News and Events from Around the World
- Exposing Jiang's Persecution and Brainwashing Campaign on the Streets of Manhattan
- U.S. Citizen Charles Li Plans to Appeal from Prison
- The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms the Original Decision in the Lawsuit against Jiang; Plaintiffs Will Appeal to the Supreme Court
- Falun Gong Practitioners File a Lawsuit Against Jia Qinglin During His Visit to Austria
- New York City: Mayor Accepts Falun Gong Truth-Clarifying Material on Broadway
- Albany: New York State's Capital City Unanimously Passes Resolution in Support of Falun Gong
- Australia: Independent Member for Bligh Clover Moore Requests Government to Protect Falun Gong Practitioners in Australia
- Letter from a Swiss Labour Union Representative to the Chinese Embassy Concerning the Refusal of a Passport Extension
- Texas State House Representative Garnet Coleman Condemns the Act of Violence Targeted at Falun Gong Practitioners
- New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Expresses Government's Concern over Reports of Human Rights Abuses against Falun Dafa Practitioners
- China: Details of the Torture Death of Mr. Jiang Yong: An Open Letter to the Responsible Authorities
- 25 Torture Methods I Personally Experienced in China's Forced Labor Camp
- China: A Ninety-Five-Year-Old Disabled Lady in Yunnan Province Calls For Release of Her Daughter
- Police Forcibly Abort a 9-Month Fetus, Henan Province, China
- Radio Free Asia: Jia Qinglin Meets Protests and Lawsuits During His European Visit
- La Tribune de Geneve (Switzerland): Five years of persecution for Falun Gong followers
- Chile: The Largest Newspaper, Las Ultimas Noticias, Introduces Falun Dafa
- Radio France International: Book Introduction: Falun Gong's Challenge to China
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
- The Miracle Falun Dafa Brought to Me
The People Awaken to the Truth
- The World is Awakening - Anti-Torture Exhibit on the Edge of New York City's Central Park
- A Manhattan Musician: "Evil Will Never Prevail Over Goodness and The Evildoers Will Definitely Receive Retribution"
News and Events from Around the World
Exposing Jiang's Persecution and Brainwashing Campaign on the Streets of Manhattan
Falun Gong practitioners have been using innovative methods to resist the Jiang group's information blockade about Falun Gong on the streets of New York City. During the U.S. Republican National Convention, about 15,000 news reporters gathered in New York. Media outlets began reporting stories about nearly a thousand Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Manhattan to distribute flyers and to otherwise explain the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution taking place in China.
On August 29, when the Mayor of New York City, Mr. Bloomberg, and the Governor of New York State, Mr. George E. Pataki, were walking on Broadway, they encountered a practitioner from Canada who was distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying leaflets. They accepted the leaflets.
Falun Gong practitioners' truth-clarifying activities also included performances by the waist drum team and traditional Chinese dances. In Central Park, the largest park in New York City, the practitioners' performance became the focus of attention of New York citizens and media outlets. Correspondents from The New York Times and NBC-TV came to interview practitioners. Some New Yorkers said that they also saw many Falun Gong practitioners in Battery Park and Central Park. They said, "Falun Gong is everywhere and there are thousands of Falun Gong practitioners on the streets."
In some high-traffic areas, where numerous people constantly come and go, one can often see Falun Gong practitioners' live reenactments of the torture methods used against their fellow practitioners in China. Three or five practitioners wearing clothes stained with blood were tied on the "Tiger Bench" or hung up and beaten by police officers or locked in a small cage. They were not concerned about their own comfort, when exposing the persecution encountered by Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Manhattan is the world's major finance and information exchange center. There are the world's most famous stockbrokers and media in Manhattan. Residents in Manhattan correspond to the more than 1,000 nationalities in the world and Manhattan is the focus of the world. Falun Gong practitioners hope that people here would spread the real story about Falun Gong to the entire world.
Were it not for the real persons standing in front of them and telling them about it, the Americans who are immersed in the Wall Street Stock Markets would have never imagined that in the 21st Century there is still such brutal human rights persecution. It's even less likely for them to imagine that Falun Gong practitioners who have been suffering such inhuman tortures are so peaceful and serene.
Falun Gong practitioners are telling people, "What we follow are Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, the most beautiful characteristic of humankind. Jiang's group tries to coerce us to "transform." In the process of upholding their belief and resisting the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have sacrificed all they have, even their lives."
The busy New Yorkers often stopped to accept a leaflet and asked, "What is Falun Gong?" "Why does China suppress Falun Gong?"
At an anti-torture exhibition held at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 59th Street, after learning the details about the persecution of Falun Gong, a woman asked practitioners whether she could take photos of the torture reenactment. When she got their permission, she took the pictures and said that she would post the photos on the Internet so as to allow more people to be aware of the persecution. She then signed the petition calling for an end to the suppression.
An elderly woman came over and told practitioners who conducted the anti-torture exhibition, "I support you very much! Many residents nearby have received your materials and learned about the facts. You can go to more places and let more people learn about this."
A man who had come from Israel to the U.S. joined in the Falun Gong practitioners' truth-clarifying effort. He not only asked his two companions to sign the petition, but he also asked all passers-by: "Have you signed the petition? Have you signed it?" He said, "Signing the petition can help stop the persecution." He spent more than one hour standing there and asking people to sign the petition.
U.S. Citizen Charles Li Plans to Appeal from Prison
U.S. State Department Consular Affairs spokesperson Kelly Shannon said in an interview that on August 19, a consulate official in Shanghai visited U.S. citizen Charles Li in a Nanjing prison.
Ms. Shannon said that Charles Li appeared healthy and talked with the consulate official about appealing the ruling of a Yangzhou Court. Charles Li had not yet selected a lawyer to help in his appeal.
On March 23, 2003, a Yangzhou Court sentenced Charles Li to three years of imprisonment and deportation based on speculation that accused him of "damaging national TV and broadcasting facilities." Charles Li refused to accept the ruling and appealed on March 31, 2003, but his appeal was rejected on May 5 and he has been confined in Nanjing Prison since then.
A friend of Charles Li in the U.S. said, "Since Jiang's regime initiated the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, the regime has violated the Chinese Constitution and has never followed the law when dealing with Falun Gong practitioners, including Charles Li."
The friend said, "Jiang Zemin ordered his '610 Office' and followers throughout the country to implement the policy that, 'No one will be held responsible if Falun Gong practitioners are beaten to death, just count them as suicide; No investigation is needed, just have them cremated.' No lawful procedures are followed. In China, Falun Gong practitioners who were tortured appeal to courts, but the courts do not process the appeal, and those culprits [who are] killing, beating, raping and robbing Falun Gong practitioners are not punished, but [instead are] rewarded."
Charles Li's friend continued, "Like the staged Tiananmen self-immolation incident, the Yangzhou Court designated a so-called 'defense attorney' for the benefit of the U.S. consulate official during the trial on March 23, 2003. It is easy to imagine what kind of defense was mounted, because the law has never been followed in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners in China."
