Organized Chinese Crowds Attack New York's 'Quit Chinese Communist Party Service Center'

By Li Ming Epoch Times New York Staff

May 19, 2008

A bespectacled elderly Chinese man with black cap shouting insults and profanity raised a fist at volunteers at the service center, threatening to attack and smash the camera of an Epoch Times reporter. (The Epoch Times)

Related Articles

- Organized Crowds in Chinatown Repeatedly Harass 'Quit CCP' Center Tuesday, May 20, 2008

- Peaceful Rally Attacked in New York City's Chinatown Monday, May 19, 2008

Flushing, NY–A group of Chinese crowds, suspected to be organized by the Chinese Communist regime, attacked the service center for withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Flushing, NY and volunteers at the center on Monday morning, following a similar attack to participants at a rally to celebrate the growing trend of withdrawals from the CCP on Sunday.

A group of 400 some Chinese men and women suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime besieged the service center in Flushing. The Chinese Communist regime's official media surprisingly appeared on time at the scene of the attack.

Today the volunteers of the service center for withdrawing from the CCP arrived at the Flushing Public Library as usual. After they set up the table and displayed photographs and print materials of The Epoch Times' The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and reports of over 36 million people that have withdrawn from the CCP and its two affiliated student leagues, the volunteers began to distribute free newspapers and print materials to passersby.

People suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime shouting insults and curses. (The Epoch Times)

Mr. Zhang Derong, a resident in Flushing and a Falun Gong practitioner, said, "This attack is similar to the one on Sunday. Tens of people quickly surrounded volunteers at the service center. They closed in and they meant trouble. Then they started a verbal attack. They pointed at our poster display and shouted very nasty things. The rest of the crowd cheered them on. Some shouted, 'Get out! Get out! Kick them out of the place!'"

Several with cameras and TV cameras moved about among the mob, shooting footage. A female reporter told someone at the crowd that she is from Changchun TV Station.

Another Flushing resident Ms. Wu Hua said, "This is apparently a plotted and organized attack. Several men surrounded the volunteers at the service center, shouting insults. They didn't come here to collect donations for the earthquake in China. They were attacking us in the same way the Chinese Communist Party suppresses Falun Gong practitioners in China. They insulted us and shouted profanity. Before the police arrived, the mob attacked two volunteer ladies. They wouldn't dare without someone backing them up."

A man in the crowd started cursing when he saw the photo displays about The Epoch Times' Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. (The Epoch Times)

Another resident in Flushing Ms. Shi Rongfeng recalled, "I tried to reason with some people peacefully, but a woman refused to listen. She kept cursing and started to attack. She had a menacing look. If somebody didn't stop her, she would have kept on attacking us."

Eventually about 400 people surrounded the volunteers of the service center. In order to protect the personal safety of about ten volunteers at the service center, including several elderly folks among them, the police asked the volunteers to leave the scene. The police interviewed several witnesses of the attack and made a report for further investigation.

About 400 Chinese people suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime to disrupt the service center. (The Epoch Times)

A similar attack also took place yesterday. According to a witness, Monday's crowd was the same mob from the attack on Sunday. In fact, a group of Chinese disrupted a public assembly celebrating the trend of withdrawals from the CCP on Saturday, leading many to suspect that the Chinese Communist regime might be the mastermind of the series of three attacks.

According to Falun Dafa Information Center, Zhou Yongkang is suspected of organizing China's overseas student and scholar associations, as well as Chinese hometown associations, to instigate overseas Chinese people's hatred against Falun Gong practitioners, to attack practitioners, and to obstruct practitioners' civil rights.

About 400 Chinese people suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime to disrupt the service center. (The Epoch Times)

The Chinese Communist regime's official media seemed to possess an amazing foresight of the three attacks because they had their TV cameras set up before each of the three attacks and then broadcast the footage to the audience in China.

Following the earthquake in Sichuan, the Chinese Communist regime's media in China have repeatedly ran reports against Falun Gong practitioners, accusing practitioners of refusing to donate to the earthquake relief. These reports effectively aided in the regime's hate propaganda against Falun Gong.

The people that led the mob attacks allegedly have criminal records in the U.S. Some of them are currently under investigation. Falun Gong practitioners are asking the U.S. authorities to release these Chinese agents' personal information and to deport them from the U.S.

Click here to read the original article in Chinese

Speech by Lizhi He - Human Rights Torch Relay

Remarks delivered by Lizhi He
Kingston Human Rights Torch Relay
Sunday, May 18

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

I am a Falun Gong practitioner from Toronto. Two months ago I started to work in the beautiful city of Kingston. This is one more reason why I would like to share my story with you today.

