News and Events from Around the World
Torture and Killings Remain Rampant, Yet Signs of Hope Point to End of Falun Gong Persecution in China
Voices of Justice
Facts of the Persecution
Media Reports and Opinions
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
The People Awaken to the Truth
News and Events from Around the World
FDI Press Statement Marking Five Years of Persecution: Turning of the Tide
Torture and Killings Remain Rampant, Yet Signs of Hope Point to End of Falun Gong Persecution in China
Five years ago today, men and women throughout China were taken from their homes in the middle of the night to face an indoctrination process consisting of scare tactics, brainwashing, and other forms of coercion meant to break their beliefs.
Some were eventually tortured to death, while others sent to forced labor camps for up to 18 years. To date, there have been over 30,000 documented cases of severe abuse and torture of Falun Gong practitioners. According to information from sources inside the Chinese government the death toll could be well over 5,000; details of over 1,000 have already been documented.
Yet, after five years of violent suppression, there is something on the horizon rarely seen amidst such terror: Hope. This hope is ushered in and reaffirmed by three developments.
1) Jiang Zemin's crimes against the people of China, which include leading the campaign against Falun Gong as well as a hand in the SARS cover-up, fomenting hostilities with Taiwan, and embezzling enormous sums, have to some degree been uncovered and reported by major media such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN. Jiang is increasingly regarded as a cancer within the Chinese leadership for his abuse of political power. Untold millions have been spent hounding peaceful Falun Gong practitioners in Jiang's name, while so many of China's needs suffer as a result of the depleted resources.
2) Millions of Falun Gong practitioners inside China -- engaging in perhaps the largest grass-roots effort of civil disobedience in history -- have worked for five years to unravel the web of fear and hatred spun by China's state-run media. By hanging posters and handing out flyers in villages and cities across the country, posting articles online, and most of all talking with fellow citizens heart-to-heart, gradually the people of China are coming to tell the facts from the fallacies. The people are realizing the extent to which state-run media have distorted Falun Gong and just how far Jiang's faction has gone terrorizing peaceful, non-political citizens.
3) Falun Gong practitioners, their families and supporters, and concerned government officials around the world have dedicated countless hours to penetrate the iron curtain of China's information blockade. A newfound awareness is growing about what happens behind closed doors in China's police stations and forced labor camps. Through these efforts, the crimes of Jiang's faction have received greater and greater scrutiny, and are now being brought before court rooms around the world. Indeed, the scales of justice are -- for the first time -- beginning to judge Jiang and those who have followed him.
At this very moment, hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of Falun Gong practitioners continue to languish in China's forced labor camps, so many being tortured, enslaved. In July's first weeks alone, a dozen Falun Gong deaths were verified, with many further cases of abuse and torture coming in.
And so we are called upon to not lessen our efforts in remitting these wrongs, and inspired by knowing that everything we do -- be it writing a letter, making a call, or supporting a congressional resolution -- is felt throughout China. Lives can be saved as the powerful deterrent of international scrutiny and the promise of -- in time -- rule of law, gives pause to would-be tormentors as they are forced to reflect that, in the end, there will be no impunity.
The days of Jiang's campaign are numbered. It is painted in bright yellow hues on walls and passageways throughout China, reading "Falun Dafa is great!" It echoes throughout Beijing and its suburbs, gasped in collective, indignant sighs of "Enough!" It is pledged in a growing chorus of voices among some Chinese police and even government officials.
The tides are turning. May we see to it they turn sooner, surer. In this
there is great hope.
The Falun Gong Practitioners' Legal Prosecution Procedure Officially Starts to Charge Chinese Heads of State for South Africa Shooting
On the afternoon of July 13, 2004, several Falun Gong practitioners from the US, Australia, Germany, Canada, Taiwan, and Hong Kong held a press conference in front of the Pretoria Art Museum in the capital city of South Africa, and they announced that legal actions against Chinese heads of state have officially begun. Mr. Rudolf Jansen, the attorney for Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. John Nania, the spokesperson for Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Jane Dai, a Falun Gong practitioner whose husband was tortured to death, and her daughter attended the conference. Chen Zhili, Chinese Communist Party State Councilor and former Minister of Education, is currently on a Chinese cultural tour of Africa that included a photo exhibit held inside the Pretoria Art Museum.
At the press conference, Mr. Rudolf said that he is currently investigating the details of the crime and also discussing the case with Falun Gong practitioners' attorneys in other countries. He said that the shooting incident and the CCP officials' involvement in the crime would be investigated, documented, and further investigation would be conducted on the shooting of Falun Gong practitioner Mr. David Liang on June 28. Right now, the South African police has listed the incident as "attempted murder" and turned it over to higher police officers. Major newspapers, TV stations and broadcast stations have made long reports on the incident.
Falun Gong spokesman John Nania gave a detailed account of how around 100 Falun Gong practitioners who were students or school faculty members were tortured to death during Chen Zhili's term as the Minister of Education. He also pointed out that legal actions against Chen Zhili are being processed.
Ms. Jane Dai from Australia said that her husband was tortured to death three years ago because he refused to give up practicing Dafa. Now her friend David Liang was injured from the gun shooting. She went to the press conference because she wanted to help prevent these things from happening in the future.
At the same time, several big Chinese and English media based in Western countries were prevented from entering the photo exhibit held inside the Pretoria Art Museum by several un-identified persons who might have been hired by the Chinese Embassy in South Africa. These media attended the press conference held by Falun Gong practitioners on the same day.
