News and Events from Around the World
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
The People Awaken to the Truth
News and Events from Around the World
2004 New York Experience Sharing Conference on Easter Holds in New York City on Easter
On April 11, 2004, over 4,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Manhattan, New York and held a cultivation experience sharing conference. At about 11:30 AM, Master Li came to the conference and taught the principles about Falun Gong for about thirty minutes.
After the lecture, all of the practitioners stood and applauded for a long time. One practitioner presented flowers to Master Li. Master Li circled the stage once and waved to everyone.
Over 4000 practitioners attended the New York Experience Sharing Conference. In addition to practitioners from North America, they also came from Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and other countries and regions. The conference site was decorated solemnly with a yellow banner that read, "New York Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference" hung above the stage. Teacher's portrait was also hung above the stage and Falun emblems were on both sides. On the stage, fresh flowers were delicately arranged. On the wall of the second floor across from the stage, three individual large words in Chinese, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," were posted. Banners reading, "Progress diligently" and "Righteous Enlightening" in both Chinese and English were posted on the wall on the second floor on both sides of the stage. Above both sides of the stage, two large projection screens made the stage easier to see.
Over a dozen practitioners shared their cultivation experiences. The conference concluded at 5:30 PM. Before the conclusion, videos were played to show Master'Li's lecture at noon, and exciting portions of the grand parade. The grand scenes of Falun Gong practitioners' righteous behavior during adversity, peacefully resisting the persecution and clarifying the truth to the world's people moved many attendees to tears.
Falun Gong Practitioners Stages Grand Parade in New York City
Falun Gong practitioners held an experience sharing conference in New York from April 10 to April 11, 2004. On the afternoon of April 10, more than three thousand Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world staged a "Journey of Fa-Rectification" grand parade in Manhattan's Chinatown. The parade portrayed the winding history and the heroic, glorious journey of Falun Gong since its introduction to the public in 1992.
When asked what she thought of the parade, New Jersey Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang said, "The parade depicted the persecution Chinese Falun Gong practitioners have suffered; through dancing, drums and other forms of music, the parade also demonstrated the indomitable spirit of Falun Gong practitioners through all the suffering, and revealed the bright future of the world brought by practitioners through their great sacrifice."
The Falun Gong parade procession consisted of nine parts with different themes: "The Fa Rectifies People's Hearts," "Witness 4-25," "Broken Promise, Sudden Persecution," "Deceiving Overseas Chinese and Instigating Hatred," "Peaceful Appeal against Violence," "Voices of Justice," "Global Trial of Jiang Zemin," "Truth Clarification and Fa-Spreading All Over the World," "The Buddha Lights Illuminate Everywhere and Rectifies All Abnormalities." The strong line-up of floats, drum performance, banners, photo posters, sculptures, music and dance performances vividly narrated the winding history of Falun Gong from its origin, spreading, experiencing persecution to its growth around the world.
The parade started at 1:15pm and proceeded slowly through Manhattan's Chinatown, which was crowded with people coming to visit and shop for the Easter weekend. Many Chinese and western tourists followed the parade procession to take pictures and video footage
U.S. Proposes Resolution Against China's Abuses at the UN
On March 22, 2004, the U.S. announced that it would propose a resolution to condemn China's human rights record in the UN Human Rights Commission meeting this year. The following day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared that they would suspend their human rights dialogue with the U.S. At present, the U.S. is appealing for support from other countries. However, China might propose suspending the resolution to escape condemnation, just as it did last year. China is courting delegates from African countries to gain their support.
The U.S., for more than two decades, has used economic incentives to attempt to encourage improvements in China's human rights situation.
A U.S. Congressman states: "There is no relationship between economic improvement and human rights."
The International Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed Resolution 530. The resolution states that the Chinese government represses religious freedoms, including the persecution of Falun Gong. The resolution asked the Bush administration to propose a resolution condemning China.
One of the cosponsors of the resolution, Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, said: "There is no relationship between economic improvement and human rights. In fact, in the years when Nazi Germany was in an improving economy, they abused human rights and continued abducting and killing people. In China, there are large forced labor camps outside of each main city and the police can arrest anyone at any time. In China, some people were executed with a firearm to remove their kidneys to be sold for organ transplants. So there is no relationship between economic improvement and human rights. For example, they repress Falun Gong. Actually, the brutal torture used on Falun Gong practitioners has become more savage than before. People can't live by bread alone. People need to be able to read what they want to read, think about what they want to think, and say what they want to say. However, these rights do not exist in China."
European Parliament: "...human rights are not internal affairs."
To counter the criticism on China's human rights from international institutions, Beijing expresses just as before: "The U.S. government is interfering in China's internal affairs." To counter this statement, the European Parliament, represented by German Dr. Georg Jarzembowsky, who was the coordinator of China issues in the Christlich Demokratische Union of the European Congress, expressed: "The same old stuff. I cannot accept this kind of game. Beijing must accept several restraints of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All governments should supervise each other on human rights issues; no one may say that human rights are an internal affair. It goes without saying."
An NGO: China violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While writing to Falun Gong practitioners, the president of Association of World Citizens and its delegate to the UN, Mr. Ren Wadlow, said: "I'm not able to be with you now, but I'm with you in heart and spirit." He indicated that since the sub-commission of Human Rights' meeting in August 1999 shortly after the persecution began, our NGO, Association of World Citizens in the United Nations, has denounced the repression of Falun Gong practitioners without trial as a direct violation of article 18 of "the International Pact on civil and political rights" that China has signed; it's a violation of the spirit of "the declaration on elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or conviction."
Falun Gong Practitioners Address the UN Forum on Human Rights in China
On the afternoon of April 2, the American delegation attending the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights organized a seminar regarding the resolution condemning China's human rights abuses. Those attending included representatives of the United Nation's member states, human rights organizations, Falun Gong practitioners, members of the Family Church, and others. The auditorium did not have a vacant seat. Australian artist Zhang Cuiying and student Zhao Ming from Ireland spoke first. They talked about the inhuman persecution they suffered in Chinese prisons and labor camps because they practice Falun Gong. Zhao Ming explained that four of his friends were tortured to death because they practiced Falun Gong. He expressed his thankfulness and support for this resolution. He also hoped that the persecution of Falun Gong could be written into the resolution.
Ms. Dai Zhizhen from Australia held her daughter and said with tears in her eyes: "This is my three year old daughter. When she was just a few months old, her father was tortured to death in China because he practiced Falun Gong. I represent my daughter in thanking you for this resolution. There are thousands upon thousands of families suffering the same experiences in China as my family. I believe that all Falun Gong practitioners who suffer from the persecution will appreciate your resolution." When she got to this point, she was sobbing.
Mr. Williamson, the American ambassador to the United Nations said, "To listen to the persecuted speak from their hearts is very important when we formulate policy. Now everyone should be very clear about why we raised this resolution." Mr Williamson also stated, "The Chinese Government claim that now is the best period for human rights in China, but we know that human rights in China have fallen way behind. Some people question why we do not carry on using the way of dialogue between America and China to improve human rights. We believe that we should not have a dialogue just for the sake of dialogue. The dialogue must achieve results."
