Still, practitioners have reported that a number of foreign followers have been refused entry in Hong Kong.
Dolnyckyj was expelled from China in November 2001 after he and other foreign Falun Gong practitioners unfurled a banner in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and were caught by police. Falun Gong accuses China of torturing hundreds of its followers to death [...] Falun Gong said that Dolnyckyj tried to board a Hong Kong-bound China Airlines flight in Taipei on Wednesday evening, but he was turned away by an airline employee who said Hong Kong immigration had warned against letting him fly.
Falun Gong said the airline worker told Dolnyckyj he could not take the flight because he did not have an entry visa for Hong Kong, but the group called the explanation suspicious. Canadian citizens normally are allowed to travel to Hong Kong for up to 90 days without visas.
Hong Kong Immigration Department spokesman K.K. Au declined comment, saying the department won't discuss individual cases.
The Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong and China Airlines in Taipei did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.
Dolnyckyj, who runs an office-cleaning business in Toronto, had hoped to promote his book "Coming for You," Falun Gong said.
Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia): Brisbane believers at Bowie
February 17, 2004
David Bowie's never been able to do anything much without grabbing a headline or two along the way.
And tonight's Brisbane gig at the Entertainment Center is no different.
Bowie has graciously agreed to let a non-profit organization called Friends of Falun Gong attend all his shows, thanks to his drummer Sterling Campbell's heart-felt experience.
Sterling is a practitioner of the ancient spiritual meditation and exercise practice of Falun Gong.
He was among 59 North Americans and Europeans who attempted to unfurl banners and voice support for the movement, banned by the Chinese government, in Tiananmen Square on February 14, 2003.
Sterling told Rolling Stone magazine that he was questioned and beaten for 30 hours by Beijing police because of his involvement.
He said he was punched and kicked to the floor because he wouldn't co-operate.
After 90 minutes, he said a group of demonstrators, including women, was taken to an anonymous building with the facade and lobby of a hotel, where the abuse continued into the next day.
Sterling said he was never officially arrested and was put on a plane the following day with bruises on his arms.
"We can read stories about how bad the situation is in China, but experiencing it first-hand completely changed me," he said just before the launch of Bowie's Reality Tour.
"I can say from the heart that my experience convinced me that I cannot stop speaking out about this issue until we see a change in human rights and religious freedoms in China."
Friends of Falun Gong aims to raise awareness of the group and prevent persecution.
The People Awaken to the Truth
China: The Changes in a Falun Gong Practitioner's Family Members
By a practitioner in China
A female Falun Gong practitioner lives in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. Her husband and son do not practice Falun Gong. After July 20th, 1999, due to the deceit and propaganda of the Jiang regime, as well as her being sentenced to forced labor, her family members had much hatred against Falun Gong. In particular, her son made her trouble all the time. Sometimes her husband and son even beat her, and once she was almost strangled when her son clutched her neck.
She knew the reason her husband and son treated her like this was that they were poisoned by the wicked media, and regarded Falun Gong practitioners as people who committed murder and suicide. They also were afraid that one day she might kill them, so they tried in different ways to force her to give up the practice, including beating her up.
Through looking inward and sharing with fellow practitioners, she understood that only by helping them learn the truth could the situation be changed. Since then, whenever her husband and son made trouble for her, she tried her best to overcome the difficulties, help them see the compassion of Falun Gong practitioners, and break through Jiang's lies with real-life displays of goodness. After a period of time, the attitude of the husband and son changed a lot. She also helped them to read the truth-clarifying materials, and finally, they got to know the facts: they had been deceived! Since then they no longer attempted to stop her practice. In particular, her son not only no longer behaves as in the past, but also actively protects her.
Once, Jiang's followers in her residential area brought a group of collaborators from the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp to attempt to force her to give up her beliefs. They stayed for three days, living and taking meals at her home. Her son found out about this after coming home and scolded them loudly. Seeing his attitude, none of the collaborators dared to say anything, but left quietly and quickly.
On another occasion, the corrupt officials in her residential area brought a group of policemen to her home, attempting to force her to go to the brainwashing class, and searching for Falun Gong books and materials. When the son learned that the books and materials had just been moved behind the radiator, he brought a chair and sat in front of the radiator and shouted to the police, "My mother is a good person! She did not commit any crime, how dare you come to search our home
A Communist Party Official: One Day in the Future, this Debt Will be Paid on My Account
In a district of a city in China, a Falun Gong practitioner told his classmate, an assistant party secretary of the "610 Office," the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong.