When the reporter and photographer from Pretoria News, the largest media in Pretoria, tried to enter the museum with an invitation after attending the press conference, seven or eight Chinese people who claimed to be from Fujian Province and refused to speak English, were suspected of being hired by the Chinese consulate, and refused to let them in. With intervention from South African police, they were able to enter the museum. Ms. Cindy Zeilhofer from Pretoria News said that she could understand the difficulty Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China are in, looking at it from the unreasonable action of the Chinese heads of state on South African soil.
Former Wuhan TV Station Director Sued in the U.S. for Making Propaganda film Inciting Hatred, Violence, and Genocide Against Falun Gong
On July 14, 2004, when Zhao Zhizhen was visiting New Haven, Connecticut, he received a summons issued in a U.S. Federal District Court. Zhao Zhizhen is the former Wuhan TV Station Director and the former Wuhan Radio Station Director in Hubei Province, China. Several Falun Gong practitioners filed a class action lawsuit in Federal Court in New Haven, Connecticut on July 13. Zhao Zhizhen is being sued for making propaganda films that incite hatred, violence and genocide against Falun Gong practitioners. This is the first lawsuit of its kind, which argues that the people involved in producing the hate propaganda against Falun Gong should be held responsible for the torture and genocide taking place in China and for hate crimes against Falun Gong practitioners outside China.
According to co-consul for the plaintiffs Dr. Terri Marsh, "The Wuhan Broadcasting and TV Bureau and TV Network Station were given primary responsibility by the former President of the Peoples Republic of China to create a climate of hatred, fear and violence against persons who practice Falun Gong in China and abroad using the same propaganda tactics deployed in Nazi Germany during the Second World War, in Rwanda, during the genocide of the Tutsi by the Hutu, and in China during the Cultural Revolution."
Dr. Marsh added, "In all of these violent massacres, the target is first demonized as having inherently evil qualities, equated with demonic forces, and portrayed as criminals, murderers, and enemies of the state. In China, such tactics, and the media programs of the Defendant, additionally call for the 'transformation' of practitioners [by torture] and/or their extra judicial killing."
According to the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) (1) under Zhao Zhizhen's direct instruction, the production team of the popular "Scientific Time" TV program of Wuhan went to Changchun City and produced a special film titled "The Story of Li Hongzhi." This film was used by Jiang Zemin to force other Central Government leaders to agree on the persecution of Falun Gong. Then the film began to be played over and over again on CCTV starting from July 22, 1999, three days after the persecution officially began. This film was the only TV propaganda program demonizing Falun Gong in the early stage of the persecution. It is also one of the major tools used to brainwash Chinese people nationwide. Later, this film was played in forced labor camps, prisons, and mental hospitals for brainwashing purposes, and used as an excuse to torture Falun Gong practitioners. After watching the program, many police officers intensified their hatred towards Falun Gong and, as a result, it aggravated the persecution.
Zhao Zhizhen was listed on the WOIPFG monitoring list. After hearing of his travels outside China, the WOIPFG started a "global tracking system," and soon obtained Zhao Zhizhen's travel itinerary.
Australia: Hundreds of Residents Gather Outside the Prime Minister's Residence to Express Their Concern over the Shooting in South Africa
At noon on July 11, 2004, more than two hundred Australians from around the country arrived at Prime Minister Howard's residence in Sydney. They hand-delivered over one hundred personal letters and flowers to peacefully express their concern over the shooting of Australian Falun Dafa practitioners in South Africa. They also called upon the Australian government to pay attention to the personal security of Australian citizens, extend assistance and righteous support to injured Falun Gong practitioner David Liang in the shooting incident in South Africa, and to resist the extension of similar terrorism to Australia.
On June 28, 2004, Australian citizen David Liang was injured in a shooting incident in South Africa. The evidence showed that this was not an accidental event or attempted robbery, and the South African police have classified it as attempted murder. David Liang and eight other Australian citizens were all Falun Gong practitioners. They had traveled to South Africa to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong during the visit of Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai in South Africa, and at the same time to serve these two high-ranking officials of the Party with a lawsuit for participating in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Most of the people who were appealing at the Prime Minister's residence were Australian citizens who practice Falun Gong. They peacefully held flowers and letters, and walked from Sydney's Valentine's Bay or took the buses to gather outside the Prime Minister's residence, where they quietly stood in a line in the cold winter wind and heavy rains. The practitioners sincerely hoped that the Australian Government and all kind-hearted people would condemn Jiang's group's terrorist act in South Africa of hiring gunmen to shoot Falun Gong practitioners, and thereby stop its extension of terrorism to the rest of the world.
David Liang arrived outside the Prime Minister's residence in a wheelchair, with both feet wrapped in thick bandages. In the past few years, Mr. Liang has been placed on a blacklist by Jiang's group for practicing Falun Gong, and was once refused entry into Hong Kong. Even though he was in Australia, Mr. Liang has been harassed on several occasions: his vehicle's tires were punctured because there were symbols of Falun Gong on his car, and his car window was shattered and Falun Gong books and materials were stolen. Mr. Liang called upon the Australian Prime Minister to pay attention to the shooting incident that he and other practitioners experienced in South Africa, and he hoped that the tragedy wouldn't happen to others.
Because the Prime Minister was having a meeting, he could not accept the letters himself. However, the federal police accepted over a hundred letters on his behalf, and expressed to the reporter that he appreciated Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness and rationality.
Australian ABC-TV and AFP conducted interviews on location.
Johannesburg, South Africa: Falun Gong Practitioners Beaten by Assailants in Chinatown
On July 2, 2004, in Johannesburg's Chinatown, South Africa, Falun Gong practitioners staged an exhibition demonstrating tortures suffered by practitioners in China, to expose the Jiang regime's illegal persecution and to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. These practitioners were maliciously beaten by unidentified assailants.
