April 19, 2005

The Falun Dafa Association of Saipan will submit today a petition addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, asking the U.S. government to pressure China to stop its persecution of Falun Gong and its members.

The group's spokesman, Vincent Perez, who drafted the letter, said he would submit the petition this morning.

The petition letter, according to Perez, gathered 225 signatures from concerned CNMI community members. He said this is the first time that their group will be submitting a petition letter and he hopes that it would get the secretary's attention.

The group started the signature drive last month.

Perez said that, with Rice visiting countries in Asia, he hopes the secretary would have a dialogue with the Chinese government on the issue of the Falun Gong.

The group's petition letter is based on similar petitions that other Falun Gong groups have initiated all over the world, said Perez. Falun Dafa and Falun Gong are interchangeably used to refer to their group.

The one-page letter calls on the United States to demand that the government of the People's Republic of China cease its persecution of Falun Gong immediately. It also asks for the release of all Falun Gong prisoners in China.

Perez said that, by sending the letter to the Secretary of State, she would know that the people of the CNMI are also concerned about the issue.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a host of other human rights organization have reported that tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China have been arrested on spurious charges, with thousands more being sent to slave labor camps without trial.

"Torture is widespread, and now accounts for at least 1,500 deaths in police custody. Thousands have been stripped of their homes, jobs, education, and even families," reads part of the petition letter.

Perez also said the suppression of Falun Gong by Chinese authorities has spread overseas to democratic countries, "notably on American soil." The letter alleges that China has attempted to influence and intimidate officials at all levels of the U.S. government who support Falun Gong, as well as harass, threaten and violently beat U.S. citizens.

The reported beating of Americans has led the U.S. House of Representatives to unanimously pass Resolution 188, calling for an immediate investigation and action against any Chinese government personnel that are found to be involved.

The resolution also condemns the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and in America.