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms the Original Decision in the Lawsuit against Jiang; Plaintiffs Will Appeal to the Supreme Court
On September 8, 2004, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals presented its opinion in the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and the "610 Office." The higher court upheld the lower court's decision issued on September 12, 2003. Although the court expressed sympathy with the legal points made by the plaintiffs, it insists, "success depends on diplomacy, not United States courts."
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals didn't render an opinion regarding the plaintiff's argument as it pertains to Jiang's immunity as a former head of state
The plaintiffs' lawyer clearly stated the reasons in the appeal why the lower court should not have granted Jiang Zemin immunity. Nevertheless, the judges at the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals didn't comment on this argument.
The plaintiffs' lawyer Terri Marsh noted, the principle articulated in Plaintiffs' briefs and in oral argument, that "immunity is not impunity." Even apart from the House of Lord's decision in the Pinochet case, the recent Pinochet decision in Chile, or the ICJ ruling in Belgium v Congo - all supportive of the nonimmunity of former heads of state -- the principle of nonimmunity applies to Defendant Jiang Zemin under U.S. case law which clearly states that "alleged acts of torture, execution and disappearances of a dictator are not official acts...because the officer is not doing the business he was empowered to do." (Hilao v Marcos, 25 F. 3d 1477).
Countless evidence in past human rights reports and investigations made by international human rights organizations show that Jiang started the persecution against Falun Gong only to satisfy his personal political desire, and it's not a decision made by the Party or the government as a whole. Jiang's brutal persecution has lasted over five years, and countless innocent people of Chinese mainstream society had their families broken up and they were forced to leave home. This is a severe human rights violation well known around the world. How can immunity be granted in consideration of the law, justice, morality and conscience?
The international society and China now know the true nature of the persecution
Both the international society and China now know that Jiang's persecution is wrong.
CNN's senior China Analyst Willy Lam wrote, "Jiang has mobilized a Mao-era mass movement against... Falun Gong, ... and the most severe criticism leveled at Jiang's handling of Falun Gong is that he seems to be using the mass movement to promote allegiance to himself."
Falun Gong's Clearwisdom website publishes reports on the persecution and torture deaths of Falun Gong practitioners on a daily basis. Jiang used the whole government machinery to systemically and brutally persecute Falun Gong, and the means with which the tortures were carried out are shocking.
Human rights reports by Mark Palmer, the former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, CNN's senior China Analyst Willy Lam, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the human rights reports of the U.S. State Department all have mentioned that innocent children, young mothers, babies, and the elderly were tortured, brainwashed and murdered as well as being subjected to other forms of physical and mental torture; the scope of the persecution includes China and other countries around the world.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Jiang immunity, even after learning the truth and knowing that the persecution should be stopped; the plaintiffs have decided to appeal to the Supreme Court
In fact, people in the judicial, legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government know the persecution against Falun Gong is wrong and should be stopped. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals also clearly understands the severity and brutality of the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners as stated in the plaintiffs' appeal.
The Court's sensitivity to the issues presented by the Plaintiffs-Appellants is clear throughout their Opinion. For example, the Court acknowledged former President Jiang Zemin's role in initiating the persecution, by among other things, the establishment of the legal Office 610, his issuance of the July 1999 edict banning Falun Gong, followed by arrests and alleged "farcical trials, torture, forced labor, re-education, and the killings of members." This language, and especially their characterization of the "mock trials" of Falun Gong practitioners as "farcical" underscores the huge gap between the rights guaranteed to the Chinese people by their Constitution and the Jiang regimes' use of the legal system to not only deprive so many Chinese citizens of these very same rights, but to torture, brainwash and exterminate them unlawfully.
Although the U.S. government requested the court grant Jiang immunity during the in-court arguments in May 2004, Department of Justice attorney Douglas N. Letter described the persecution as "heinous." In the past years, the United States' legislative arm has also passed resolutions to call for the end of the persecution or to condemn the brutality of the Jiang's regime.
Falun Gong practitioners and their lawyers around the world believe justice will prevail
Human rights advocates around the world believe that the persecution of Falun Gong will not last much longer. The Falun Gong practitioners are suing Jiang Zemin and his followers to bring the head perpetrator to justice and make it possible for more people to learn the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Lawyers of the "Global Trials Against Jiang Zemin Attorneys Group" said that they would never give up in their efforts to bring the perpetrator to justice. They will continue to file lawsuits against Jiang and his followers until they receive just punishment.
Falun Gong Practitioners File a Lawsuit Against Jia Qinglin During His Visit to Austria
After visiting Korea, Jia Qinglin arrived in Austria on the 30th of August 2004. During his visit, the Austrian Falun Dafa Association, the International Human Rights Association, the human rights organization 'Society For Threatened Peoples', many individuals, and practitioners who were persecuted in Beijing jointly filed a lawsuit against Jia Qinglin in the Vienna Procuratorate for torture.
On August 31, the Austria Falun Dafa Information Center and International Society for Human Rights jointly held a press conference regarding Jia's visit. A spokesperson of the center exposed how Jiang persecuted practitioners during his tenure as the Party's General Secretary in Beijing. Representatives of the International Society for Human Rights introduced legal details of the lawsuit.
Upon hearing that Jia was to visit Austria, Austrian practitioners, while preparing a lawsuit against Jia, used all possible methods such as personal meetings, phone calls, and mail to expose Jia's crime in the persecution to Austrian officials. August 31 was the first day of Jia's visit. Though weather in Austria had been good, the temperature suddenly dropped and the sky was covered with black clouds on this day. It started to rain in the morning. At Salzburg, Jia's first stop, practitioners held an information day and displayed "Jia Sued for Torture and Persecution" and "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice" banners. The delegation, including Jia himself happened to pass by, and quite likely saw the banners.
Tourists from all over the world saw the practitioners' posters and peaceful exercise demonstration. When Chinese tourist groups passed by, many of them also took fliers with them. An English-speaking tourist was shocked by Gao Rongrong's disfigured face (shown in a poster), and she asked if such things were still happening. After listening to the practitioners' explanation, she was outraged by the persecution.
In the evening, Jia visited the Austria Prime Minister's Office, and practitioners displayed banners in front of the Office. As the banners were hoisted very high up, Austrian officials and Chinese delegates inside the Office could see them clearly. Some Chinese officials asked Austrian police to order the practitioners to lower the banners. Pointing out that Austria has no limitation on the elevation of banners, the police rejected this unreasonable request.
New York City: Mayor Accepts Falun Gong Truth-Clarifying Material on Broadway
On August 29, 2004, while New York City Mayor Bloomberg and New York State's Governor Pataki were walking along Broadway, a famous street in the Theater district, they ran into a Falun Gong practitioner from Canada who was distributing truth clarification fliers, and accepted the fliers from the practitioner.
On August 28, prior to the Republic National Convention, more than a hundred Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto, Canada arrived in New York City, to assist in public awareness activities that explained the facts of the persecution to the wide range of people living in and visiting New York. Practitioners participated in activites such as the "Great Wall of Courage" where they line up for several blocks across from a famous hotel where prominent people were staying and also the "Corners of Courage" where practitioners held banners on each corner for several streets to clarify the truth to the public.