Around 1:00 p.m., while several practitioners were preparing the exhibition,
six or seven unidentified young Chinese people suddenly rushed in. First, they tore down the Falun Dafa banners, then they beat the practitioners, including an elderly Taiwanese practitioner and a young South African practitioner. They slapped the South African practitioner's face and kicked him. They also tore down the truth-clarifying photos that Falun Gong practitioners had hung up, and they threatened the practitioners with abusive language, telling them not to hold activities there. The Falun Gong practitioners were very calm and peaceful, and immediately reported the incident to the police. The police arrived soon after, but the gang of hooligans had already escaped.
The Falun Gong practitioners at the site indicated that this incident was identical in nature to the recent shooting incident. The assailants tore down the banners, beat the practitioners and fled the scene. They were clearly hired to harass the practitioners. Most of the practitioners who took part in the anti-torture exhibition came from other countries, and the South African practitioner also came from another city, so there could not have been any personal enmity with the local residents.
In recent years, Jiang's regime has escalated the harassment and persecution of overseas Falun Gong practitioners. In 1999, soon after Jiang Zemin began to brutally suppress Falun Gong, there were many reports of Chinese officials threatening, harassing, and attacking Falun Gong practitioners. Public officials, private enterprises and media outlets around the world have even faced pressure and threats from the Chinese Government.
The exhibition showing the torture of Falun Gong practitioners began at 1:30
p.m. that day. Merchants and employees from various businesses in Chinatown and
passers-by stopped to watch the exhibition. They were shocked to learn the truth
about the persecution. Many people expressed their support in stopping the
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Some people also expressed interest in
learning the practice.
Voices of Justice
Danish MEP Condemns the Shooting Incident in South Africa
On June the 30th 2004, during an interview, Danish MEP Morgens Camre strongly condemned the shooting of Falun Gong practitioners that took place recently in South Africa.
Question: We received news that a Falun Gong practitioner was shot when the Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong visited South Africa. What is your comment?
Answer: I do not understand the incident of the shooting, but it was attempted murder, I am convinced it was attempted murder. I am sorry to say that it is something which will happen in ill-managed countries and the security situation is very bad in South Africa. But, I can see that this attempted murder is aiming at those who bring criticism against the leaders in China. If possible, they will even be slain, and it is against the ideas shared with the whole western world, of course. Everyone should have the freedom of speech. Frankly speaking, I cannot understand the mentality behind the shooting.
Question: Do you know how we can bring the persecution against Falun Gong in China to an end?
Answer: Maybe China needs a revolution. I can say it needs a kind of revolution. But right now, what western society can do is keep exerting pressure on the Chinese government, spread information as often as possible, call on all world organizations like the UN and all democratic countries, to criticize and to slam the persecution and those who are behind it. We could explain to China that the leaders are digging their own graves by resorting to violence. Everybody knows that changing the status quo of China is a tremendous mission, and it will not be done in one or two days. However, what is important is to begin, which is a very vital starting point.
Canadian Mayor Robert Libman: We Extend Our Continued Respect and Support for the Compassion and Tolerance Demonstrated by Falun Dafa Practitioners Around the World
On June 18, 2004, Mayor Robert Libman of the Borough of Cote Saint-Luc -- Hampstead -- Montreal West wrote to Falun Gong practitioners to extend their continued respect and support for the compassion and tolerance that is demonstrated by Falun Dafa practitioners around the world.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Dear Friends of Falun Dafa,
Falun Dafa is a peaceful and healthy practice of mind and body that transcends cultural and racial boundaries, resonates with universal truth and bridges the gap between East and West. It emphasizes the assimilation of the universal principles of "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance".
Members and practitioners of Falun Dafa have struggled to bring this non-aggressive practice on the world stage since 1992, often with great difficulty. Although misunderstood by many, society cannot ignore the benefits that are reaped in our neighborhoods through the practice and peaceful demonstration of its members who now count over 100 million in the world.
In January 2001, Council for the former state of Cote Saint-Luc were supportive of this practice. Today, the borough of Cote Saint-Luc -- Hampstead -- Montreal West stands firmly behind that commitment and we extend our continued respect and support for the compassion and tolerance that is demonstrated by Falun Dafa practitioners around the world.
Please accept our sincere best wishes for success in all your endeavors.
Yours truly,
Robert Libman, O.A.Q.
Borough Mayor
Letter from the President of the International Association for Human Rights to the Chinese Ambassador in Vienna
Chinese Embassy
His Excellency Yonghua Lu
Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China
Metternichgasse 4
1030 Vienna .
June 29th 2004
Dear Ambassador Yonghua Lu,
We were appalled to hear about the latest incident on June 28th in South Africa, in which Falun Gong practitioner Mr. David Liang was shot in broad daylight while driving a car. It dismays us that this shooting was most likely directed by high levels in Chinese circles.
To be accurate, we will quote from a press release by the Falun Dafa Information Centre:
David Liang was driving one of two cars en route from Johannesburg airport to Pretoria around 8:30 p.m. local time, Monday, June 28th. A white car with three occupants overtook them and fired at least five shots into the vehicle carrying the Falun Gong practitioners. Liang was hospitalized with bullet wounds in both legs and his car was disabled in the incident.
The driver of a passing car assisted them immediately. Liang and eight other Falun Gong practitioners from Australia arrived in South Africa to assist locals in revealing the nature of the persecution of Falun Gong in general, and the heinous actions of the two visiting officials in particular. They intended to hold a press conference to expose the crimes of the two officials and to have legal papers served against them.