I used to be a senior structural engineer with the Ministry of Construction in China, working in the examination center for professional engineers. I also received an award of excellence as an engineer for good performance and my project won a gold medal for national engineering design. As a Falun Gong practitioner since 1995, I strive to be a good person following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

However, disaster befell upon me on July 21, 2000. Several strong guys claiming to be State Security Agents who forced me into a car suddenly broke into my office. My office and home were ransacked and then I was sent to a detention center and held in a gloomy dark cell. I was arrested because I sent personal letters in an effort to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to my fellow engineers and friends before I was about to move to Canada. I did not realize that I was followed, monitored, videotaped in the post office.

I was deprived of communication with anybody and thus became a missing person to all my family and friends, including my coworkers. For a whole month, my wife didn’t know what had happened to me and where I was. She was not allowed to visit me in prison until seven months later when I was tortured so severely, close to the point of death, and then I was moved to a prison hospital. The inhuman torture almost ruined my health and everyday I felt faint and struggling for life, with ongoing high fever for months, coughing blood, urinating blood along with my breathing capacity being considerably reduced. The X-rays were unable to show a clear image of my lungs. I was doing heavy exhaustive slave labor in the field and I was shocked with 30,000-volt electric batons.

I was only just one of tens of millions of Chinese citizens whose right to belief in Falun Dafa was illegally banned since July 1999. Out of envy of the enormous popularity of Falun Gong during the first 7 years of its inception in 1992--with practitioners outnumbering the membership of the Communist Party—Jiang Zemin, the then head of CCP, initiated the persecution. According to a speech taped on video that I was once forced to watch, the Head of the CCP's Religion Administration Bureau stated that, the "ultimate objective" of Communism is to eliminate religion from the earth and wipe out the concept of Gods from the human mind. And the current policy on religious affairs in China is to minimize any spiritual believers until they totally vanish and all become atheists. This official speaker disclosed that to reach their goal, in the past 50 years of ruling China, the communist party invited all previous religious leaders to Beijing from provincial areas and granted them high official ranks and leisurely lives; to relentlessly suppress those who aren't submissive; enforce atheist education into the school system at a very young age and force future generations to abandon their beliefs. By all these insidious means, the communist regime has transformed all the existing religious groups into its political components.

From this revelation, it is not difficult to understand why the Dalai Lama fled China and what the Tibetans have been suffering and there is no question that this is why there are "Approved" or "Official" religious groups in China and why the independent Christians or family churches are persecuted. The enormous popularity of Falun Gong with their uncompromising adherence to the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance"--rather than communist ideology--showed the regime's spiritual suppression to be an utter failure.

Thus Falun Gong was targeted by the Communist regime as a top enemy. The persecution of Falun Gong is not only an issue of human rights abuses, but one of anti-humanity and genocide. This genocide is different from other cases known to the world. It is characterized by two evil extremities: massive live organ harvesting - the new form of evil on this planet as concluded in the investigation by Mr. David Kilgour and David Matas - and extensive destruction of human conscience and spirit.

In China, the Communist regime formed the 610 office, a superstructure nationwide controlling the media and legal system dedicated to eliminate Falun Gong. Anyone practicing Falun Gong can be arbitrarily abducted into a “brainwashing class”, detention center, labor camp, mental hospital, jail, or other unknown secret places funded by the regime and where the state machinery is authorized to torture, kill, or even murder via live organ removal. All the brutalities are aimed at a forced denunciation of practitioners’ beliefs. All the brutalities are targeting their beliefs and conscience. While practitioners were abducted and sent to mental hospitals and injected with drugs to destroy their nerves, there were also a national team composed of psychological researchers investigating the means used to destroy the practitioners' spirit and make them totally submissive physically, mentally, and spiritually. This is how all the hard-to-believe and beyond-imagination atrocities have come to light. In the prison, a police official and a communist party branch head said with shameless complacency "I know what I am doing now but, as long as the CCP rules China, I will never fear of going to hell regardless of whatever I have done." Such a statement makes it brazenly clear how the evil communism turns a human being into a merciless murderer.

I was imprisoned for 1278 days and suffered tremendously. I eventually survived the torture but many of us were killed. Still hundreds of thousands were jailed. Countless are still homeless or missing. Unknown huge numbers were killed through crimes of live organ harvesting.

The Olympics was supposed to help China's human rights condition, however, it has only been exploited by the regime to posture itself and to justify its crimes against humanity. I still remember that during my imprisonment, every time in the past years when the regime escaped the condemnation of human rights abuses by failing the resolution on China in Geneva, the state media would celebrate this national triumph. All the prisoners were forced to write a statement that China had the very best human rights conditions and that all the criticisms were groundless which thus again had been evidenced by the failure of an anti-China resolution. Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners were forced to write that being jailed was a salvation by the communist regime, and the international community supported the crackdown on Falun Gong. The Olympics has been greatly abused thus far.