Mr Williamson also said, "Last year, the Chinese Government promised to improve human rights, so we did not raise the condemnation resolution. During last year's dialogue, we reminded the Chinese government again and again and hoped to see substantial progress. However, human rights in China were not only without any improvement but have also seriously fallen behind. So we raised this resolution this year. The purpose is still to accelerate the Chinese Government's improvement of human rights."
Shizhong Chen from the Falun Gong human rights group said, "Here in my hand is a report by the United Nation's special commissioner regarding Falun Gong. The document is more than one hundred pages. The contents of the report in this area have increased this year. In fact, the cases related to the persecution of Falun Gong have already far exceeded the ability of the United Nation human rights organization to handle. In view of this, I suggest to add an article about setting up a China human rights special commissioner in order to actually supervise and accelerate China's human rights.
Mr Fu and Mr. Xu from the China Family Church made speeches one after another. They represented eighty million Christians to support the resolution. They said: "Two years ago America asked for the opinion of the Family Church when considering whether or not to support China in joining the WTO. At that time Family Church decided to agree to support it. Regarding the current resolution, we have discussed with the responsible persons of the Family Church and because of justice and intuitive knowledge, and because of human dignity, we support you wholeheartedly." The persecuted members of Tibet and human rights organizations also made speeches to support this resolution and condemn the appalling persecution and violation of human rights in China.
World Psychiatric Association (WPA) IS Forced to Cancel Independent Investigation of Psychiatric Abuses in China as Jiang's Group Covers Up Persecution
World Psychiatric Association (WPA) President Dr. Ahmed Okasha called off its planned investigation of abuses of psychiatry in China after receiving a letter from the President of the Chinese Psychiatric Association (CSP). Dr. Okasha did not reveal the contents of the letter, except to say that he had no choice but to cancel the delegation's investigation until such time as the CSP and the Chinese authorities agree to abide by the conditions set by the WPA for this mission. The WPA delegation was scheduled to begin its work in China on April 4.
What is the CSP Trying to Avoid?
In order to conduct an independent, just and professional investigation in China, the WPA has made sufficient preparation. A team composed of 8 world-renowned psychiatrists from England, America, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Morocco was set up, and its mission was to go to China to examine medical records, and interview doctors, patients and their family members when given permission, as well as to investigate cases in which Falun Gong practitioners were alleged to have been mentally abused.
In 1996, the WPA approved the Madrid Declaration, which establishes the ethical standards that should govern psychiatrists worldwide. It expressly forbids the admission of patients into psychiatric institutions for political, racial or religious reasons, or the involvement of psychiatrists in any form of physical or mental torture.
Recently, there has been a popular phrase in China, which is to "getting to be on the same page as the international community." After the WPA determined to conduct an independent investigation, the CSP, member of the WPA, was supposed to actively cooperate with the efforts of the WPA. However, it cancelled the investigation, which makes people wonder if the Chinese psychiatrists are truly following medical and ethical standards in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners, and if they are trying to cover up the fact that Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured mentally.
The Mental Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners is the Result of Jiang Zemin's Annihilation Policy
Under Jiang's persecution policy of "ruining [Falun Gong practitioners'] reputations, cutting them off financially and destroying their bodies," Jiang's followers have used all the nation's resources to achieve their goal. Thus, the CSP and its psychiatrists have voluntarily or involuntarily been involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
It has been confirmed that mental torture and abuse is one of the many torture methods used by Jiang's group to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. According to incomplete statistics, at least 1,000 practitioners have been forced into mental hospitals, just because they practice Falun Gong. They are administered nerve damaging drugs. Numerous reports indicate that Falun Gong practitioners are suffering at the hands of psychiatrists and nurses. At least 12 people are confirmed to have died of such torture.
One early case that has been disclosed is that of Mr. Su Gong. Mr. Su, 32 years old, was an engineer at the Instrument Workshop of the Alkene Plant affiliated with Qilu Petroleum Chemical Corporation in Zibo City, Shandong Province. Because he practiced Falun Gong, the Alkene Plant forcibly sent him to Changle Mental Hospital in Weifang City, Shandong Province on May 23, 2000, without informing his family. Every day he was injected with large doses of nerve damaging drugs. On May 31, 2000, his father heard the news, so he went on a hunger strike to protest. The hospital released him nine days later. However, when he was turned over to his father, he was already a totally different person. He had blank eyes and a numb appearance. He was very slow in reacting to things and his limbs were very stiff. His face was very pale and his body was extremely weak. He died of a heart problem on June 10 the same year.
Retaliation from Jiang's Followers
At present, the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Commission is meeting in Geneva. The deterioration of human rights in China, especially the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, has drawn worldwide attention. On March 22, the United States formally announced that it will bring up a motion condemning the human rights situation in China. The very next day, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will stop the Sino-US human rights dialogue immediately. At the same time, China is contacting many other countries, seeking support from them at the UN Human Rights Commission.
The investigation proposed by the WPA should be supported by all who care about the human rights situation in China. The letter sent from the CSP to Dr. Okasha was dated March 26, from which we can see it is yet another element of the retaliation of Jiang's group against the international community.
Jiang's Group Fears Being Exposed for Its Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners
Dr. Viviana Galli is a member of the WPA. When interviewed, she said, "As far as I know, the WPA once provided a list of at least 500 Falun Gong practitioners to China. The WPA requested to meet with some of these practitioners. Now it looks like the Chinese authorities are unwilling to honor the agreement they reached with the WPA."
Jiang and some of his accomplices have been sued in various countries for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. If the WPA were able to carry out its investigation as planned, the investigation results undoubtedly would have become solid evidence that could be used in the lawsuits against Jiang and his accomplices.
While using the media to slander Falun Gong and torturing Falun Gong practitioners, Jiang's group tries its best to cover up and block the facts of the persecution, intending to deceive and mislead the international community. It is obvious that the CSP has been pressured by Jiang's followers to cancel the investigation by the WPA, so as to prevent the facts of the persecution from being exposed to the international community.
Despite the Jiang group's efforts to cover up the facts, its persecution of Falun Gong has already been exposed to the international community. Clearwisdom.net, one of Falun Gong practitioner's main websites, has broken through the information blockade and reported numerous persecution cases since 1999. Since 2000, various overseas media, including AP, AFP and Reuters have reported cases in which Falun Gong practitioners were sent to mental hospitals and drug rehabilitation centers. In its 300-page report, the WPA listed detailed cases illustrating the fact that Falun Gong practitioners were sent to mental hospitals. As a matter of fact, more and more people are coming to know the truth.
Falun Gong Practitioners Meet with United Nations Journalists in Geneva
For the opening session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at Geneva on Thursday, March 11, 2004, the Swiss Falun Gong Association organized a meeting with United Nations journalists, to give them the latest news on the suppression of Falun Gong and on the peaceful means being implemented to end it. Journalists of the major press agencies showed their interest by continuing a discussion with practitioners for the duration of the press conference.
During the discussion, practitioners placed emphasis on two key points:
On the first point, journalists were informed of the growing number of deaths under torture, notably 64 identified cases in three months from November 2003 to January 2004, and of the multiple means employed, including force-feeding with boiling water or human excrement and shocking all over the body with electric batons. They were informed, moreover, that this intensification is reinforced by the State machinery in each province, each town and each village, to keep a close watch on and cruelly persecute Falun Gong practitioners.