The shooters did not stop when Liang was shot and his vehicle was disabled. Liang, of Chinese origin, was the only one shot, and was the only one in the car wearing a jacket with the words "Falun Dafa." These facts, and others that are sure to emerge, point to this conclusion: the shooting was a premeditated action specifically targeting Falun Gong during the two officials' visit. Zeng, Bo, and other high officials have given orders in China that have resulted in torture and death. During the nearly five years of persecution against Falun Gong, harassment, interference in basic rights, death threats, beatings, break-ins, and now an assault with guns have targeted practitioners of Falun Gong on foreign soil, outside China.
We wish you to take note that such means are not conducive towards rational discussion regarding the human rights problems in your country.
We also wish to point at this time the overall catastrophic human rights situation in the People's Republic of China. We wish to specifically point to the situation of those who are persecuted and suppressed because of their belief, in particular the Tibetans, Uighurs and Christians. This happens only because they wish to freely practice their religious beliefs.
We wish to thank you for paying attention to our correspondence.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Katharina Grieb,
IGFM President, Austria
For Erich Leopold
Statement from the Chairman of Olympic Watch on the United Nations International Day to Support Victims of Torture
Jan Ruml is a Senator and Vice-Chairman of the Czech Senate, as well as being the Chairman of Olympic Watch. The following is a statement he wrote for a Falun Gong press conference held in Prague on June 26, 2004, the United Nations International Day to Support Victims of Torture:
On the United Nations International Day to Support Victims of Torture, June 26th, Olympic Watch calls on the government of the People's Republic of China to stop the abhorrent practices of torture and ill treatment throughout the PRC.
We commemorate the victims of torture by the communist authorities in China, be it Falun Gong practitioners, political prisoners, or other people. Torture can never be excused and the People's Republic of China has pledged to eradicate it by its ratification of the Convention against Torture.
Olympic Watch therefore condemns all the more strongly the recent decision by the Beijing government to prevent the long-awaited inspection by the UN special rapporteur on torture. We believe that the postponement was caused by the government's fear of disclosure of its true current practices.
Olympic Watch calls on the government of the People's Republic of China:
-to stop its terrible practices of torture and ill-treatment, and thus to respect the Convention against Torture and its other international legal commitments
-to allow full international oversight over the situation
-and generally to respect human rights of the people in China, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion, so that by the 2008 Olympic Games there is visible progress in human rights in China, which the Beijing government had promised, but which is still completely absent.
Prague, June 26th 2004
Jan Ruml
Chairman, Olympic Watch
Statement of Support by Member of Czech Parliament, Jaroslav Zverina
Mr. Jaroslav Zverina sent the following statement of support to a Falun Gong press conference in Prague's Krizovnicke Square on the 26th of June 2004, which was the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture:
One of the original curses of mankind is its predisposition to violence. Human beings, like their subhuman relatives, can be very cruel not only to their real enemies, but to their presumed ones as well. The essence of cruelty is continuously censored by mankind's culture as inhuman and immoral. Unfortunately this cultural influence never applies universally and perfectly. Too often people allow themselves to be seduced into aggressive behavior toward their fellow man.
The tragedy is that people don't deal with their real enemies but are cruel to others who don't harm them and who are in fact just the opposite: those who believe in truthfulness, kindness and rational contemplation. Among such tragic manifestations is the persecution and torture of Falun Gong practitioners by the present Chinese Communist regime. I have come to understand the teachings of this movement, I think quite well, and I can hardly imagine what has caused the ruling regime's hatred.
I would like to believe that one day we will all wake up to a world without violence, terrorism and ideological repression. Equality for all in the eyes of the law and human freedom are basic democratic values. Let us remember them especially today when we take our stand against torture and political ill will.
Jaroslav Zverina
Member of Parliament of the Czech Republic and Vice Chairman of the Committee
for the Matters of the European Union
Facts of the Persecution
More Evidence of Jiang Group's State-Terrorism: The Verified Death Toll of Falun Gong Practitioners Has Reached 1,000
According to statistics gathered by Minghui.net, from July 20, 1999 to early July 2004, at least 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died of torture because they refused to give up their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Among these practitioners, 52% are women and 48% are men, with an average age of 44. The youngest practitioner was a 17-year-old female high school student Chen Ying from Heilongjiang Province, and the oldest practitioner was an 82-year-old gentleman, Yang Yongshou, from Sichuan Province. Since July 1999, the average death toll per month is about 17.
1. The Persecution Has Covered All of China
These 1,000 death cases happened in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and autonomous cities. The provinces with the most death cases are: Heilongjiang Province (159), Jilin Province (126), Liaoning Province (110), Shandong Province (107), Hebei Province (103), Sichuan Province (66), Hubei Province (44), Chongqing City (30), Henan Province (29), Beijing City (27), Guangdong Province (27), Gansu Province (26) and Hunan Province (25). [Note: numbers in parentheses indicate the numbers of death cases in that province.]
These 1,000 cases have been verified by various channels; however, they make up only part of the actual death toll. According to some internal statistics gathered at the end of October 2001 by the Chinese government, the actual death toll of Falun Gong practitioners tortured to death had reached 1,600; at least 6,000 practitioners have been illegally sentenced to prison; over 100,000 practitioners have been sent to labor camps; thousands of practitioners have been sent to mental hospitals to be injected with drugs that damage the central nervous system; numerous practitioners have been abducted to brainwashing classes to suffer mental persecution; even more people have been beaten and had money extorted from them.
Falun Gong practitioners cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. They strive to be good people with noble characters. They are from all walks of life. In the state-run terrorism carried out by Jiang's group, the practitioners directly affected by the persecution number from 70 to 100 million. If we count their family members and relatives who are implicated by the persecution, then several hundred million people have been affected. The number of people affected by the persecution is unprecedented.