As a structural engineer, I may know more than others about the seismic design of buildings. This very realization caused me much pain when I see how so many students were simply buried by the disastrous earthquake in Sichuan on May 12. The gruesome pictures revealed that there was no required minimum reinforcement seen from the collapsed building components. It is really shocking but not surprising that the government office buildings stayed upright. How much would be needed to offer students safer buildings that satisfied the seismic design code? Merely a tiny bit of the 50 billion USD spent on the regime's image engineering of the Beijing Olympics.

Let's see what the regime - who assume the identity of the Chinese government - is doing around the earthquake.

Days before the earthquake, it was appeasing the "rumor" from local regions that there would be an earthquake coming soon - in order to maintain the so-called societal stability and harmonious environment for the Beijing Olympics.

After the earthquake, during the critical rescue period, the help from professional rescue expert teams from foreign countries was denied - every Chinese know the reason, which is for fear of revealing the real damage to the outside world.

Without immediate action to save victims, what on earth is the regime exactly doing while the earthquake caught the heart of the entire world.

In Beijng, a new round of desperate arrests of Falun Gong practitioners is going on unabated. 23 friends known to fellow practitioners in Toronto have been confirmed arrested within the first three days of the mass arrests -including Ouyang Wen, a female practitioner and former colleague of my previous workplace when I was abducted in the year of 2000.

The earthquake is disastrous and the communist regime is at the root of all disasters. Simply because of the Olympics, the regime has gone crazy committing more and more crimes as part of a pre-Olympic white wash. It must be stopped and as all bad things must come to an end--the regime is no exception. Let raise the human rights torch high and move on. Peace and justice will prevail.

Thank you.

Crackdown on Falun Gong intensifies ahead of the Olympics

Crackdown on Falun Gong intensifies ahead of the Olympics

Vancouver practitioners appeal for the rescue of relatives recently arrested in Quangzhou

MWC: Vancouver - The Falun Dafa Association is calling a press conference on May 16 at
12 pm at the Art Gallery (Robson Plaza) and will march to the Chinese Consulate at 3338 Granville to appeal for the release of two Falun Gong practitioners, namely Suming Gao and Qinming Gao. Over a dozen policemen who broke into their home in the early morning of April 15 in Guangzhou, China leaving behind an 83-year-old father at home alone kidnapped the two practitioners. Both practitioners are the elder sisters of Vancouver Falun Gong practitioner Qiaoming Gao.

Apparently officials from the 610 office searched their house and confiscated private property including their computers. The police, who claimed that they did so to prevent the sisters from interfering the Beijing Olympics, also removed their computers at their work place. It was reported that about 30 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested at the same time.

This wave of repression is part of the pre-Olympic white wash, which has seen nearly 2000 practitioners arrested since January 1, 2008.

The Falun Dafa Association calls on the Canadian government to urgently rescue Suming Gao and Qinming Gao and to urge the Chinese regime to stop its brutal persecution of Falun Gong now in its ninth year.

“It is unconscionable that a country that is hosting the Summer Olympics behaves without any scruples 3 months before the Games,” said Sue Zhang, spokesperson for the Association. The Olympic Charter, which is founded on human dignity, must be respected by Beijing instead of using the Olympics as an excuse to persecute Falun Gong practitioners and other repressed groups.”

Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners have maintained an around the clock vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate on Granville since 2001 to call for an end to the persecution.

Falun Dafa Association – BC Chapter
For more information: http://www.faluninfo.net

Letter: Acknowledge persecution of Falun Gong

CSM: Regarding the May 2 article, "Cheers outweigh protests at Hong Kong's Olympic torch relay": From this article and others, I have noticed that it is common to characterize Falun Gong "as a "spiritual movement banned elsewhere in China as a deviant cult." But this is not an accurate characterisation of the situation.

Falun Gong is not just "banned," it is mercilessly persecuted in China. Adherents are tortured to death, shocked with electric batons, put into psychiatric facilities, and injected with nerve-damaging drugs. They are put into forced labor camps for years without trial, their houses are ransacked, their families destroyed, and there is evidence that they are systematically killed for their organs to be sold, on a mass scale.

To say the practice is merely "banned" is ridiculous. If Falun Gong were only banned there would not be such a mass movement around the world to stop the persecution.

Besides that, when you refer to the Dalai Lama, you would use a neutral description. You would definitely not use the violent language of the Communist Party to describe him.