In the afternoon, RNC delegates in dark suits streamed into Broadway in groups from all directions, many delegates showed interest in the flyer Falun Gong practitioners distributed entitled, "How the Persecution of Falun Gong Affects the US."
Shortly after, in the company of more than 30 plainclothes police and 20 reporters from the media, three prominent figures quickly walked down Broadway. A Falun Gong practitioner wearing a T-shirt with words, "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong," was standing in the middle of the street distributing fliers. The practitioner came into contact with the three VIPs, and handed out a flier to the one in the middle first and to two others beside him. All the media caught the scene of the two VIPs accepting the material. According to a bystander, the man in the middle was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the one beside him who accepted the material was New York State Governor, George. Pataki.
Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto noticed that most of New York residents not only have learned about the truth of Falun Gong, and the persecution in China through practitioners' truth clarification, some people with a sense of justice also offered help and suggestions to practitioners. A local university professor, stayed with practitioners for an hour and learned about the facts of the persecution, he took the initiative to tell practitioners where most of RNC delegates gathered and where the VIPs gathered. Seeing practitioners being so quiet, he said, "You must shout loudly to let those people hear your voices, let me show you how." So, he shouted loudly to RNC delegates passing by, "Please help stop the persecution of Falun Gong!" He said, "You should be like those New Yorkers, be tougher!"
Albany: New York State's Capital City Unanimously Passes Resolution in Support of Falun Gong
On July 8, 2004, The Albany City Common Council unanimously (12 to zero) passed resolution 44.71.04R in support of the rights and freedom of those who practice Falun Gong. This is the second unanimously passed resolution that supports Falun Gong. The first one, 71.122.00R, was passed on Dec. 18, 2000.
A copy of this resolution will be forwarded to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Congressman Michael McNulty, United States Senator Charles Schumer and United States Senator Hillary Clinton.
The Resolution was issued on August 30, 2004. Below is the text of the Resolution.
Council Member Brown offered the following, which was approved:
Resolution Numbers 44.71.04R
Resolution of the Albany Common Council in Support of the Rights and Freedom of Those Who Practice the Self-Improvement Activity of Falun Dafa.
Whereas, the peaceful practice of religious beliefs is formally recognized as an essential human rights in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and in many documents with universal appeal that celebrate human liberty; and
Whereas, the practice of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) is rooted in ancient Chinese culture and involves the peaceful cultivation of mind, body and spirit with the emphasis on the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance; and
Whereas, tens of millions of people from different nations, races, social and cultural backgrounds have willingly embarked upon a path of self-improvement through the practice of Falun Dafa; and
Whereas, while the people of the New York State who practice Falun Dafa freely enjoy its
benefits, many people in the People's Republic of China who peacefully participate in the practice of Falun Dafa have been oppressed by the totalitarian control of the Chinese government; and
Whereas, more than 949 Falun Dafa practitioners are known to have been tortured to death by the government of the People's Republic of China for their belief in freedom; and
Whereas, the practice of Falun Dafa remains banned by the government of the People's Republic of China in violation of basic human rights and practitioners continue to be imprisoned and tortured for their peaceful participation in this non-violent means of expression; and
Whereas, the practitioner's of Falun Dafa have demonstrated a courage and dedication to adhere to one's faith despite the threat to life and liberty that should be honored and supported by all freedom loving people; and
Whereas, the Albany Common Council is the legislative body that represents the interests of all residents of the City of Albany and the Council's constituents have demonstrated an interest in supporting the right to religious freedom and ethical practice as a fundamental human right.
Now Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Common Council of the City of Albany hereby strongly urges and calls upon the People's Republic of China to respect the human rights of those who practice Falun Dafa in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
Be It Further Resolved, the Common Council of the City of Albany hereby directs that a copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be forwarded to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Congressman Michael McNulty, United States Senator Charles Schumer and United States Senator Hillary Clinton for their consideration so they may take appropriate action regarding this important human rights matter.
Resolution Number 44.71.04R was Co-Sponsored by Council Members Conti, Curry-Cobb, Foskey, Fox, and Scalzo.
Passed by the following vote of all the Council Members elected voting in favor thereof:
Affirmative -- Brown, Calsolaro, Conti, Curry-Cobb, Foskey, Fox, Igoe, Morris, O'Brien, Sano, Scalzo, and Torncello
Affirmative 12 Negative 0 Abstain 0
I, John C. Marsolais, City Clerk and Clerk of the Common Council, do hereby certify that the legislation set forth in this document was passed at the meeting of the Albany Common Council on July 8th, 2004.
In Affirmation thereof, I hereto set my hand and affix the Seal of the City of Albany this 30th day of August 2004.
(Signature)
City Clerk and Clerk of the Common Council
Australia: Independent Member for Bligh Clover Moore Requests Government to Protect Falun Gong Practitioners in Australia
On August 23, 2004, State Independent Member for Bligh (including east part of the City of Sydney) Clover Moore wrote to the Minister Alexander Downer of the Foreign Affairs to request government's protection for Falun Dafa practitioners in Australia, on behalf of David Liang, a Australian Falun Dafa practitioner who was recently shot through both feet while traveling in South Africa.
Clover Moore
Member for BLIGH
23 August 2004
The Hon. Alexander Downer
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Canberra
ACT 2600
Dear Minister
Protection for Falun Dafa Members in Australia
I write on behalf of David Liang, of Unit 6' 10A Durkin Place, Peakhurst. David is an active member of Falun Dafa who was recently shot through both feet while traveling in South Africa.
David believes this attack was coordinated by the Government of the People's Republic of China as part of its policy to eradicate the Falun Dafa. In Australia, David says that Falun Dafa supporters have experienced telephone taps, other surveillance and property damage by the Chinese government. He believes that the Australian Government has prevented legitimate protests by the Falun Dafa in the ACT.
As an Australian, David is entitled to legal protection from these types of persecution, but he believes he has not received appropriate action from the Commonwealth Government.
Could you please investigate David's concerns and inform me what action you have taken?
Yours sincerely,
Clover Moore
Member for Bligh
Letter from a Swiss Labour Union Representative to the Chinese Embassy Concerning the Refusal of a Passport Extension
Industry Trade Union for Trade and Services
3001 Bern
Embassy of the People's Republic of China (PRC)
Your Honour
Kalcheggweg 10
3006 Bern
Bern, July 13th 2004.
Re: The situation of Falun Gong practitioners in Switzerland: Refusal of passport extension or issue of passport
Your Excellency,
We approach you on behalf of the members of the Suisse Trade Union SMUV-unia, citizens of your country, the People's Republic of China (PRC). They are granted, as trade union members, under article 28 of the Federal Constitution, freedom of association.
We understand that our members have been denied for years the renewal of their passports or the issuing of a travel passport. Alleged reasons include technical difficulties. For all this time and up to today, no further clarification has been provided, nor can we find any indication that such difficulties were remedied.