2. State-run Terrorism is Appalling
The reason that so many practitioners have been tortured to death is that they refuse to give up their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance and they strive to be kindhearted people. The deaths of these practitioners were all unnatural. Even though each of them may have been subjected to different tortures, they are all direct victims of Jiang's state-run terrorism. Some of them were beaten to death; some were tormented to death gradually; some died of force-feeding; some perished after being injected with drugs that damage the central nervous system; some passed away after being driven to mental collapse.
For instance, according to an April 23, 2000 report from the Wall Street Journal, 59-year-old Chen Zixiu from Xujiaxiaozhuang, Beiguan, Weicheng District, Weifang City, Shandong Province was arrested on February 16, 2000. She was beaten to death on February 21, 2000.
Wang Bin, male, about 47 years old, was a computer engineer at the Design Institute of the Daqing Oil Management Bureau. He was once awarded the second prize of the National Science and Technology Award. He was sentenced to forced labor for going to Beijing to appeal. While being detained at the labor camp, Wang Bin was severely beaten up by 4 or 5 prisoners on the night of September 27, 2000. The beating was instigated by Feng Xi, the director of the Second Team of the labor camp. The torture caused the artery in Wang Bin's neck and major blood vessels to break. His tonsils were injured, his lymph nodes crushed (they had their circulation cut off), and several bones were fractured. He had cigarette burns on the back of his hands and inside his nostrils. There were also many bruises all over his body. On the night of October 4, he died of severe injuries, including ruptured blood vessels and heart failure. After his death, his heart and brain were taken out of his body. Two legal medical experts, Wang Chunbiao and Qi Jingfu, took his heart and brain to Longnan Hospital for dissection before they threw them away.
The shooting of a Falun Gong practitioner on June 28, 2004 in South Africa shocked the international community. As a matter of fact, such terrorism has long existed in China. For example, on March 5, 2002, 32-year-old practitioners Liu Chengjun from Changchun City, Jilin Province was chased by police for broadcasting programs clarifying the truth of Dafa. After capturing him, the police fired two shots at Liu's legs, causing severe injury. He was sentenced to 19 years in Jilin Prison, where he suffered numerous tortures. At 4:30 a.m. on December 26, 2003, he passed away at a hospital in Jilin Province. In order to cover up their crimes, the police disregarded Liu's family's opposition, and forcefully cremated his body at 10:40 a.m. on the same day. Witnesses say that blood came out of Liu's nostrils, ears and legs.
Because of the tight information blockade by Jiang's group, the true situation of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners cannot be fully illustrated by some mere statistics. Jiang's group manipulates the Chinese government to systematically persecute or even kill its own citizens. The degree of the brutality of such persecution is unprecedented. All kindhearted people in the world should stand up to condemn and help stop this persecution that is ruining humanity.
Barbaric Torture in the Fuzhou Female Prison: Biting 60-Year-Old Professor and Coating the Wounds with Hot Peppers, Pulling Out All Pubic Hair
Team 16 in the Fuzhou Women's Prison, Fujian Province, under the order of Prison Commissar Li, has been using criminal inmates to viciously torture Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to force them to renounce their belief.
Ms. Wang Lei, a professor in her 60's, had been illegally sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong. She has suffered all kinds of inhumane torture since her imprisonment. She was forced to wash the public bathrooms and work overtime all night. She was forced to maintain a standing position for several consecutive days and nights. Her legs are still swollen from this abuse and the pain was hard to endure. The inmates intentionally did not let her have enough food. Oftentimes, when she had only finished half of her meal, they would slap her face, causing her nose and mouth to bleed and her bowl to fall to the ground. They did this in order to keep Ms. Wang Lei hungry all year long, and at the same time, they overloaded her with forced slave labor. As a result, Ms. Wang Lei has become dangerously thin.
There is yet additional savagery: the criminal inmates did not permit Ms. Wang to finish using the toilet. The criminals would pull her up, pull her back to the cell and beat her up, not even giving her a chance to put on her pants. They often beat her up to the point of her losing consciousness. Afterwards they would force-feed her unknown drugs or other harmful substances. Sometimes, as soon as Ms. Wang fell asleep, they would strip her, beat her up, and shamelessly clamp her nipples with clips and pull out all her pubic hair. Criminals Su Jingxuan and Shi Suyuan would even bite her and coat her bite wounds with hot pepper solution, causing Ms. Wang to scream in extreme pain.
The Death of Mr. Bi Guohua While being Arrested by Police in Weihai City, Shandong Province, China
July 3, 2004. In June 2004, the authorities from "610 Office" in Weihai City, Shandong Province staged a citywide sweep to arrest Falun Gong practitioners. The police raided people's home and seized them like bandits. After they broke into Bi Guohua's house, they found the 64-year-old Mr. Bi home alone. They violently assaulted him, and as a result, Mr. Bi died.
Bi Guohua lived in Beiche Village, Shidao Township, Shandong Province. On the morning of June 4, 2004, the "610 Office" personnel and seven policemen came to make an arrest at his house. They violently beat him up, causing him to suffer multiple injuries. Bi Guohua died on the way to hospital. Police told the public that "Bi Guohua died of a heart attack after he fell to the ground."
According to what Bi's family members witnessed after they viewed his body, there was a big lump on the right side of Bi Guohua's forehead. His left elbow had been scraped, and apparently, these injuries were not due to a fall. People close to him said Bi Guohua was very healthy. He never had any problems with his heart.