On the second point, an overview was given to the journalists who are already aware of a certain number of events that occurred over the past five years, for example, what happened in Germany (April 2002), in Iceland (June 2002), during the visit of the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and more recently in Paris during the visit of Hu Jintao (January 2004) for the Chinese New Year. The journalists were particularly interested in such blunders and in these repressive actions in democratic countries where even the color yellow could be declared illegal, as happened in Paris. They noted that in Germany the Government apologized and in Iceland the apologies of the citizens and members of Parliament had also been published by the press.
Finally, The Swiss Falun Dafa Association recalled that criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin and his followers who were responsible for the persecution continued to be filed -- for genocide, crimes against humanity and torture -- and that a judicial hearing was already in process for several months in Paris. There was also the filing of a second criminal complaint against the Chinese Minister of Culture in January 2004, which was accepted by the Prosecutor-General.
MEP Liz Lynne writes to European Friends of Falun Gong about the "Worrying, and Deplorable" Events in Paris (Excerpt)
March 11, 2004
Dear Mr Dee,
Thank you for your letter describing the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in Paris during the Chinese New Year celebrations. The violations of their right to peaceful freedom of expression are extremely worrying, and deplorable.
Religious persecution is a subject with which I am most concerned, and a subject on which I have campaigned. [...] the recent treatment of Falun Gong practitioners is even more worrying when seen in the context of widespread repression of human rights in France.
The Liberal Democrat party recognise the on-going struggles of the Falun Gong practitioners, and have written to the UK government on their behalf in the past. I have also contacted the French authorities personally, and requested of the Directorate General of the National Police that an investigation into this matter be conducted and that steps be taken to ensure such a situation will not arise in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Liz Lynne MEP
Canadian MP Scott Reid Writes to Minister of Justice Calling on Help in the Prosecution of the Former Chinese President and His Followers
On the morning of March 12, Friday, Canadian attorneys Mr. David Matas and Lawrence Greenspon represented their client, Canadian citizen and Professor of Art, Zhang Kunlun to formally file a criminal lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and those who participated in the persecution of Falun Gong to the Canadian Justice Minister, Mr. Irwin Cotler. In the press conference that afternoon, Mr. Zhang and his attorneys publicized the attorneys' letter to the Justice Minister. Canadian MP Scott Reid wrote to Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler to encourage Canada to say "Yes" in the prosecution of those individuals, including former Chinese chairman Jiang Zemin, who inflicted torture on Professor Zhang in China. Below is the letter to Minister Cotler.
March 16th 2004
Hon. Irwin Cotler
Room 900, Justice Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you in the hopes that this may encourage Canada to say "Yes" in the prosecution of those individuals, including former Chinese chairman Jiang Zemin, who inflicted torture on Canadian citizen and art Professor, Kunlun Zhang in China.
In China in 2000-2001, Kunlun Zhang, who has been illegally arrested four times for practicing Falun Gong, suffered both mental and physical torture including repeated electric shocks, isolation and loss of all freedom, continuous and severe brainwashing, and deceitful manipulation.
With the help of many Canadians and NGOs such as Amnesty International, Professor Zhang was released and was safely returned to Canada on January 16th, 2001.
The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and the suppression of their moral and spiritual belief of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" ordered by Jiang Zemin has escalated for over four and a half years. This systematic eradication of Falun Gong through hate incitement, economic devastation, torture and killing constitutes serious crimes against humanity and conscience.
In China the judiciary is not able to provide legal redress to Falun Gong practitioners; instead the judicial system is itself an integral instrument in the campaign to eradicate Falun Gong.
Your consent would be an important contribution in demonstrating Canada's commitment to human rights and would facilitate the successful prosecution of the torturers of a Canadian citizen according to the rule of law in Canada. Your support would help get the message across that there is a price to pay for committing such atrocious crimes against humanity.
Yours sincerely,
Scott Reid, MP
UK MPs and Lords Raise Their Concerns About China's Human Rights Record
In the last two months, several Lords and MPs have raised questions in the UK parliament about China's worsening human rights record. For example, as recorded in the House of Commons Hansard of the 25th of March 2004, Column 351WH, Mr. Ian Stewart, MP, made the following remarks:
'Within any democratic civil society we expect respect for human rights, religious tolerance and toleration of diversity. I must raise two issues that I hope that the Chinese Government will act on. First, there is the issue of the Falun Gong, an organisation that was declared illegal by the Chinese authorities in 1999. A constituent of mine, Mr. Terence Shanahan, is an active member of the Falun Gong UK. He is a powerful advocate for the stated Falun Gong ideals of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. I take no view on the nature of Falun Gong, but I am concerned about repeated reports of human rights abuses against its followers. In turn, I make no judgment about the obvious concerns that the People's Republic has about the organisation. However, I urge the People's Republic to exercise tolerance in relation to organisations such as Falun Gong. Any organisation should quite properly be established within the rule of law and any abuse by members of an organisation would be punishable within that rule of law."
In reply, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Bill Rammell, said, "...we urge that the rights of Falun Gong adherents be respected."
Another example, of the continuing concern regarding human rights abuses in China, was expressed by Mr. Wilkinson in the Commons Hansard of 5th March 2004:
"... As people of a democracy, we believe in the right of people to exercise their religious faith, whatever it may be... for example, the Falun Gong movement should be permitted in the PRC. We hold such fundamental freedoms dear, not only in this country but in Europe as a whole."
China: Army Officer Yao Yaoyuan Is Tortured to Death
Mr. Yao Yaoyuan graduated from the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Science and Technology University, and used to work at Army Equipment College located in Wuhan City. Because he kept practicing Falun Gong, he was dismissed from his job in August 2000, and sent back to his hometown. He was illegally arrested by local authorities multiple times. On February 7, 2002, he was arrested and brought to the Xinkaipu Labor Camp in Changsha City, Hunan Province, and sentenced to a one year term. After being released on January 30, 2003, he returned home and vomited blood as a result of the severe torture he received in the labor camp. He died on June 6, 2003.
Yao Yaoyuan was born in 1972, and was admitted by the PLA Science and Technology University in 1989. After he graduated, in July 1993, he served as a faculty in the Army Equipment College. He started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. On July 20, 1999, Jiang and his followers started persecuting Falun Gong. Mr. Yao was abducted while on a train to Beijing in 2000. After two or three months of brainwashing in vain, the lawless officials threatened him that they would kick him out of the Chinese Communist Party, kick him out of the army, and fire him from his job, but he refused to give up Falun Gong.
In August 2000, 28-year-old Mr. Yao was dismissed from the Party, dismissed from the army and fired from his job. He went back to Huxing Village, Niumasi Town, Shaodong County, Hunan Province. His family was extremely upset over the mistreatment he received, yet the persecution did not stop there. At the end of 2000, the town police came to his home to harass him.
On February 23, 2001, the town government and police abducted him and brought him to a brainwashing class in Shaoyang He went through cruel brainwashing there. Because Mr. Yao was a military officer who graduated from a good university, he was under great pressure. The persecutors used all sorts of means, including putting pressure on his elderly parent. They made his parent and sisters all kneel in front of him. Seeing him not even flinch, they accused him of not loving his family.