Therefore, we conclude that there are in actuality not technical difficulties, but unprecedented actions against those who practise Falun Gong. These people are being intentionally discriminated against by their respective Embassy and thus must bear consequences and difficulties arising from such actions. Without a valid passport, they in effect have no right to take up permanent residency in Switzerland. Thus, they are dependent on exceptions and special approvals that depend on the goodwill of the respective Cantonal and Confederate States within Switzerland.
We understand from media releases that practitioners of Falun Gong have been persecuted and are detained for years in China's prisons. They are accused of violating PRC's security. Such accusations are far-fetched and unbelievable, given all information available to us. We therefore assume that the denial of a valid passport or such extension is another form of persecution and repression of Falun Gong. We take the opportunity to inform you that the PRC is violating international laws with such actions. In particular, China is violating United Nations Accords to which it is signatory, notably in the area of political, civil and human rights.
Herewith, we request that you inform your government of our concerns. We especially ask you to recognise all your citizens' rights, including those of Falun Gong practitioners, and to desist from any kind of repression, discrimination and harassment.
In this spirit, we request that you issue or extend the passport of all citizens of the PRC, male and females, no matter if they practise or do not practise Falun Gong.
We fight for the rights of male and female workers, for social and civil equity, including human and citizens' right worldwide. We believe that we are solidly united with your country in such strife.
We sincerely hope that the aforementioned problems are resolved as soon as possible. We want to see all members of our trade union enjoy all civil and citizens rights.
Sincerely,
Trade Union SMUV-unia Region Bern
Ruedi Keller, Regional Secretary
Copy:
- Foreign Ministry Department overseeing Foreign Relations, Bern
- Falun Gong, Bern
Texas State House Representative Garnet Coleman Condemns the Act of Violence Targeted at Falun Gong Practitioners
On August 6, 2004, Texas State House Representative Garnet F. Coleman wrote to Falun Gong practitioner, condemning the acts of violence targeted at Falun Gong practitioners.
Representative Coleman wrote in the letter: "I share your concerns about violence targeted at Falun Gong practitioners worldwide. It is abhorrent when any group of people is targeted because of their religious or philosophical beliefs."
Representative Coleman said: "Any threat directed at members of the Houston community should be immediately addresses by the proper authorities. We cannot allow such intimidation to take root in any community of our city." "I join you in condemning these acts of violence."
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Expresses Government's Concern over Reports of Human Rights Abuses against Falun Dafa Practitioners
On August 23, 2004, New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hon Phil Goff, expressed in a letter to Falun Gong practitioner that the New Zealand Government remains concerned at reports of human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners, and that they continue to urge the Chinese Government to allow Falun Gong practitioners to follow their beliefs and practice their movements without restriction.
The New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hon Phil Goff, pointed out on the shooting incident of Falun Dafa practitioners in South Africa that "the New Zealand Government remains concerned at reports of human rights abuses against Falun Dafa practitioners. In discussions with the Chinese Government at both ministerial and officials' level, we continue to urge the Chinese Government to allow them to follow their beliefs and practice their movements without restriction. In response to Chinese Government claims about it being an 'evil cult', we have pointed out to them that the New Zealand Government has experienced no such problems with Falun Dafa in New Zealand."
Hon Phil Goff said in the letter that "The New Zealand Embassy in Beijing holds regular discussions about human rights with the Chinese officials and our annual Foreign Ministry Consultations with China also allow us to express our concerns on this issue. New Zealand also raises our concerns about China's human rights situation in the United Nations, most recently through our statement to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March. In our statement we drew attention to the continuing restriction on freedom of expression and religion, the widespread use and scope of the death penalty, and reports of arbitrary arrest and detention in China."
China: Details of the Torture Death of Mr. Jiang Yong: An Open Letter to the Responsible Authorities
By practitioners in Changchun
To the National Security Team of the Changchun City Police Department and Tiebei Detention Center:
Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Jiang Yong, 46 years old, is from Section 10, Guangming Village, Xingfu Township of Changchun City. He had a strong body and was in perfect health. However, such a strong and healthy man was tortured to death within a short period of only a few weeks. In the light of day, you dared to willfully kill an innocent man!
Jiang Yong used to be bad-tempered and overbearing before he began practicing Falun Gong. Since he began practicing in 1996, he went through extraordinary changes. He became a good person who did not fight back when hit or cursed. He no longer fought for self-interest, but instead he put other's interest before his own. He disciplined himself according to the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." All his friends and family members were amazed by his remarkable changes.
Like hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, Jiang Yong also suffered from the persecution. He had been abducted and detained many times, sent to forced labor camps, and his home was searched. His wife was also persecuted and sent to forced labor for one year. During the police raids in their home, their child became so frightened that he hid himself and their elderly parents were trembling with fear. Since 2000, Jiang Yong had been staying away from home and travelling about to avoid persecution. A happy family was torn apart due to the persecution.
On April 13, 2004, you [Tiebei Detention Center authorities] illegally abducted Jiang Yong. You exhausted all the torture methods, including the "Big Hang Up" (1), "Tiger Bench," "Hammering Bamboo Sticks under the Fingernails" (2), shocking him with electric batons, force-feeding him with pepper water, and suffocating him by covering his head with plastic bags. Seven practitioners who were abducted along with him also suffered these tortures. Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Guo Wenshui's vertebrae were broken, and you are still trying your best to block the news. After being continuously tortured for eight days, Jiang Yong was at the brink of death. Not only did you refuse to release him, instead you sent him to the provincial police hospital for further persecution. After more than 30 days in the hospital, on May 26, Jiang Yong was sent back to the Tiebei Detention Center. Because he refused to cooperate with your evil requests and instigation to renounce Falun Gong, and instead protested the cruel tortures with a hunger strike, you then incited the murderers and drug addicts to torture him both physically and mentally. You made him suffer every single second. Within 38 days, Jiang Yong passed away -- what a shocking injustice!
On July 4, you [Tiebei Detention Center authorities] sent the death notice to his family, claiming the cause of death to be "acute disease" and fabricated a so-called "explanation of death" document. With a single phoney document, you attempted to deny the fact that you murdered him.
Jiang Yong was very healthy and did not have any illness since he started practicing Falun Gong. "Died from acute disease?!" Why is there a black and blue bloody scar on his neck? Why is his whole body black and blue? Why did blood spill out from his mouth when his body was turned over? Why was toilet paper put into his anus? Why did you falsely report the time of his death? Why did you change the clothes on his body? Why you are afraid of his family's taking photos of his body? Why did you even beat them away in order to prevent the photos from been taken?
Jiang Zemin and his followers who persecute the innocent have been sued by practitioners all over the world for genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity. The Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice was also founded in 2003.
We hereby advise you: Do not deceive yourselves. Good is rewarded with good and evil is eventually met with retribution. It is simply a matter of time.
25 Torture Methods I Personally Experienced in China's Forced Labor Camp
By a Falun Gong practitioner from China
I have personally experienced and witnessed 25 different torture methods Jiang's regime has used to torture Falun Gong practitioners while I was held in a detention center and a forced labor camp. I have summarized these torture methods below.