Villagers and local officials in Beiche Village strongly condemned this atrocity by the "610 Office." Bi Guohua's family members strongly demand justice. They vowed to seek legal action against the responsible people.
Photos Reveal Electric Shock Torture Commonly Used on Falun Gong in China
High-voltage Electric Current Burns and Disfigures Woman's Face
Photos of 36-year-old Ms. Gao Rongrong, whose face was severely disfigured from seven hours of electric shock torture, were obtained from sources inside China last week. (photos at www.faluninfo.net) WARNING: These photos contain graphic content.
The photos offer a glimpse of the systematic beatings and torture of Falun Gong practitioners in police custody and inside labor camps throughout China. This type of torture is widespread under Jiang Zemin's regime, but rarely documented on film because officials closely guard any evidence as "state secrets".
Ms. Gao was an accountant at the Luxun Fine Arts College in Shenyang City. Because she persisted in her practice of Falun Gong, she lost her job shortly after former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. Gao made peaceful appeals in Beijing to call for an end to the persecution and was detained by authorities for several months.
In July 2003, Gao was sent to the Longshan Forced Labor Camp. During her detention, Gao had been beating by camp officials, according to sources familiar with her case.
At approximately 3:00pm on May 7, 2004, Tang Yubao, the deputy head of the No. 2 Brigade along with team leader Jiang Zhaohua, called Gao to the duty office and began to torture her with electric batons for 7 hours, according to these sources. Those detained with Gao in the labor camp say she sustained burns on her face, head and neck, which caused her face to swell and become disfigured. Her face was covered with blisters, and her hair was matted with pus and blood. Gao could only open her eyes a crack because of her swollen face and her mouth was severely swollen and deformed.
In a desperate attempt to escape her torturers, Gao jumped from the 2nd floor office window, fracturing her pelvis, thigh and legs.
Gao was hospitalized for her fractures making it possible to secure photos of the scars on her face, neck and body.
According to sources familiar with the Longshan Forced Labor Camp, the camp director Li Fengshi often personally participates in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
According to an investigation by the World Organization to Investigate the
Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners, in late 2001, the Longshan Labor Camp
received a 400,000 Yuan reward for its "achievement" in persecuting Falun Gong
-- a bonus often handed down to labor camps who exhibit a proficiency for
forcing Falun Gong practitioners to sign statements renouncing their faith.
Media Reports and Opinions
RFA: Hong Kong Falun Gong Practitioners Parade to Protest the Persecution
On July 18, several hundred Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners marched to Chinese Liaison office and then to Hong Kong SAR government office to protest the persecution of Falun Gong in China since July 1999. Below is a report of RFA reported by Shan Shi on the same day:
The parade started noontime on Sunday (July 18). About 250 Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners first gathered at Wanchai and then marched to the SAR government office compound. AP said that the parade was peaceful with no conflicts.
Before starting the parade, practitioners held a press conference. One spokesman said that the persecution has no legal base and he demanded China stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Another spokeswoman Ms. Chen recounted her father's plight. Her farther went to China for sightseeing and was arrested by police and forced to sign a statement claiming guilt. She requested the Chinese authority to release her farther.
Hong Kong Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said that China started to persecute Falun Gong in July of 1999 and they choose this date to stage the parade to protest the persecution.
Kan said that Falun Gong was introduced to Hong Kong in 1994 and had about 1,000 practitioners at its peak time. However, the number declined a little after the persecution started. He said that Falun Gong practitioners could still freely practice and hold activities in Hong Kong.
Kan said that he is concerned about Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners being harassed by gangsters though such incidents haven't happened.
Mr. Kan said that Falun Gong activities in Hong Kong have encountered many interferences because of the pressure from the Chinese government. In the past several years, it happened many times that overseas Falun Gong practitioners were barred from entering Hong Kong and such pressure is becoming larger and larger.
Asia Times: Falun Gong Legal Team Plans to Sue Jiang and Other High Ranking Chinese Officials in 11 Countries
Asia Times reported on July 18: July 20 will mark the 5th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Several thousands Taiwan Falun Gong practitioners yesterday gathered at Taipei protesting the persecution.
17 lawyers from 4 continents have formed a legal team and the team is planning to sue 13 high ranking Mainland officials, including Jiang Zemin for persecution.
Taiwan Falun Gong practitioners yesterday rallied at the plaza of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall to commemorate the practitioners who have been persecuted to death and to stage an "Anti-Torture Exhibition" using real-life models to showcase the torture methods employed by Mainland police against Falun Gong practitioners.
Liu Binghua (Phonetic) said that not only have Mainland Falun Gong practitioners been persecuted, but also many Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners who went to Mainland on business, to visit relatives or for sightseeing had been detained by Mainland police. Some Mainland brides who married Taiwanese citizens have been detained after going back to China to visit their relatives.
On behalf of the legal team, Taiwan lawyer Chu Wan-chi announced a statement which said that the team was planning to launch lawsuits in 11 countries against Jiang Zemin and other high-ranking officials responsible for the persecution. The statement said that the team would also file complaints with the UN Human Rights Commission and Anti-torture Commission against those perpetrators.
The Pretoria News (South Africa): Chinese bar Pretoria News from art museum
By Cindy Zeilhofer
July 14, 2004
Journalists were yesterday refused entry to the grounds of the Pretoria Art Museum to report on Deputy Prime Minister Chen Zhili's visit to promote Chinese culture. A Pretoria News team dispatched to cover that visit, as well as a peaceful protest by Falun Gong followers near the museum, was barred, seemingly by Chinese security officials, from even crossing the park to get to their vehicle.
After having briefly interviewed several of the demonstrators who had gathered on the opposite side of the sidewalk to the museum, the Pretoria News reporter and photographer made their way back to the museum.