In order to resist the persecution, and request unconditional release from this brainwashing class, Mr. Yao other practitioners went on hunger strike. On November 13, 2001, Mr. Yao was sent to the Shaoyang Detention Center. He had already been on hunger strike for over four days, and was very weak. Mr. Yao continued to clarify the truth inside the detention center.
After 15 days, Mr. Yao was transferred back to the brainwashing class. On February 2, 2002, he was abducted and taken to the Shaodong Drug Rehabilitation Center, and sentenced to one year of labor camp.
He was sent to the Beginners Ward of the Xinkaipu Labor Camp on February 7. In May 2002, he was assigned to the No.9 Ward, known as Devil Ward, and started vomiting blood in October 2002. Without giving up his faith, he was released from the labor camp on January 30, 2003. Several days after returning home, his family had to send him to the hospital because he started vomiting blood. At the end of May 2003, he started vomiting blood again. The medical treatment was in vain, and with both eyes open he died on June 6, 2003.
China: Products Worldwide Made by Falun Gong Slave Labor
Labor Camps Reduce Production Costs to Shore up Chinese Exports
Mr. Wang Jiangping is handicapped and can't knit as fast as the others. It's almost 2:00 a.m. and the Division Six prisoners have been working since dawn. They have to meet the deadline. His fellow Falun Gong practitioners nod off only to be wakened by guards stabbing them with scissors. Mr. Wang is exhausted.
The guards throw bricks at his chest. The Changji Labor Camp has to meet Tianshan Wooltex's quota of Kashmir sweaters, or the guards won't get their bonus. The Chinese "reform through labor" camps have become privatized. They are small enterprises that sign contracts with big companies and export products to overseas shopping malls.
It is a place where torturers get rich, and where Falun Gong practitioners slave to pay for the purchase of the electric batons that will shock them if they slow down.
These are places where persecution drives profit.
These are places where sleep and food deprivation, filth, stench, beatings, heat, cold, and toxic odors are daily routines.
These places are where products for export are made by the slave labor of prisoners of conscience: doctors, teachers and students abducted from their homes for practicing Falun Gong.
China's Hidden Slaves
Xinjiang's Tianshan Wooltex is able to use free labor to gain a bigger share of the competitive international market. Located deep in China's hidden Western region, the company began allocating contracts to labor camps and prisons in 1990.
The supply of free labor increased dramatically after 1999, when Jiang Zemin's persecution campaign administratively placed hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in labor camps.
In addition to the Changji camp, Wooltex also owns workshops in Wulabo Labor Camp, Xinjiang Women's Labor Camp, No. 3 Prison of Xinjiang Province and the No. 5 Prison.
According to a source from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Wooltex exports 200,000-280,000 products to Banana Republic every year. The source says Wooltex also exports its products to many other clothing companies, such as Neiman Marcus, Holt Renfrew, and French Connection.
The revenue from the sales of these sweaters abroad reportedly allows the labor camps to construct new office buildings, workshops, and confinement rooms, as well as televisions and VCDs for the guards.
The revenue is also used for purchasing electric batons, handcuffs and other tools to torture practitioners with and, in turn, try to keep up production.
According to one testimony, when seeing prisoners fall asleep while working, the guards shock them with electric batons and order the head of the workshop, also an inmate, to hit them with bricks and wooden clubs. If a detainee fails to complete his assigned work, the guard will cuff him to a heating pipe, strip him naked and shock his neck, armpits, abdomen, private areas, mouth and ears with electric batons. His detention terms will also be extended.
In March 2002, another Xinjiang company, Tebian Electric Corporation (TBEA), also completed a contract for the creation of a production unit with the Changji camp. Since then, practitioners such as Ge Lijun, Nu Erlan, Wang Xiu, and others have been forced to produce for the company while in detention.
Yet, TBEA receives recommendations from the UK Accreditation Service, the U.S. Quality and Environmental Professional Safety, the International High Pressure industries, as well as Italian companies. Moreover, TBEA products are sold in Canada, Australia, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and twenty other countries and regions.
According to the Xinjiang source, a big show is put on for inspectors. Normally, the prisoners are only given cabbage soup, which is just enough to sustain their lives. However, "during an inspection or visit, the labor camp will pretend to serve chicken and beef to fool the visitors. After the inspectors or visitors leave, the food will be taken away."
Soiled
Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing's Tuanhe Labor Camp stuff chopsticks into paper wrappers labeled "Sanitized for Your Safety." They haven't washed their hands for days.
There is no water.
Dozens of prisoners are crammed together in a tiny room where they sleep, eat, go to the bathroom and pack chopsticks. Some of the chopsticks fall on the floor and are stepped on. Others fall into the toilet basin.
Not a single stick can be thrown away, so they are picked up and stuffed in wrappers just the same, ready to be sold to restaurants in China and abroad.
Practitioners squat on the floor for 18 hours a day stuffing up to 10,000 pairs of chopsticks each. The elderly practitioners like Mr. Dao Wanhui can't keep up, so they are allowed only 3 hours of sleep.
According to witnesses, practitioners in these camps are forced to work in unbearable heat. Overworked and with little food, water, or sleep many exhibit symptoms of hypertension and heart disease, and their entire bodies twitch.
In the Tianjin Shuangkou Labor Camp 90% of the prisoners have scabies. Puss oozes out from underneath their fingernails and trickles onto the bamboo BBQ skewers and food products.
Made in China
Mr. Lin Shenli, returned to his wife in Montreal in February 2002 after being detained in China for over two years for appealing for Falun Gong in Beijing in December 1999.
During his detention in Dafeng Labor Camp in Jiangsu Province, Mr. Lin was forced to make soccer balls that he later identified in a large sports equipment store in Canada.
The directors of the Jiamusi Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province force the female prisoners to work extended overtime in order to meet outlandish daily production quotas.
Due to being overworked, eyewitnesses say one of the practitioners, Ms. Shi Jing, became pale and collapsed on the worktable. She was revived and forced to continue working.
This labor camp further widens its profit margin by using cheap glue for cell phone cases.
The guards complained about the glue's strong odor. After lab revealed the toxin levels in the materials used were well beyond the industry standards and could cause cancer, the guards began wearing large facemasks. They dare not enter the production area while practitioners are working.
Since mid-July 2001, when Liaoning Province's Longshan Labor Camp received its first order for wax-processing products, Falun Gong practitioners and other inmates have been forced to produce wax candles in various colors. The wax is then exported with a wide profit margin for the labor camp.
The wax gives off a strong toxic odor, causing many practitioners to look pale, become dizzy and lose their appetite.
The glue used to seal the boxes is also toxic. Since practitioners have to use their fingers to press and seal them. Their fingers get stuck together, and the skin peels off and gets glued to the boxes.
In the Longshan Labor Camp, about 100 people are forced to do this work on a daily basis, finishing 80 to 90 boxes a day.
During the Western holiday season the speed is accelerated to the point of near madness, as the Longshan camp prisoners also assemble festive decorations such as snowmen and snowflakes.
Lanzhou City's Dashaping Detention Center forces inmates, including Falun Gong practitioners, to slave for the Zhenglin Melon Seeds Corporation, which exports food products to more than 30 countries. The seeds get covered with blood and puss as the prisoners work in a squatting position all day long, often suffering from frostbite, swollen lips and cracked fingernails.