1. Hung up
There are two forms in this torture: (1) Normal Hanging Up: One is hung by a rope that is tied to the ceiling, with both feet off the ground. Those who have suffered from this kind of torture will feel numbness in their arms for several years. If tortured to a more severe extent, both arms will become crippled. (2) Being Hung up with Hands behind the Back: With both hands twisted behind the back and feet off the ground, one is hung with a rope. The pain is intense, and when used for prolonged periods of time, this torture may cause death.
2. Tied to a big board
The four limbs of the victim are stretched into four directions, and the victim is tied with strips of fabric onto a big wooden board. The whole body, except the head, is held down tightly. The victim is not released from this position, even during eating or relieving himself.
3. Pumping air into one's rectum
With the victim bound, the torturer inserts a high-pressure bicycle pump nozzle into the victim's rectum and pumps air into his body which causes excruciating cramps.
4. Freezing the practitioner
The victim is forced to hold a block of ice in his hands or stand barefoot on the snow for a long time. A more horrifying form of such punishment is putting an icicle into a condom and forcibly penetrating a female practitioner's vagina as a form of sexual torture.
5. Force-feeding with liquids, including excrement and urine
With the victim bound to a bed or chair, the persecutor pries his mouth open and force-feeds the victim using a funnel or tubing reaching into the stomach. The victim is fed with liquid food, or a concentrated saline solution, or sometimes excrement and urine. Force feeding human waste can cause massive infection and death in a short period of time. Some practitioners are subjected to force-feeding through the nostril by use of a rubber tube as thick as one's little finger. In order to try to force practitioner to give in, a doctor named Zhang Jingfu in Qinglong County, Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province came up with the torture of injecting large quantities of liquid into one's rectum.
6. Hung upside down
The victim is hung upside down. Both feet are cuffed and hung onto a wooden frame. Very quickly, the victim's head is swollen, with the blood rushing to his head. The eyes will especially feel the excruciating pressure. Sometimes the guards put an electric hot plate right below the victim's head, using the heat to further torture the practitioner.
7. Punishment by having burning paper wedged between fingers and toes
With the victim bound onto a bed or a chair, paper is rolled into thin tubes and inserted between the practitioner's fingers and toes, and then lit on fire. The fingers and toes immediately suffer blisters from the burns as the flame travels down the rolled tube very rapidly. Other variations of this torture include burning one's nails with a lit cigarette. Punishment by burning is a most painful torture.
8. Smoke inhalation
The victim is bound in a corner of the room and the head immobilized against the wall, and he is inundated with smoke. It doesn't take long before he is overcome and loses consciousness.
9. Hanging up in a Strait Jacket
Clearwisdom Net has reported such torture methods. The victim's arms are twisted and tied with rope, and then put into a strait jacket. Then the torturers hang up the victim by the arms, which has led to the deaths of several practitioners.
10. Pouring cold water onto the victim
With the victim pushed to the ground, the perpetrator pours cold water onto the victim, one barrel after another. The victim usually is shivering from the freezing cold after several barrels of cold water. There's another form of this known as, "water drops dripping through a stone," which is having water continually dripping onto a person's head for long periods of time in the winter. I know of a practitioner who had over 200 barrels of cold water poured on him.
11. Sharpened bamboo splinters torture
The guards tie the victim onto a bed or a chair, and hammer sharpened bamboo splinters into the victim's fingers under the tips of the fingernails.
12. Letting insects bite practitioners
During insect and mosquito season, the victim is bound on a chair in a place where mosquitoes and insects are swarming. The victim is subjected to great numbers of bites from these insects while immobilized and unable to scratch the bites or fend off the insects, leaving the victim susceptible to disease carried by the insects.
13. Smothering
With the victim is tied onto a bed, the guards put a thick quilt over him, and sometimes as many six layers of quilts. The victim is left in the sweltering heat, wrapped tightly in the thick quilts.
14. Body-folding ?
"Body-folding" refers to standing with two legs straight and close, and bending the head down as far as it will go toward the feet and pressed onto the wall. The arms are tied behind the back and lifted high onto a wall above one's head. The head is upside down, making the body to form a 90-degree angle. Maintaining this position for just several minutes will cause one's heart to pound and one would become muddle-headed. The victim also sweats a lot. The victim is typically forced to keep this position until he or she passes out.
15. Holding a Big Tree
The victim is forced to encircle a big tree with both arms, and the guards then cuff his hands together. This is referred to as "normal holding." Sometimes the practitioner is forced to hold the tree behind his back and has both hands cuffed together in that position. In the winter, the victim is forced to hold the tree while wearing a thin shirt or even half-naked, so as to freeze the victim. In the summer, the victim is forced to wear thick cotton jackets and a winter hat and "hold the tree" for several days under the baking sun.
16. Forced to maintain an awkward posture
The victim is pushed against the wall. With the heels off the ground and only toes touching the floor, his knees and nose are pressed onto the wall. The victim is forced to stretch his arms and curve his legs. Only after a few minutes, the victim will be exhausted but still forced to maintain this posture.
17. Striking with Sticks
The perpetrator strikes the practitioners' back, hips and legs with a pickaxe handle or rubber clubs. Those who have been beaten cannot walk, even two weeks later. Moreover, the more vicious police apply salt onto the wounds and bruises to exacerbate the pain.
18. Little White Dragon (Hitting with a white plastic pipe)
The guards use white plastic pipes, which is used in construction, to strike the victim. The victim is stripped naked and forced to lie on his stomach on the ground. The guards beat the victim from the upper body to the ankles. After this abusive punishment, the victim cannot move at all and has to stay in bed for over two weeks before he can stand on his own.
19. Pulling out Hair
The victim is tied down first. Then the guards will pull out his moustache, beard or pubic hairs to cause pain.
20. Punishment with Toothbrush
This refers to placing a toothbrush between the fingers of the victim and pinching and twisting the fingers. Such torture can abrade the skin on the fingers to the extent that the bones become visible. In addition the toothbrush is also used to harshly scrub the arches of a victim's feet and genital areas.
21. Sleep Deprivation
The victim is deprived of sleep for a long time. As soon as the victim closes his eyes, the guards will strike his face with a shoe.
22. Punishment by Taking the Riding Posture
The victim is forced to stand in the posture as if he were riding a horse. If the victim tries to move a little bit, the guards will beat him fiercely.
23. Hung up on a Tree
The guards hang a practitioner onto a tree with both hands twisted behind the back and tied with rope. Both feet are off ground, and the two arms are behind the back and high above one's head. The guards hang up practitioners in all kinds of postures. In winter, practitioners also suffer from extreme cold. This torture makes one's arms and hands numb and swollen. In Hebei Province's First Forced Labor Camp, there are nearly 100 persimmon trees and poplar trees used together with utility poles as torture instruments, dedicated to torturing practitioners.
24. "Swallow Flying"
The practitioners' hands are pulled backwards, behind the back, and tied with a special bandage on the wrists. Then one is hung onto a beam or a window. Practitioners' heads are bent upside down and become swollen.
25. Confined to a Metal Cage
The guards lock up a practitioner in a specially-made metal cage and hang him with arms above the head. Then the guards shake and wobble the metal cage.