However, even after having shown their Press cards, the journalists were still denied permission to walk across the pavement to get to their vehicle in the parking lot.
Several requests were made for the Chinese officers to identify themselves which they flatly refused. They would only gesture "no entry" with their hands.
This led to journalists asking for assistance from members of the South African Police Service.
A police captain "gave permission" for them to cross the park. The Chinese entourage insisted on walking next to them, jostling them all the way to the entrance of the museum.
The media requested access to the museum, to which an organiser responded: "You are too late to come in."
The Falun Gong protesters staged a peaceful demonstration under the watchful eye of the unidentified Chinese security officials.
They were highlighting what they referred to as the "persecution of millions of Chinese people at all levels in the entire educational system".
Jie Liu, a spokesman for the group, claimed in a statement that at least 61 students, teachers and professors had been tortured to death for being members and practitioners of Falun Gong.
Rudolph Jansen, of Lawyers for Human Rights, has been engaged by Falun Gong representatives. Jansen said the case was in its early phases and, should it go to court, it would be a first for South African law to "exercise universal jurisdiction in respect of a crime".
He said: "We are waiting for a draft Bill to be passed in Parliament before we can continue."
Jansen said there were 16 other countries currently fighting cases against the Chinese officials allegedly responsible for the death of Falun Gong practitioners.
Radio France Internationale: Falun Gong Sues Li Changchun During His Visit to Paris
Radio France International (RFI) broadcast the following report in Mandarin to Mainland China and the Mandarin-speaking area of Paris on July 2, 2004:
Three members of the Falun Gong Spiritual movement have filed a lawsuit in Paris against Li Changchun during his visit. According to their attorney, Mr. Li was accused of being the accomplice to crimes of torture against members of the group. The following news came from Zhang Jianping, spokesperson for Falun Gong in France.
Representing three Falun Gong practitioners, Delva, a French attorney, has filed a lawsuit in Paris against Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member Li Changchun.
The plaintiffs said Mr Li was responsible for "supporting crimes of torture against members of the group as an accomplice."
"As a Politburo Standing Committee member, Mr. Li is in charge of information and media control in China. He has held many meetings, which aim at inciting hatred by deliberately demonizing Falun Gong, to call through the media for the elimination of Falun Gong practitioners."
"He supported brainwashing and torture of Falun Gong practitioners while serving as the Communist Party Secretary of Guangdong Province. So far, twenty-six Falun Gong deaths from torture in Guangdong prison have been verified. Of China's thirty provinces, the number of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Guangdong ranked 8th, " says Zhang Jianping.
"Some people may doubt the results of our efforts, because we are facing a monstrous national terrorist regime. However, we care more about the process than the final result. We also believe, as long as more and more people know what horrible things they have done and how disgraceful they are in this brutal persecution, they will be brought to justice sooner or later."
"Li Changchun, this evening, is holding a party for the end of the Chinese Culture Year in France, This lawsuit will be a blow to him," Zhang Jianping says, "We are not against friendship between France and China, but the real criminal should and will be brought to justice."
Purdue Exponent: Practitioners of Falun Gong protest
An Asian man lay strapped onto a table, his forehead gleaming with sweat from the midday sun and a dried, red substance splattered on his white clothing. A wound was painted on his temple. He was still except for the slight rise and fall of his chest with each breath, stoic, transformed into a temporary, living monument to the persecution of the Falun Gong in China.
He was silent, like the rest of the actors, like the rest of Riehle Plaza on Friday and Saturday, for the demonstration of the Falun Gong's persecution. Indiana Falun Gong practitioners presented the exhibition.
The title for the display was "Persecution Meets Principle," and organizers such as Dana Cheng described to visitors how Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is about the virtues of truth, compassion and forbearance, along with exercises and meditation so that the practice sculpts body and mind.
It is practiced in 60 countries and has been practiced by over 100 million people.
Cheng and others would then discuss how the Chinese government is persecuting followers.
Organizers made a circle along the rim of the plaza with boards of information about the persecution and their beliefs, and actors, like the man strapped to the table, physically demonstrated documented Chinese methods of torture for practitioners.
Cheng pointed to the man on the table and said one of her friends was tied down like that for five months. Large print boards nearby display other kinds of torture: old-fashioned methods using heat, cold and food and sleep deprivation, while others had a distinctly Asian flair, like sharpened bamboo shoots stuck through fingernails. On one large piece of poster board, there was a drawing of a man being held upside-down on a wooden device that looked as if it were somewhere between a table on its side and a cross.
Another of my friends, said Cheng, was tied to a cross like that and hung upside-down for three days.
"Nine of my friends are in jail," she added.
Since the persecution began more than five years ago in China, at the direction of then-President Jiang Zemin, more than 950 Falun Gong followers have been killed for their beliefs. Countless more have been put into labor camps, mental hospitals or were tortured until they renounced their beliefs.
As visitors walked through the plaza, brought by curiosity or by simply being in the area, they received pamphlets and heard first-hand knowledge about the practice, about the persecution.
Organizers used terms such as "human rights violations" and "civil disobedience." They talked of lawsuits and promoting awareness.
"I can't believe other people do this to other people for what they believe," said Anne Bosse, a Lafayette resident who had met with friends nearby and stopped to see what the exhibition was about. She stared at the posters as she spoke.
Bosse said that as an U.S. citizen, she has never had to worry about being oppressed for believing in something. She reiterated her quiet disbelief one more time before moving on.
As Bosse and other visitors circled the ring of displays around the plaza, there was much to see, unsettling as it was for some.
