(Clearwisdom.net) ESPN reported on July 25 that Mr. Erich Bachmann from Switzerland, a representative of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG), delivered a petition with 1,215,793 signatures from 131 countries to the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Switzerland. The petition, collected over six months, urges the IOC to call on the Chinese Communist Party to end the persecution of Falun Gong.
Over a Million People Urge the CCP to End the Persecution Against Falun Gong
The petition drive by the CIPFG was initiated at the beginning of the year in Hong Kong. Besides members of the public, CIPFG also received signatures from over 1,700 celebrities or VIPs, including 70 parliament members from 14 countries, 218 local legislators, 50 other officials, 346 educators and academic leaders, and 324 leaders from the legal, business, medical, and cultural communities. The petition will also be submitted to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, the European Union, the E.U. Parliament, and other human rights organizations. CIPFG hopes that the governments and parliaments from around the world will consider the will of the people and help Falun Gong practitioners end the persecution in China.
Since July 1999, the CCP and the group led by Jiang Zemin have used every means at their disposal to persecute Falun Gong. They have detained, brainwashed, beaten, electric-shocked, raped, and forcefully injected psychiatric drugs into Falun Gong practitioners. Organs of Falun Gong practitioners have been harvested and sold, and their murdered bodies cremated to destroy the evidence. 3,168 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed dead in the persecution, although the likely true death toll is many, many times higher.
A CIPFG representative from Australia said that since June 9, more than 6,300 signatures have been collected in Australia, which is the highest record for any human rights petition in Australia. On June 24, the Australian Senate passed Motion 127, calling on the CCP to end the persecution of Falun Gong. This was the first time the Australian Parliament made an official statement against the persecution. This is a major development that is due to the petition drive.
CCP Uses the Olympics to Intensify Persecution Against Falun Gong
In 2001, when Beijing was given the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, it promised to improve human rights. Instead, it has used the Olympics to intensify the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. Minghui has reported that to "ensure the security of the Olympics," there have been 8,037 cases of illegal arrests of Falun Gong practitioners since late 2007 in 29 of 34 province-level jurisdictions in China. In many areas, the practitioners were directly sent to prisons or labor camps without any legal proceedings. They are not expected to be released until after the Olympics.
In January 2008, famous folk singer Yu Zhou was driving home with his wife Xu Na after a performance. They were stopped by the police in Tongzhou District, Beijing, for an "Olympics search." When the police found that Yu and Xu were Falun Gong practitioners, they were taken to the Tongzhou District Detention Center. On February 6, Yu was tortured to death at the age of 42.
In 2005, Deputy Minister of Public Security Liu Jing was given the direction to "eliminate Falun Gong" before the 2008 Olympics. His orders were passed on to all levels of the public security system. In March 2007, former Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang issued another round of orders to brutally persecute Falun Gong. In February 2008, the CCP issued a new secret order to "strictly defend against and vehemently attack" Falun Gong.
International Community Supports the Campaign to End the Persecution
Over the last nine years, Falun Gong practitioners inside and outside of China have spared no effort in clarifying the facts. They have exposed the CCP's lies and crimes. Many people have learned the facts, and changed their attitude from hatred and indifference to sympathy and support. As the truth spreads, voices of justice are growing. Many government officials in Western countries have spoken out in support of human rights and urged the CCP to end the persecution of Falun Gong. The strong and increasing support from the international community serves as a sign that the persecution will end soon.
On October 4, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 304. The resolution called on the Chinese government to immediately stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political freedoms in the United States, cease using diplomatic missions in the United States to spread falsehoods about the nature of Falun Gong, and release all prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners.
In January 2006, the San Francisco City Council passed a resolution condemning the persecution of Falun Gong. In April 2006, 11 representatives of the European Commission filed a motion to host hearings on the concentration camps built to harvest organs from Falun Gong practitioners. The motion also requested the CCP to open all labor camps to international investigators.
The more than one million signatures are a strong call for justice. The signatures are accompanied with region, state, and contact phone number for correspondence purposes.
Olympics and Crimes Against Humanity Cannot Coexist
According to Washington-based Human Rights Law Federation and the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, Falun Gong practitioners detained in prisons, labor camps, and detention centers in Mainland China are still being treated inhumanely. Their message is clear: "The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot coexist." As the signature campaign grew, the message has reached more and more people. It also greatly encouraged Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China.
The night is coming to an end, and dawn is upon us. As the people of the world awaken, the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong is becoming known by all. Over the last nine years, Falun Gong practitioners have peacefully and rationally resisted the persecution. They will continue to do so until the end of the persecution. I hope when history turns over this darkest page, all the world's people will have chosen to stand with kindness and justice.