China: A Ninety-Five-Year-Old Disabled Lady in Yunnan Province Calls For Release of Her Daughter
I am Yao Jiali's mother, and I am 95 years old. My daughter, Yao Jiali, is a chief pharmacist at the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Dongchuan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province. She has been persistent in her practice of Falun Gong. On July 27, at about 4 o'clock, six policemen suddenly broke into our home, and without giving any explanation, ransacked everything including our beds, wardrobe, spittoon, and flowerpot on the balcony. In the end, they took away two plastic bags full of things, and at the same time they arrested my daughter. She was held at the Mushulang Detention Center, and no relatives were allowed to see her. My granddaughter sent her some clothing, but it did not reach her. No one knows what torture she has been subjected to.
Jiali lost her father when she was very young. As a peasant woman and a mother of four children, I had to do labor to earn working points in the production team, so I had no time to take care of them. When Jiali was six years old, she suffered from asthma after she ate some ice during the winter, but there was no medicine or doctors in that rural area. One reason she chose to study medicine was to cure her own disease. She became a chief pharmacist after she went to work in the Chinese medicine hospital. The cadres and the old doctors in the hospital cared about her very much, and they allowed her to take the best medicines in the hospital for her condition. However, she remained out of breath despite taking good amounts of liquid medicine, and large doses from big bottles by injections every day. Due to her disease, my son-in-law divorced her. As for me, I became disabled when I fell more than ten years ago, and I have been unable to walk since then. During these years, I have been dependent on Jiali for survival. She had to take care of me while raising the children, of which only I knew the hardship.
Jiali recovered from the disease after she started to practice Falun Gong in 1997. In the past seven years, her physical condition became better and better without taking any medicine or injections. At the same time, her temper improved, she always treated her cadres and colleagues with kindness, and the neighbors loved her. After seeing all these changes in her, I was very happy.
As a 95-year-old handicapped old woman, I am living with good health and good mental status. All these are attributed to my daughter's practice of Falun Gong, from which I benefit greatly. I know that Falun Gong is good, and the principle of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is good, and that Falun Dafa is righteous.
I know that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good, and is capable of curing diseases and bringing people good health, both physically and mentally. I simply cannot understand why the government forbids such a practice, which is good both for the practitioners themselves and for the government.
I do know that the police are supposed to protect people from bad villains. My daughter didn't do anything bad. What crime did she commit by practicing Falun Gong and trying to be a good person? Why did the police ransack my home, arrest my daughter, hold her in a detention center, and forbid her relatives from seeing her?
My daughter didn't break any laws by practicing Falun Gong. I hereby request that the police return my daughter. I hope that the government will take responsibility for its people. I ask all levels of governments and all levels of cadres to handle my case. My daughter is a good person, so please release her as soon as possible. She still has much to do in order to raise her children and take care of her old mother. I think that all levels of cadres also have parents, wives, and children, and should have a conscience.
Police Forcibly Abort a 9-Month Fetus, Henan Province, China
Mr. Song Zhenling and his wife Ms.Wang Guijin both in their 30's, from Huazhuang Village, Lutai Township, Huaiyang County, Henan Province. Police in Lutai Station forced Wang Jingui to abort her 9 month old fetus. Ms. Wang was admitted to the County Birth Plan Technical Guidance Station, and put under 24 hour a day monitoring by 4 policemen.
In 2000, this couple was detained in Huaiyang County Detention Center because they went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
On February 26, Dancheng County police arrested them again, along with their 4-year-old child, because the police found Falun Gong Books and a notebook computer in their rental house, and suspected that their place served as an internet connection point. In Huaiyang County Detention Center, Mr. Song Zhenling has been on hunger strike nearly 200 days now. Ms. Wang Guijin was also on a hunger strike for 22 days so the detention center released her and her son for fear of being responsible for their death.
After one month, the County "610 Office" and police from the township police station came to their home to arrest her, but failed. They took away her father and some of her relatives instead. Her father was sentenced to a 1-year prison term for the so-called ""crime"" of ""hiding criminals"." Her relatives had to be bailed out and cost the couple several thousand yuan in fines. The deputy of the county police department, Zheng Xianfang, claimed, "If we can not arrest her, we will arrest all those we can find, no matter if they are adults or children."
Later the police arrested Ms. Wang again and locked her up in Huaiyang Detention Center. They found out she was pregnant and then released her. The County "610 Office" instructed Lutai Police station to monitor Ms. Wang. The station chief Dai Zhengyun was afraid he would not be able to torture Ms. Wang after she gave birth to the child, so he had the idea of forcing her to abort her baby, using birth control as the excuse. Ms. Wang was resisting the torture, but several policemen pressed down on her belly to force the baby out, and killed the baby in the process.
Ms. Wang is still being watched closely in the County Birth Plan Technical Guidance Station. Police are waiting for her one-month recovery period to end so they can take her back to the detention center for further torture.
Radio Free Asia: Jia Qinglin Meets Protests and Lawsuits During His European Visit
Jia Qinglin, the former Mayor of Beijing and current Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visited three European countries and received lawsuits and protests from human rights organizations and Falun Gong practitioners. The following is a summary recording by special reporter Tian Yi in Germany.
Jia Qinglin left South Korea last week and started his three-country visit in Europe. The reporter learned from international human rights organizations and the International Rescue Association of Those Being Persecuted that Jia's European trip provided an opportunity to sue him. Regarding this, the reporter interviewed Mr. Wang Yong, who was involved in the lawsuit against Jia.
Wang: He is visiting four countries in Asia and Europe, and he came to Austria after South Korea. For the lawsuit, two human rights organizations, the Falun Gong Association of Austria, and more than ten individuals jointly filed the lawsuit.
Regarding details of the lawsuit, Mr. Wang said: The lawsuit was filed with the prosecutor in Vienna, and is mainly based on the United Nations Convention against Torture. Both China and Austria signed the convention in the 1980s. The convention against torture also puts forward bringing those who conduct torture to justice. For various reasons, in China it is now almost impossible to sue high-level officials such as Jia when it comes to the persecution. Under this situation, as a signature country, Austria has the ability and obligation to investigate and bring those committing such crimes to justice.
Mr. Wang said that Jia would be served with similar lawsuits in other European countries.
Mr. Wang: We have the opportunity to submit the lawsuit. Everything is moving forward. The next lawsuit will be filed in Spain for his crimes of genocide and torture.
The reporter learned that Jia was protested in Spain by human rights organizations and Falun Gong practitioners. On September 3, a lawyer for Falun Gong practitioners filed a criminal lawsuit against Jia in Spain's National Court for his crimes of genocide and torture.
La Tribune de Geneve (Switzerland): Five years of persecution for Falun Gong followers
Geneva, 19 July - 20 July marked a terrible anniversary. The persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China has been raging now for five years and without giving rise to any particular media interest worldwide, despite the more than alarming numbers involved. According to unofficial sources, we estimate, to date, between 4,000 and 10,000 deaths. As for torture, the Swiss Falun Gong practitioners chose to act out these scenes on the street in Bern. Indeed, it seems that, today, pictures carry more force than words. [...]