But the graphic depictions were not the primary source of such discomfort. Instead, it was the constant reminder that the vivid displays were merely token samplings of what is happening on the other side of the world.
In between the boards of information, an actress sat in a cage that would be uncomfortably small for a medium-sized dog, her hands cuffed to the top of the cage, her face almost in tears, her body silent, still. A man next to her was in a taller cage but the inside of the cage was filled with nails, so he could not lean against anything for support, for rest. His hands were also cuffed to the top. His face was sullen and shiny with sweat and his hair was ruffled. Another scene depicted a man tied to a chair in a mental hospital.
Most of the actors were splattered in fake blood.
All looked miserable.
And in the middle of it all, physically and metaphorically, sat a small woman
in a yellow Falun Gong T-shirt and hat, serenely meditating.
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
A Dying Person Goes Back to Work in the Fields After Cultivating in Falun Dafa for Only Ten Days
I'm now seventy-two years old. Forty years ago I suffered from heart disease, lung disease and arthritis. When I was very sick I couldn't fall asleep for several days and nights and wouldn't eat. When walking, I would fall if the wind were too strong. My body was only skin and bones. Every year I spent almost 10,000 Yuan in medicine, which made the whole family so poor that it looked like we had suffered through a flood. I really felt that I was an unwanted person in the family and very miserable.
In the summer of 1996, my health became worse. Realizing that my life had already reached the end, I asked my family members to prepare a funeral for me and told them some things to do after my death.
At this very point of despair, a friend came to visit me. He introduced the wonders of Falun Gong to me and told me that this practice was a cultivation practice of mind and body, which is based on "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and practitioners were to be good persons, people who cared nothing about personal fame and interest and didn't fight with others. He also told me that if my true wish for cultivation came out, Master's law body would come and safeguard me. He also said through doing the exercises, supernormal abilities would be strengthened and karma would be eliminated, which would then change my body.
Upon hearing of this, I used all of my energy to grasp his hands and told him, "I want to learn Falun Gong. I believe Falun Gong is good."
A few days later I got the book Zhuan Falun. Although I had lain in bed for almost half a year, I suddenly felt an inexhaustible energy. I got up, held the book, and looked at Master Li's picture, tears spilling like a fountain.
Since that day I asked children one by one to read the book to me in their spare time. All that Master speaks of I bear in my mind. I felt myself come alive again.
Ten days later I then got up to do some work. My children, neighbors and friends all exclaimed at my change.
I bear Master's teaching in mind, letting go of having my illnesses healed and [concentrate on] cultivating my character everywhere and with everything. For several years now, my body has been really well. I never take any medication, but am always in good health and full of energy. Many of my relatives and friends began to practice Falun Gong.
Illness Disappears After Practicing Falun Gong
By a practitioner from Qingdao City, Shandong Province
I am a practitioner from Chengyang District, Qingdao City, Shandong Province. I want to thank our great Teacher for giving me a new life.
I was afflicted with a strange sickness in 1994 and it incapacitated me. It became severe by 1996. My upper eyelid drooped, the eyes slanted, my mouth turned crooked and I was incapable of speaking. I would eat 2 pieces of biscuits softened by water for food. My sickness financially devastated my already poor family. The hospital diagnosed it to be thymoma, and the size of the lump grew to that of a chicken egg. The doctor said that the only way to cure it was to undergo surgery in Beijing. They would need to cut open my chest. My family couldn't support the enormous medical bill. During that dark period I wanted to kill myself, but I couldn't even do that without my strength.
Just when I couldn't heal or kill myself, one of my relatives led me to practice Falun Gong. I studied Zhuan Falun, practiced the exercises and then Teacher started adjusting my body. I expelled two lumps of material that resembled pus from my body.
I did everything just the way Teacher taught us. I conducted myself according to the standard of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." I was committed to being compassionate and guarding my virtue. I lived by the high standard of a practitioner.
I went from being an invalid to a very healthy person. This enormous change
came after I started practicing Dafa. I could perform demanding labor tasks. My
previous sicknesses, such as rectal pain, throat pain, uteral lumps, dizziness
and others were cured. When I walked, it felt like I was walking on a cloud. I
didn't need any medicine after I started practicing and I looked extremely
healthy. A nearly broken family thus enjoyed the pleasure of laughter again.
People Awaken to the Truth
Security Guard Rejects the Jiang Regime's 'Award'
A community security guard told his mother, "At a meeting our superior told us to try harder to seize Falun Gong materials. Once we find them, we're to just keep quiet and figure out the situation, and then report to the police station. They will take care of the arrest, and we can get an award of 100,000 Yuan."
Upon hearing this, his moteher replied seriously, "That business is selling your soul. We would never do anything for the persecution of good people, even if we were offered a million Yuan."
He nodded his head and agreed with his mother, "We won't do anything that betrays our conscience."
Colleagues Realize the Truth
A colleague had many opportunities to talk with Falun Gong practitioners, and over time realized the truth through their words and actions. Recently, one of her former schoolmates gave her a call to tell her the news that he had been promoted to be in charge of the local "610 Office" in another city. She said to him right away, "Do you have nothing else to do? Be honest with yourself, if you do this kind of thing I don't think we can be friends anymore."
One day at her workplace, she ran into her boss who had just recovered after a hospital stay. She told her boss, "Don't you think you should think it over? Isn't it because you said bad things about a Falun Gong practitioner here? Don't say anything bad about Falun Gong from now on."
His boss replied, "Yes, indeed, you are right."
In this persecution, she always stands on the side of Falun Gong practitioners. A few years ago, when she passed by a train station, the authorities were forcing passengers to step on photos of Teacher Li. She refused to do so, and many others followed her lead and also refused.