Henan Province Shibalihe and Xuchang labor camps have been buying Falun Gong practitioners for 800 Yuan as slave labor for Henan Rebecca Hair, China's biggest hair product company. Their products are sold worldwide under brand names such as Shake-N-Go and Royal Imex, Inc. Ms. Zhang Yali, an accountant in her thirties, and at least two other Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death in these camps.
Products made by Falun Gong practitioners in other labor camp that are often exported include: moon cake boxes, dishwashing products, popsicle sticks, coffee straws, hand made wool coats, buttons, bedding products, plastic cement packages, fake eyelashes, embroidered products, hand knitted hats, dry flowers, plastic flowers, necklaces, and other handcrafts.
China: Retired Teacher Mr. Liu Yupu Dies after Forty-days Brainwashing
Mr. Liu Yupu was a retired teacher in Luoyang City, Henan Province. He developed a liver disease (cirrhosis) in 1988, and his condition worsened in 1993. Over the next several years, he suffered greatly from excess fluid in his liver. Unable to find a cure for him, the doctors asked him to simply go home and rest, and also advised his family to prepare for his funeral. In 1996, while he was on the verge of death, he heard about Falun Gong and started to practice cultivation. In less than one year, he was freed from his illnesses. An over 60-year-old man, he could carry a 45-pound flour bag and go up to the fourth floor without any difficulty.
On July 20, 1999, Jiang's regime started the persecution of Falun Gong. In March 2000, Liu Yupu brought his medical history and a letter to Beijing to appeal, however, he was arrested and put in administrative detention for 15 days. Then he was forced to go through a 20-day brainwashing class. Since then he was listed as a key target by the Luoyang City authorities. They sent people to monitor him around his home, and tail him wherever he went.
In November 2000, he went to his hometown to visit his mother who was terminally ill. The police even chased him to his hometown. Because they couldn't contact him, they instructed the security section chief in his work unit to keep calling him and ask him to return. He had no choice but to return. However, as soon as he got home, the police came to arrest him. The excuse the police used was that someone reported him to the police, saying he did not really go to his hometown but rather distributed truth-clarification fliers in neighboring counties. After six hours' standoff, he was taken away by police and sent to Jianxi Detention Center. The police also ransacked his home. On the sixth day of his arrest, the police let his employer hold a 20-day brainwashing session for him.
On November 27, 2003, his employer forcibly sent him to a brainwashing class, where he lost his personal freedom. Two people were assigned to watch each practitioner. Practitioners were not allowed to communicate with each other. Every day they were forced to watch videos slandering Falun Gong. The staff there knew that he used to suffer from a liver disease and should not eat spicy food, but they intentionally sent him to a nearby restaurant to have meals every day. During the 40 days while he was there, he had to eat spicy vegetables, spicy soup, and spicy rice every day, causing tremendous damage to his body. At 11:00 p.m. on April 2, 2004, he died as a result of persecution.
China: The Brutal Force Feeding and other Tortures I Suffered in Harbin Criminal Department and Wanjia Hospital
On April 19, 2002, over seven hundred policemen came to Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. They carried out a large-scale arrest of Falun Gong practitioners. During that time I was forced to leave home and move from place to place in order to avoid persecution. However, I was arrested later and tortured at the Seventh Division of the Harbin Criminal Department (located in Yaziquan). Afterwards I was deceived into going to the Wanjia Hospital, where I was held for a total of four months and five days and suffered inhuman torture.
Since the day I was arrested, I had refused to eat and drink in order to protest the illegal detention. No one paid any attention for the first seven days. Instead, the police incited the criminal inmates to beat me and insult me, not let me use the toilet and not let me sleep. Later, seeing me in a severely weakened condition, the police sent me to the hospital where I was forcefully injected with a drug that disrupted my mental faculties. They also carried out force-feeding. One official in charge of the Falun Gong issue said, "We want you to live a miserable life." The personnel in charge of torturing us included officer Wang (male, over sixty years old), officer Song (female, over fifty years old), and the president of the Wanjia Hospital, Song Zhaohui. Over ten guards and five or six inmates, including inmate Xu Dagang (male, over forty years old), assisted the abovementioned officials in the persecution. Officer Wang said to me, "So you're not eating. OK, this is how we deal with you: force-feed! We don't care if you die from force-feeding. You know that many people have died from force-feeding. But they die in vain. No one cares!"
During one brutal force-feeding session, they constrained me on a long, rough wooden bench. Inmate Qiao Li pulled my hair forcefully so that my head was forced down to one end of the bench (my neck was right on the edge of the bench). One person tightly held my ears to prevent me from moving. Jia Hongliang, who weighs over 178 pounds, sat on my stomach. Others held my legs and arms, with my ankles were just off the edge of the other end of the bench. They held my body tightly so that I could not move at all. I had trouble breathing and felt pain all over. It was truly unbearable. They then forcefully opened my mouth with a mouth-opening device. As a result, my lips were cut and my teeth became loose. At one point, the device hit my upper palate, causing severe bleeding. They then inserted a tube the width of a finger down into my throat all the way to my stomach. One end of the tube was connected to a funnel. One person who stood on the table poured food into the funnel, which caused a vomit reflex, and I repeatedly threw up. They fed me corn paste and concentrated salty water, causing me to vomit a mixture of the solution and blood. My hair and face were covered with food and I fainted several times. They also pinched and beat me during the force-feeding. Afterwards, I was extremely thirsty. After force-feeding, they would grab me by my arms and carry me to the cell and throw me on the bed. Often times I would end up fainting even before I hit the bed in my cell.
I was force-fed like this twice every day. With every force-feeding session I lost more and more hair due to the torture, and I became almost completely bald. My thighs, hands and chest were black and blue from the numerous torture sessions. They had force-fed me through the stomach tube over forty times. Later, they changed to a tube inserted through my nose to my stomach. My throat was damaged and I suffered from a long-term lung infection. They beat me and slapped me continuously. They slapped my ear with a fly swatter (three iron wires twisted together) and poked my mouth with a broom, while striking me on my chest and armpits. They also taped my mouth shut so that I couldn't make any noise during the savage torture sessions.
After all of the brutal torture I suffered, my weight dropped precariously and I became almost unrecognizable to those who used to know me. Eventually I was diagnosed as having late stage tuberculosis. They thought that I would die soon, so official Song sent me home. My second son could not recognize me due to my weight loss and change in appearance. Even though I was in such terrible physical condition, the authorities still tried to force my family to sign documents promising never to allow me to practice Falun Gong. My husband righteously said, "Why should I sign? I do not even know whether she will live! What did she do wrong? She only practices Falun Gong!" The perpetrators then left.
A Former Prisoner Exposes Atrocities Taking Place in China's Prison
By a former criminal who just started to practice Falun Gong
March 26, 2004
I have just been released from the Heizuizi Female Prison, Chuangchuan City, Jilin Province, where I, as a criminal, was imprisoned with Falun Dafa practitioners for the past four years. I was influenced by the practitioners, and recently started to practice Falun Gong. The following account is what I witnessed in Heizuizi Prison.