Despite the numerous appeals launched by many NGOs, such as Amnesty International. OMCT [World Organization against Torture] and ACAT [Christian Action against Torture] or Human Rights Watch and numerous interventions by famous political figures, as well as different resolutions adopted by the European Parliament to condemn this persecution, China continues to turn a deaf ear, claiming to whomsoever will listen that human rights are fine in China and that torture does not exist there. And yet, The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, The van Boven, has just had his official visit postponed. The Chinese Government would have liked - or so they said - to better prepare for his visit. What this said to Nicolas Becquelin, representative of the NGO Human Rights in China, was that it leads one to suppose China had something to hide.
Today, the repression continues to assume disturbing proportions, since it is spreading outside China. Volunteer practitioners who are denouncing the persecution in various countries and filing criminal lawsuits against the Chinese perpetrators for genocide, crimes against humanity and torture, are now finding themselves under threat. Several days ago, Australian practitioners having gone to South Africa to register a complaint against two [visiting] Chinese officials were fired upon from a car pursuing them. The driver, Australian practitioner David Liang, was seriously wounded in both feet and an inquiry is under way to establish responsibility for such an act.
In view of the unacceptable rise in violence extending now outside China and aimed directly at practitioners worldwide, will our countries finally react with a greater degree of firmness and prevent such acts from being committed on our soil? Should not our countries unite to condemn these massive violations through making China understand that in our democratic countries we respect the freedoms of expression and belief.
May Bakhtiar
Chile: The Largest Newspaper, Las Ultimas Noticias, Introduces Falun Dafa
The largest-selling newspaper in Chile, Las Ultimas Noticias, carried an article by reporter Carolina Aicardi, interviewing Falun Gong practitioner Pia-Maria Sandas. The article described how she maintained serenity in mind, and a healthy body.
The Beautiful Finland Native Introduces the Beauty of Falun Dafa in Chile
The reporter stated in the article, "Tens of millions of people in more than 60 countries practice Falun Dafa, which helps to relieve addictions to drugs and alcohol, and delays aging."
The author stated that everyone walking near Pia-Maria Sandas feels that she is an uncomplicated and serene person. Her behavior and graceful voice are very well balanced and peaceful. The tall, smiling, golden-haired Finish woman has a secret to maintain her energetic body. And she wants to share it with everyone.
Ms. Sandas was a fashion model on stage and TV, and worked for four years on TV's Venga Conmigo program in Chile. She was also a spokeswoman for an international name-brand product. Currently she is in charge of marketing the renowned international cosmetic, Isadora, in Spanish-speaking countries. She said that she missed Chile after leaving seven years ago, so she came back to Chile.
Reporter: Are you tired of the stressful work of maintaining your image on stage?
Sandas: That is work suitable for short term. I feel it is short of a challenge. But I'd like to develop other aspects of my true self.
Reporter: Generally models are criticized for only paying attention to outer appearance and not to seeking knowledge.
Sandas: Yes. That is what I'd like to overcome. I like my job. But it is not related to my whole life. And it needs a change.
Falun Dafa
During her busy travels around the world, Pia-Maria Sandas used to be constantly weary. Because of this, she was happy to find Falun Dafa, an ancient Chinese practice system for purifying body and mind via meditation and special teachings.
Reporter: How did you start practicing Falun Gong?
Sandas: Five years ago in Sweden, I met a person practicing the exercises. When I saw him, I felt surprised that his surroundings were so serene. He gave me a book, and I learned the exercises and have practiced the system ever since. It is the most graceful thing I know. It changed me. I wish to recommend Falun Gong to the whole world.
The model said affirmatively, "Falun Dafa improves health in mind and body. One can practice it in parks and it is also free of charge. Tens of millions of people in more than 60 countries have benefited from the practice."
The article stated that the practice is based on the principles of Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance, and has countless benefits: stress relief, energy increase, eliminating addiction, and delaying aging, as well as improvement of chronic illnesses.
Brutal Persecution
Between 1992 and 1999, there were approximately 100 million Falun Dafa practitioners in China. In July 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime initiated a campaign of slander and persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners were detained, imprisoned, tortured, and killed. So far there are about 1,022 practitioners verified to have been tortured to death.
Radio France International: Book Introduction: Falun Gong's Challenge to China
On the morning of August 31, Radio France International broadcasted to Mainland China and Mandarin-speaking areas of Paris in its column "Book Introduction" the following report.
The report said, "I've got a new book. Mr. Zhang, an audience member from Paris sent it to me. The book is entitled, Falun Gong's Challenge to China. The book which was written in English can be considered as the first book reporting Falun Gong from the perspective of a western reporter. It also remarked how western media reacted and reported this issue.
Author of the book, Danny Schechter is very famous in the U.S. He is a senior reporter on human rights. He has more than 30 years of experience of being a reporter. He has worked as correspondents from a number of radio stations, TV stations and newspapers. He also won twice the New England Emmy. In his book, he said that he himself is not a Falun Gong practitioner but he believed that the Falun Gong incident was a tragedy in the field of media. Western media did not bear the responsibility of reporting the truth.
In the book, Danny Schechter stated some facts about Falun Gong practitioners that he had observed. He also tried to present some evidence of certain facts in his book. The more-than-300-page book has 19 chapters and about 200,000 words. Starting from China's transformation from the Cultural Revolution to the market economy, the author lays out the spiritual belief of Falun Gong and introduces Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong as well as his impression of interviewing Mr. Li.
The author also quotes various sources to analyze the reasons of the China's suppression of Falun Gong and the measures applied. He especially discussed in a great depth related reports from western media outlets as well as attitude of western countries and non-governmental organizations. Another valuable point about the book is that it collects many materials and references related to Falun Gong. The Chinese version of this book, Falun Gong's Challenge to China is published by Broadcast Inc.
Falun Gong Practitioners' Personal Experience
The Miracle Falun Dafa Brought to Me
By A Practitioner in U.S.
A miracle happened on March 16, 2002. I propped myself against a desk and tried to do the Falun Gong exercises. That very day, I was able to rise from my bed and go down the stairs, to meet a few people coming to the house to read my deceased husband's poems. It would have been his 73rd birthday. I was able to sit up till 11 p.m. The visitors (who had heard that I was 'deathly ill') said that they had not seen me look so well. I felt like a phony, as if I had been faking my high blood pressure, the tremors, vertigo, left arm pain, difficulty in breathing, allergic rashes, joint problems, water retention and so on. My blood pressure was often unreadable, and it was 279/135 or thereabouts when it could be gauged. I was rushed by ambulance to hospitals. The doctors said that the base line of my heart was affected. I was also suffering from reactions to prescribed medications. On March 16, my blood pressure started dropping, within days it had dropped 120 points. I was able to stop taking all medications. I am no longer housebound because of my poor health.
To understand the enormity of this miracle, I need to give you a bit of my background. I was born in India, 70 years ago. I came to the US on a Fulbright 41 years ago, and married another Fulbright grantee from India. We lived in Chicago. My husband died unexpectedly nine years ago. He had been in perfect health; he was slim; he had no gray hair; he exercised daily; and he was the author of 25 books. He was greatly admired and appreciated in many countries, and so his sudden death was a great shock to many people.