When talking about treating practitioners of Falun Gong with compassion, this secretary said: "Don't worry. I understand that they are all good people who want to have healthy and strong bodies. I have read the book, Zhuan Falun; there is nothing wrong with following the principles of Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance. When I'm in charge of this work, I try to look the other way. When duties [of persecuting Falun Gong] from higher authorities are arranged, I always delay. Sometimes, when higher authorities catch practitioners who live in my district, I can't help but to go chat with them anyway."
This secretary added in the end: "We need to learn from historic lessons; otherwise, one day in the future, this debt will be paid on my account."
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
Falun Gong Cured My Leukemia
I used to work in a paint shop in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. For a period of time, I suffered from a chronic low fever. I was admitted to hospitals several times, yet no one could diagnose the cause of my fevers. The condition became so severe that I was unable to work.
At the beginning of 1994, Jinzhou City Central Hospital and The First City Hospital both diagnosed me as having leukemia. After the hospitals' treatments failed, I started to search for alternative treatments. I heard that going to a temple to pray and recite the scriptures would help, so I spent several thousand Yuan to travel to Wutai Mountain looking for a master, yet my condition became worse and worse [note: 500 Yuan is equal to the average monthly salary of an urban worker in China]. Later, I went to Beijing to seek treatment, but found out I would have to pay more than 10,000 Yuan for treatment. At that time, my family was experiencing financial difficulties since I hadn't worked for a while, and the plant I worked for could not afford to pay my medical costs for me. As a result, I could not afford to go to Beijing for good treatment. Soon I became so ill that I could not even leave my bed.
When my life was in this critical condition, I learned that Master Li was going to give a lecture in Dalian City. As our last hope, a family member carried me onto the train going to Dalian. On the second day, we arrived in Dalian and listened to Master Li's lecture. During the break in the lecture, Master Li purified our bodies. My fever disappeared immediately, I felt very well and extremely happy. Since then, my leukemia disappeared. After nine-day class, I walked out of the hall without any help, and walked a mile and a half all by myself back to the motel. I was so excited, tears rolled down my face and I could not fall asleep all night. All the other fellow practitioners were deeply moved also, and everyone was saying that Falun Gong was wonderful, truly wonderful.
The next morning, I was healthy like most other people and took a train back to Jinzhou with no assistance from anyone. Over the past nine years, I continued to practice Falun Gong. I have had a happy life since then.
A Miracle of Falun Dafa: Lymphoma Disappears
I am a 58 year old teacher at a middle school in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. Back in 1997, I frequently suffered physical pain because of a tumor in my underarm. Finally, my husband sent me to a hospital where I underwent an operation to remove the tumor. It turned out to be lymphoma. As I did not realize that it was a terminal illness, I had trouble understanding why my colleagues at school were murmuring to one another whenever they saw me. One day, I was walking behind a couple of my neighbors. Without realizing that I was behind, they were talking to each other, "I was told that so and so has lymphoma. I learned that such patients die very quickly." Shocked, I stood still for a while, and then walked home with heavy steps. Because I looked very pale, my husband realized that I must have realized the situation. He asked me what happened. I suddenly cried, complaining that God was not just. Soothed by my family, I realized that crying would not save my life. I quietly wrote my will and got ready for my death. Waiting to die, I was in despair when my mother introduced Falun Gong to me and shared her experience in her practice.
My mother was born in a village. Having had eleven children, she was very thin and physically weak. Suffering from many illnesses after childbirth, she lived a life of poverty without being able to afford to see doctors. In 1996, most of her family members started to practice Falun Gong. At the age of 88, my mother now lives better than ever. From cultivating to harvesting, she can do any farm work that young people can do. Some people even joke that she is just like a thousand-year-old iron tree bursting into blossom. Under her influence, many people in her village started practicing Falun Gong. I knew that the miracle was due to her practice of Falun Gong. Mom told me that she would have died long ago were it not for practicing Falun Gong.
Mom then took me to her home to make it easy for me to practice Falun Gong. In late 1997, soon after I started practicing, my body began the purification process. I often spit out black and sticky blood, and my urine and bowels were often filled with blood. Slowly, my bad symptoms disappeared, one after another. In a year, I went to the hospital for a physical exam, only to find out that my cancer was gone completely! My family was so happy for me.
During the past six years, I have been following the requirements of Falun Dafa to improve my moral character. I have never accepted improper gifts of money from my students. I have been working diligently and was awarded with the honor of "Outstanding Teacher" for my dedication to education. I am very clear in my mind that this honor is due to my practice of Falun Gong.