Ms. Jing Fengyun, a Falun Gong practitioner, was about 60 years old. She came to the prison in September or October 2002. She was in the 3rd squad of the 3rd district in the prison. When she came in, the guards wanted to force her to write the statements to renounce Falun Gong, so they made her stand for a long time and deprived her of sleep. The guards extended the torture to the whole squad of over fifty prisoners. No one in the 3rd squad was allowed to sleep. They had to work all day, and were not allowed to rest at night. After five or six days, prisoners in the 3rd squad couldn't take it--they blamed Ms. Jing, cursing her and beating her all the time. Ms. Jing endured it silently. Later other Falun Gong practitioners quietly told her to shout out if she was beaten again. Around 8pm that evening, she cried out "They are beating me!" Many practitioners went over. The 3rd squad closed the door, and it sounded like they stopped beating her. At around 1:00 or 2:00am, Jing Fengyun again shouted hoarsely with her last strength "They are beating me!"
Nearly everyone in the 3rd district (more than 150 people) woke up at the sound of her call. Some people got up and went to the toilet to find out what happened. I got up too. I saw Ms. Jing sitting in a corner outside the toilet. She hung her head and her eyes were closed. Someone pulled her up and would not allow her to sit, but she was not able to get up. I figured she didn't have the strength anymore after nearly a week of torture without eating, drinking or sleeping. I didn't know what kind of violent treatment she had suffered moments ago. Another prisoner named Ms. Liu Shumei was angry to see her sitting and kicked her. I couldn't bear to see this, so I held Liu and said, "How can you beat her like this?" Wang Airong, Chen Jing and a few other prisoners pushed me away, saying it was none of my business. I pushed them back. Bian Yanhua, a prisoner in my squad, dragged me back to my own room. After quite a while, guard Zhang Lu showed up.
The next day, Guard Chen Yan in charge of my squad came to me, claiming that I beat Chen Jing. I told her what happened, and sighed at nobody punishing the real assailants. Guard Chen expressed her sympathy and helplessness. However, Chief Zhu Xiaoyan didn't believe me. So Guard Chen told me to talk to Chief Zhu again, and I did. Chief Zhu and Guard Zhang Lu were both present when I explained to them, but they didn't listen to me at all. They just scolded me. I felt there was no way I could reason with them. That night, Ms. Jing Fengyun was moved to a big room on the 4th floor. There was a classroom next door, and nobody would be there in the evening. The prisoners in 3rd squad took turns beating Ms. Jing. After two nights, Ms. Jing couldn't tolerate it any more and wrote the "four statements". When Wang Qiuxiang came back from the 4th floor, she said, "I beat her until my wrists hurt. I kicked her until my ankles hurt."
Wang Li, another Falun Gong practitioner, was in her 30s. She was sentenced to eight or ten years. She came to the prison in October 2002 after Ms. Jing Fengyun. She was in the 2nd squad of the 3rd district. The guards forced the prisoner's uniform on her and tried to make her write the "four statements". She was directly moved to the 4th floor from the workshop at around 10pm that night. The guards called names of the prisoners in the 2nd squad and prisoners "volunteered" to go upstairs, where they directly began beating Ms. Wang Li. They seized her by the hair and pushed her to a blackboard. They pointed to the blackboard and asked her, "What kind of person are you? What do you do here?" They wanted her to read the prisoner's rules on the blackboard. Refusing to acknowledge that she was a criminal, Ms. Wang Li closed her eyes and said nothing. The prisoners pulled her hair and read to her from books that slandered Falun Gong. They casually slandered Falun Gong among themselves, and beat her whenever they felt like it. Guard Chen Yan went upstairs, and I thought she would stop them from beating Ms. Wang. Instead, she immediately turned back and went downstairs when she saw what was taking place. After Guard Chen left, the prisoners beat Ms. Wang even more fiercely. A prisoner shouted to her, "Open your eyes and look at me. My name is Liu Shumei. I am beating you. What can you do about it? Ask anyone if they saw me beating you. Nobody did. Did you guys see me beating her? No!" Some of the other prisoners who beat Ms. Wang include Tian Hua, Han Liyun, Wang Qiuxiang, Gao Lei, Chai Shujie, and Yang Yuping.
Ms. Yang Mingfang, another Falun Gong practitioner in her 30s, was sentenced to four years in prison. In October 2003, Ms. Yang felt she wasn't living up to a practitioner's standards, and decided to stop wearing the prisoner's nametag. She refused to do the labor meant for criminals because she was not a criminal and refused to be treated like one. Nearly every other practitioner followed her and refused to wear the nametag and planned to stop doing the criminal labor. For more than a month, the guards tried everything to break her, but they all failed. Finally several guards, including Bian Yanhua and Gao Kun, took her to a solitary compartment and tortured her with the "dead person's bed". Her four limbs were stretched out and tied to the four corners of a cold metal bed. None of her joints could move at all. She was not allowed to get up to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. Ms. Yang Mingfang couldn't tolerate the torture and gave in against her will. She was never the same after that. She had a dull look in her eyes if anyone mentioned the "dead person's bed" to her. In January 2004, Ms. Dong Guiling, Ms. Xiang Xiaomin and a few other practitioners, were locked in solitary compartments for the second time. I don't know what became of them.
Ms. Liu Shuanghui, another Falun Gong practitioner, came to the prison in the fall of 2003. She was in the 1st squad of the 3rd district. From the day she came in, she refused to wear the nametag or do prisoner's labor. About ten days later, in the morning, she was locked in a solitary compartment because she refused to wear the prisoner's uniform. She was the first practitioner to be locked in a solitary compartment. She was locked for more than one month in the solitary compartment on the 4th floor. She was given the "big hang up" when nobody guarded her. In the busy production time, nobody guarded her in the evening, so she had to be "hung up" for a whole night. Even so, she still upheld her belief in Falun Gong. The guards and veteran prisoners admired her a lot. She was moved to a new building when someone came to visit or inspect the prison the other day. I heard from Ms. Dai Aidong that she was also tortured with the "dead person's bed" in the new building. She came back after staying there for seven days. She had been locked up in solitary compartment for two months. When she came back, she was thin, but her spirit was good. She still greeted everyone with a smiling face.
Ms. Dai Aidong began to learn Falun Gong after she was locked in a detention center. She passed Master' Li's articles another practitioner in May 2003 and was caught by a veteran prisoner who reported it. The guards talked to her several times to force her to quit Falun Gong. She refused to write the statements and protested by refusing to talk. She was beaten by guards, and was punished and forced to stand still for a long time. Later she was locked in a solitary compartment for half a month.
The above statements are what I witnessed in the Heizuizi Female Prison. They are all facts, except that I may be mistaken on some of the exact dates. I hope this will help everyone better understand what happens to practitioners who are illegally imprisoned in the female prisons.
The Age (Australia): Council ordered to apologize to Falun Dafa
April 7, 2004
The Melbourne City Council (MCC) has been ordered to publish an apology for discriminating against the meditation group Falun Dafa by barring it from the city's 2003 Moomba Parade.
The Falun Dafa Association of Victoria had been given a spot in the parade and had finished preparations when the council changed its mind and told them they could not participate.
Judge John Bowman of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled the council had discriminated against Falun Dafa.
He ordered the MCC publish an apology within 14 days in three Chinese newspapers - the Chinese Melbourne Daily, SingTao Daily and The Australian Chinese Daily - and pay the Falun Dafa's court costs.
Judge Bowman said Falun Dafa was entitled to an apology as its reputation had been damaged by the incident.