I have been a student all my life; I received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
I have written several books, and taught people who have become published authors. I was working six days a week, running a creative writing school for professional men and women. My health had been poor since 1976. As a result of surgery, and reactions to medications, I have had a horrible time. I needed alternative doctors, as I have had life-threatening reactions to penicillin, sulfa, cortisone, steroids, fiorinol, morphine, novacane etc. I have spent a fortune on complimentary medicine. I went to the best people in each field: Acupuncture, acupressure, bio-energy, yoga, biofeedback, Nampudripad Allergy Elimination, Nutritional Therapy, Naturopathy, Naprapathy, homeopathy, along with regular visits to chiropractors, massage therapists, and reflexologists. They alleviated the symptoms, but could not cure me.
I moved three years ago. I was now without the alternative healthcare people. In the last year or so, I became very ill, my blood pressure was often unreadable, and I could barely walk. I said, "Old age needs a lot of courage." My daughter was no longer sure that I would make it this time.
At that point my friend at the University of Chicago who had written a witness report in A Journey to Enlightenment (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/download/publications/enlighten_index.html) about his own recovery played an active role in putting me in touch with the Falun Gong books. It took me three weeks to read the books, as I could scarcely hold the books in my hand as I lay in bed. When I had grasped some of it, I propped myself against a desk and tried the exercises.
That very day, I rose from my bed and came down the stairs. It was a miracle. My Chicago friend sent me the Falun Gong video and audio tapes. He arranged for two practitioner-volunteers to come to my house to teach me the exercises. One of them happened to be one whose witness report was in A Journey to Enlightenment (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/download/publications/enlighten_index.html), which had both amused and inspired me. They demonstrated the exercises for over two hours, and then urged me to come to the practice site in St. Paul.
The second volunteer had met me at an acupuncture doctor's office where she was studying Chinese medicine. At that time, she had been very compassionate to me, a "very sick" person. My poor attempt to do the exercises from the book had visibly improved my appearance.
I do not drive outside my neighborhood. I employed a driver to go to the practice center every week. My driver showed an interest in practicing and cultivating.
I have a long ways to go: I have only glimpses of understanding; I realize daily my shortcomings; I have trouble emptying my mind, having cultivated an over-active mindset; I cannot yet do the double lotus; I can only take in a few pages of Zhuan Falun each time. But I see also miraculous changes: my surgery scar hurts me less, my feet feel healthier; my joints no longer hurt; I no longer take medications, not even vitamins; my heart is not being squeezed painfully; my left arm does not hurt; I have no tremors; I can get up in the morning without vertigo and breathing problems... I am less alienated from the life around me; I feel less anxious about the welfare of my children; I enjoy my garden more...
After I designed a copper pyramid 8ft tall and 3ft wide for my garden, my Chicago friend tells me: "Master Li Honghzi mentions the pyramid in Zhuan Falun. The three sides of the pyramid represent the three central virtues sought by all practitioners of Falun Gong: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance." I am so thankful. I find that there are no words to adequately express my gratitude.
The People Awaken to the Truth
The World is Awakening - Anti-Torture Exhibit on the Edge of New York City's Central Park
During the US Republican National Convention, Falun Gong practitioners held weeklong anti-torture exhibits in several places in New York City. In front of the exhibit on the edge of Central Park, streams of people passed by and many of them were shocked and signed a petition to condemn the persecution and seek international help to stop the terror from continuing in China.
"The Chinese government is afraid that people have freedom and fears the truth. I hope the persecution will be ended soon. The world is awakening. Wake up!" A middle-aged woman living in New York City who just learned to practice the exercise from practitioners, said, "I feel great. I believe there is energy existing in the universe, and it is helpful to people. The persecution is terrible. It's a tragedy to the whole world. If the persecution is found out in one country, it may also occur in other countries."
Several practitioners flew to New York from Atlanta. One of them was a nearly 70-year-old woman who began practicing Falun Gong six years ago and has benefited greatly. During the day, she reenacted the torture methods used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China. She said, "I can't speak English, I feel the anti-torture exhibit can attract people's attention, so I reenact the tortures practitioners in China suffer, and try my best to let people know the truth." She and others took turns reenacting "being locked up in a small cell" and "Tiger Bench." For lunch and dinner she ate some cold food brought from home. She had only one thought, to let people know about the persecution in China and to stop it. Two years ago before she came to the US, she was under surveillance 24 hours a day, and had no freedom at all.
A man from New York viewed the anti-torture exhibit and signed the petition, and said, "It is savage to use such torture and to forbid people to practice these exercises."
A Manhattan Musician: "Evil Will Never Prevail Over Goodness and The Evildoers Will Definitely Receive Retribution"
Stanley is musician in Manhattan. He often gives performances in New York City. On September 10, as he was going to an apartment building in Manhattan, he saw several Falun Gong practitioners dressed in yellow T-shirts. He greeted the practitioners and expressed his support for Falun Gong. He said that the persecution would definitely be stopped because evil would never prevail over goodness and the evildoers would definitely receive retribution.
When Stanley saw Falun Gong practitioners dressed in yellow T-shirts, he called out, "Falun Gong!" He said that he was aware of the brutal persecution encountered by Falun Gong in China. He said that the authorities do not even leave women and children alone. He knew that Jiang Zemin single-handedly initiated this persecution. He believed that Jiang is a malicious person who will definitely receive retribution for his evildoing.
Stanley also told practitioners that what they have been doing is great. He said that people could see Falun Gong practitioners in many places in Manhattan and many people in Manhattan have learned about Falun Gong. He said that people were all talking about Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners.
Then Stanley introduced himself. He is a musician and plays jazz in Manhattan. He came from Nigeria, Africa. He said that his country was once an autocratic country, where there was no freedom of belief. Because of that, he himself had been imprisoned for one year. In prison, he was tortured and the scars can still be seen on his back.
Stanley believes that everyone should enjoy the freedom of believing in God or having other religious beliefs. It is unreasonable that people are imprisoned and even tortured simply because of their belief. When saying "goodbye" to practitioners, Stanley said: "On the other hand, the evil will never prevail over the good. The persecution will definitely be stopped and those evildoers will definitely receive retribution."
Stanley expressed that he would like to introduce Falun Gong and the persecution it is suffering during each of his performances, so as to allow more people to learn about Falun Gong and to support Falun Gong. He said that he would also tell businesspeople not to invest in China as long as the persecution continues.
Since August of this year, on many streets and avenues in Manhattan, one can often see Falun Gong practitioners dressed in yellow T-shirts. Some demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises, some talk with passers-by to introduce Falun Gong and expose the persecution, and some distribute truth-clarifying materials. In high-traffic areas, people can also view poster exhibitions and anti-torture demonstrations -- reenactments of the torture methods being used against Falun Gong practitioners in China. Numerous passers-by often stop to watch and find out more information. More and more New Yorkers are becoming aware of the facts about Falun Gong.
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