Falun Dafa had also "expended considerable time energy and thus suffered considerable inconvenience, preparing for and pursuing an enterprise from which it was wrongfully excluded," he said.
In the apology, agreed on by the two parties, the MCC said it regretted any inconvenience or damage to Falun Dafa's reputation.
"The Council now acknowledges that the exclusion was in contravention of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 and it apologises for this to the Falun Dafa Association," part of the apology reads.
Falun Dafa Association spokeswoman Ana Caterina Vereshaka said members of the association had completed their preparations for the parade when they were told they could no longer take part.
"We were in shock - I was at work and I just thought 'it's not possible'," she said.
Ms Vereshaka said association members had spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on their preparations.
"Elderly ladies had put their pension money into buying materials," she said.
The council had cited the group's political associations when refusing them but had not made clear what these associations were, she said.
The MCC today would not discuss the reasons for ejecting the association from the parade.
Deputy Lord Mayor Susan Riley today said the council had considered Judge Bowman's decision and was bound by it.
Falun Dafa, which promotes meditation and exercise, has been banned in China since 1999.
They claim more than 500 [As of April 7, 2004, 925 verified] practitioners have been killed for their beliefs.
Chicago Sun Times: U.S. urges China to clean up its act on human rights
By Richard S. Williamson
April 1, 2004
[Editor's note: the author is the U.S. ambassador to the U.N Human Rights Commission. He wrote this article as a guest columnist. Below is an excerpt that is relevant to the persecution of Falun Gong.]
"However, the human rights situation in China has worsened. Therefore, more in sorrow than in anger, the other day I announced in the U.N. Commission on Human Rights that the United States will propose a resolution about China's human rights violations.
"In 2002, China's human rights record improved modestly. So, last year we did not introduce a resolution on China. This year's human rights setbacks in China, including stalled human rights bilateral talks, gave us no choice. The United States has an obligation to the values we cherish and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we support to give voice to the victims in China.
"In China there has been an increase in arrests of democracy activists, individuals discussing on the Internet subjects deemed sensitive by the government, HIV/AIDS activists, protesting workers and defense lawyers advocating on behalf of dissidents or the dispossessed. Harsh repression of the Falun Gong continued.
"Meanwhile, the Chinese government's record in Tibet remains poor. Ongoing abuses include execution without due process, torture, arbitrary arrest and lengthy detention for peacefully expressing their political or religious views.
"The United States is not naive. We realize the political realities that make it very difficult in the Commission on Human Rights for many other countries, especially smaller ones, to join us in raising concerns about China's human rights failures. Their own economic and political interests quiet them. Our China resolutions may not pass.
"However, the United States' leadership role in the world, our size and strength, and, most important, our conscience and commitment to transcendent values and inalienable rights of all men and women, not just the lucky few, compel us to give voice to the Chinese victims of human rights abuse who have no voice at home. And by raising this important issue in this forum, we increase international pressure on China to do the right thing.
"Hopefully, soon advances in human rights in China will further cooperation and progress in United States bilateral relations with Beijing."
ABC Online, Australia: Falun Gong Complaint Going Before UN
Tuesday, 6 April 2004
High profile Gold Coast lawyer Chris Nyst travels to Geneva, Switzerland today to formally lodge a complaint with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, alleging an Australian citizen was persecuted in China four years ago.
Mr Nyst and human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson have compiled the complaint, with the assistance of a number of law students from Griffith University's Gold Coast campus.
Mr Nyst believes it is the first complaint on behalf of an individual - a female Australian citizen - to the United Nations about the treatment of people practising [Falun Gong]1.
"She travelled to China in 1999 and 2000. During that time she was detained
during a period of up to 8 months during which time we say that she was
tortured, she was arbitrarily detained, she was denied her rights of consular
representation and she was subjected to quite harsh and inappropriate behaviour,"
Mr Nyst said.
1
Chinese Regime Censors Free Speech and Persecutes Its Citizens with Internet Technology
According to NewsMax.net's report on Mar. 30, 2004, "Amnesty International has just reported that Internet related offenses in China increased by 60 percent in 2003. This crackdown included the imprisonment or detaining of 54 people."
The report stated, "The Chinese government requires its citizens to log on through state-controlled routers in order to restrict them from viewing "subversive" or "dangerous" content. In China, if you search for terms like "Taiwan," "Tibet," "democracy," "dissident," "Falun Gong," and "human rights," your request is denied.
If one persists in such searches, promotes online petitions, disseminates pro-democracy information, or raises such taboo subjects as the SARS outbreak, you may find yourself detained or imprisoned.
In a May 2003 report, Reporters Without Borders - a leading free-press advocacy group - investigated Internet use in China by posing as a Chinese Internet user for one month. The report finds that approximately 70 percent of controversial content was suppressed.
The report also describes the "manhunts" that the government uses to track down violators as part of the "Golden Shield" policy, which began in the late 1990s to stifle dissent. It is estimated that 60 laws and regulations exist regarding use of the Internet, and that even well intentioned sites such as Yahoo! are merely "police auxiliaries."
The outlook is not improving. Liu Yuzhu, a Ministry of Culture official, told Amnesty that by 2005, all cafes will be required to install an "Internet cafe technology management system requiring the whole nation to adopt the same standard and each province the same software." The software will help the Ministry of Culture collect data on Internet users and alert authorities when forbidden content is accessed.
Of course, the communist Chinese government does not limit itself to Internet users. The U.S. State Department in its 2003 Annual Report on Human Rights Abuses documented the existence of "re-education through labor camps" where approximately 250,000 citizens are currently detained for allegedly committing crimes against the Communist Party."
Aspen Times, Colorado: Falun Gong focus of talk at Pitkin County Library
Aspen Times writer
April 2, 2004
Falun Gong, banned in China after multitudes took up the practice of refining the body and mind through exercise and meditation, will be the focus of a free talk on Monday at the Pitkin County Library.
Avon resident Leejun Ivie, a native of China and naturalized American citizen, will offer an introduction to the principles of Falun Gong and discuss the Chinese government's ongoing persecution of its practitioners. She will relate her experiences during a recent visit to her homeland, where she was detained and interrogated by agents who tried to intimidate her into giving up the practice.
China's Communist government banned the practice of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, in 1999 when it grasped the growing popularity of the practice, which combines yogalike exercises with meditation to cultivate physical health and moral character.
"It helped me become a better person," said Ivie, who took up Falun Gong after seeing its effects on her mother during a 1996 visit to China.
"I saw a very dramatic change in her, physically and mentally," she said.
Falun Gong, introduced in 1992 by founder Li Hongzhi, is now practiced by an estimated 40 million people worldwide, according to the Web site www.falundafa.org.
It is neither political nor religious in nature, according to Ivie, but the spooked Chinese government labeled the practice [with a slanderous term] and cracked down on its practitioners, sentencing more than 10,000 people to labor camps, according to an article in Time Asia.
When Ivie visited China in January, she said authorities tried to force her to renounce Falun Gung and alternately threatened to keep her in China and deport her immediately, she said.
"I think the core message I want to convey is that freedom of belief and freedom of consciousness is our constitutional right," she said.
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
Near Death from Radiation Poisoning, My Husband Recovers through Practicing Falun Gong
By a practitioner in China
Seven years ago, my husband was intensively exposed to radiation for a long period of time without protective equipment. Later, the consequences started appearing: his body was numb and weak, his gums were bleeding, his teeth and hair were falling out, several of his internal organs were not functioning normally, and he even had difficulty just walking. The treatments by experts in several big hospitals and specialists had cost tens of thousands of Yuan. Nonetheless, his health was deteriorating. The whole family was worried but could not find a solution. As the financial condition of the factory was poor, it could not reimburse his medical costs, so our frugal life had to be even tighter.
Seeing my husband's worsening health and facing the possibility that he might leave me, I was often in tears. Just when we were at wit's end, one of my classmates brought Teacher Li Hongzhi's book Zhuan Falun to my husband and introduced us to the path of cultivation in Falun Dafa. He anxiously read Zhuan Falun again and again, and his health became better and better. He gave up some bad habits, and both his mind and body were purified. Indeed it was a great change.
During this process, I also obtained Dafa. After a period of cultivation, tracheitis, rheumatism and several other diseases that I had been suffering from for many years disappeared. A healthy and happy life returned to my family.
My Tumors Completely Disappeared after Practicing Falun Gong
By Xiao Yu, a Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoning Province, China
I am a Falun Gong from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. In October 1992, three to four tumors, each the size of a golf ball, were found in my neck. In December, I was re-examined and the tumors had spread to my chest, abdomen and other places. It already reached the late stage of tumor development and the only treatment was to use chemotherapy.
The chemotherapy began in January 1993. The tumors did not disappear; on the contrary, the tumors spread to my bones. With chemotherapy, good cells and bad cells were killed altogether. I felt very weak. My hair began falling out. I took hormones so that I could eat something.
I was thirty-seven then and realized that my illness was not curable. I wondered, "Am I going to leave this world like this?" I broke into tears.
Just when I had lost my heart for living, a friend introduced Falun Gong to me. I made up my mind to practice Falun Gong at that time. She brought me Zhuan Falun. I felt very good about the principles taught in the book. Later on I was very lucky to be able to attend the 11th lecture series by Master on July 25, 1993 in Beijing. After nine lectures, my mind and my body felt renewed. All the questions that I had tried to find answers for, but failed in my life, were answered by Master. I attended another lecture series. I felt very energetic and my body was stronger. I understood the truth of life and why one lives. I understood why a person gets sick. I realized that a person should live as a good person, and always think of others. A person should get rid of all bad attachments and thoughts, improve one's xinxing [moral character, heart nature], and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Just like that, with the company of my family members, I attended two courses. After arriving at home, I began to learn Falun Gong and followed what Master said; I tried to improve my moral Character. I felt better and better day by day.
At the end of 1993, I went to the city hospital for a re-examination. All my tumors had completely disappeared. I was released from the clutches of the illness. It is Falun Dafa that has saved me and gave me a new life. I could not express my deep gratitude to Master with words. My relatives and friends also deeply appreciated what Master had done for me. They all attended Master's lecture series in other places. My parents' many long-term illnesses disappeared. Experiencing such health of mind and body, the whole family is in harmony. Since then, my family has not needed to worry about my disease. It has been more than ten years now and I have not needed to take a single pill. This is the blessing brought to us by learning Dafa!
However, such a good practice was banned by Jiang's group in July 1999. Lies and propaganda constantly deceive the public, and right and wrong are turned upside down. I use my own experience to help others understand the truth and no longer be deceived by the lies. Please understand that Falun Gong is good and do not be fooled again.
The People Awaken to the Truth
China: Policemen Come to Know the Truth of Gong
A police officer at a certain labor camp once said to a Falun Gong practitioner: "No one in China has ever come up with a good solution to educate people how to become good people. However, Falun Gong can solve the problem." He also said: "I'd like to read and collect Falun Gong materials."
While I was still detained in the labor camp, one day a policeman asked me to help him with some accounting work because I'm a professional in this area. I took the opportunity to clarify the truth to him. I told him a few things about how I benefited from Falun Dafa, and he listened attentively. I asked him: "What do you think about Falun Gong practitioners?" "We all know you're good people." He answered. "You know Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Why do you still persecute us?" I continued asking. He dropped his head and did not say anything. He then patted my shoulder, shook his head and left without a word.
After I was released from the labor camp, one day I was walking on the street with another practitioner when I heard someone call my name. I noticed the voice came from a car parked at the curb. I walked up and realized it was a police officer from the labor camp. He asked us to get into his car. Then he asked us: "How are you? Be careful these days." "We are fine. Thank you very much." We answered. "Do you have any new truth-clarification materials?" he asked again. We took some for him and he was very glad. He thanked us and made an appointment with us about how to keep in touch with us to get new materials when they came out. As I recall, we never saw him persecute Falun Gong practitioners in the labor camp.
Chinese Tourist: If Everyone Would Act According to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the World Would Be a Better
Recently, some Thai Falun Gong practitioners went to the Coral Island tourist site to promote Falun Gong and clarified the truth. Here are some stories that happened during the trip.
At noon, practitioners went to a restaurant to have lunch with many Chinese tourists. The restaurant played the music "Pudu" "Jishi" "Falun Dafa is good" and "Coming for you". In the beginning, when Chinese visitors saw practitioners in yellow T-shirts printed with "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance", they were surprised and looked at the practitioners warily. The practitioners smiled at them in return. Gradually, they found out that Falun Gong practitioners are just like other tourists and behaved normally, and they put away their misgivings.
A little boy at a nearby table didn't eat his lunch, so his mother scolded him. He cried. A practitioner gave him a bookmark with a baby practicing Falun Gong on it. He stopped crying. The parent looked at the back of the bookmark which read, "The world needs Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance" and put it in a safe place. They thanked the practitioners and accepted some truth-clarification material.
A middle-aged man who looked like an government official agreed with the practitioners after he heard the appeals for Falun Gong, but he emphasized, "If Jiang is in power, these problems can't be solved."
Three visitors from eastern China didn't go to the beach after lunch. They took the initiative to sit beside the Falun Gong practitioners, looking like they were waiting for something. The practitioners knew they wanted to talk, so a practitioner greeted them and they soon began to discuss questions about Falun Gong.
They didn't avoid the "sensitive" topics and asked many questions such as, "Does Falun Gong have an organization?", "4-25 Zhongnanhai Appeal", and "Tiananmen Immolation Incident". The practitioners patiently answered their questions and told them the details about the 4-25 appeal, its cause, how Premier Zhu Rongji's handled the affair, Jiang's envy and the facts of the staged immolation.
Then they talked about how the persecution of Falun Gong was very difficult for Jiang's group to sustain and how Falun Gong has spread to over 60 countries all over the world. The three Chinese nodded their heads in agreement. One practitioner talked about her own experience of practicing Falun Gong. She had not been sick for seven years and was always energetic. A tourist asked her why Falun Gong was so effective. The practitioners explained the principle of "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance" and the oneness of mind and body.
They were very agreeable to the practitioners' explanation. At some point another young couple joined and listened to their talk. Minutes earlier, the couple thought the practitioners were talking "politics," but now they listened carefully and their attitude toward Falun Gong completely changed.
The guide called them to catch up with the group. A tourist stood up and said, "If everybody would act according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the world would be a better place."