Matt Robertson
Wanniassa, Australia

Tulip Festival extends apology to Falun Gong

By Joan Delaney Epoch Times Staff

May 13, 2008

Tian Guo Marching Band at the Montreal Canada Day parade last July. (Courtesy of Tian Guo Band)

Related Articles

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Organizers of Canada's Tulip Festival have formally apologized for abruptly pulling a performance by a marching band whose members practise Falun Gong.

Having invited the Tian Guo Marching Band to perform "O Canada" at the festival's opening ceremony on May 2, organizers cut the band just minutes before they were to take the stage, and called on police to have band members removed.

Statements from festival staff at the time suggested the group was dropped to avoid upsetting Chinese embassy officials who had a tent at the festival, which runs to May 19.

After the incident whipped up a media storm, festival organizers changed their tune and on Tuesday issued an official apology.

In a statement to media, festival chair David Luxton and president Teri Kirk expressed regrets over how the incident was handled.

"Unfortunately, the Festival's decision was made in haste in the moments before the official Opening," Ms. Kirk said

At the time, festival reps had taken issue with the band member's uniforms, which included the words "Falun Dafa," a spiritual group persecuted by the Communist regime in China. Falun Dafa is also known as Falun Gong.

Tian Guo band members pose in their uniforms with a "Falun Dafa" banner. This image appears on the homepage of their website. (Tian Guo Band)

In comments to media, the festival's director of marketing Doug Little claimed the band had "deceived" organizers with the intent to "embarrass us and embarrass the Chinese embassy."

"If they had told us who they were, they would never have been asked to perform," Mr. Little told the Metro newspaper.

But band members pointed out that they had provided the festival organizers with materials and photographs that showed their uniforms. They had also provided their website, which states clearly that band members are Falun Gong practitioners.

They added that they only intended to play music and expressed no political or human rights message. They said that being excluded from the event on the basis of their practise of Falun Gong amounted to discrimination.

"Comments in the media attributed to festival staff dealing with the incident exacerbated the feelings of grievance by band members, which the festival regrets," said Luxton.

Little also apologized for his comments to the press.

"I am very sorry that my remarks have not reflected well on band members, on Falun Gong or the festival. I extend my heartfelt apologies to the Tian Guo Marching Band and to each one of its members," said Little.

A Tian Guo Band member accepts "The Canada Day Parade President's Trophy" in Montreal in July 2007. (Tian Guo Band)

The festival also "re-extended its invitation" to the band to perform at the Festival, giving them the 1–2:00 pm slot on Sunday at Dow's Lake.

"We certainly support the right of religious groups to bring forward diverse views." said Kirk.

The Tian Guo band accepted the apologies after meeting with the festival's executives over the weekend.

In response being dropped from the opening ceremony, Tian Guo said in a news release that for a civic festival to exclude "ordinary Canadian citizens from participation in order to please a foreign repressive government is not only discrimination, it also gives the impression that the festival condones the severe human rights violations committed by the repressive regime."

The band also said that "the actions of a few Tulip Festival officials … caused great distress and loss of dignity to both our band and to Falun Gong practitioners in general. These actions have also damaged the reputation and integrity of the Tulip Festival."

The Tulip Festival is sponsored by all three levels of government.

Speaking in the Ontario provincial legislature on Monday, MPP Randy Hiller said that, "the Ottawa Tulip Festival, in partnership with the Embassy of China, banned Falun Gong."

"This government gave the tulip festival $300,000 and with it they became the latest voice of silence," said Hiller.

On Tuesday, he applauded the decision to allow Tian Guo to perform.

"It is important when people do the wrong things that sensible honest people tell them that they are wrong and encourage them to do the right thing," he said. It's a minimum for them to apologize for their wrongdoings."

Tian Guo has performed in about 40 parades in the past 18 months and has won numerous prizes including the top award of "The Canada Day Parade President's Trophy" in Montreal in 2007 and "Best Band" in the Ottawa St. Patrick's Day parade in March.

"We know that Festival audiences will enjoy both the visual and musical appeal of this large and colourful marching band," said Ms. Kirk.

Bulletin: Falun Gong Human Rights Crisis in China

FALUN GONG NEWS BULLETIN

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Monitoring the Falun Gong Human Rights Crisis in China

E-Mail This Page - Print This Page - Link to This Page

• Center for Investigative Reporting: “Beijing Olympic Chief Linked to Torture”
• 15-Year-Old Orphaned as Mother Dies in Custody
• MSNBC: China’s Organ Harvesting Questioned Again by UN Special Rapporteurs
• Prisoner of Conscience Cao Dong’s Wife Writes Open Letter Detailing Official Torture, Family Harassment and Lack of Due Process
• Human Rights Watch Report: Lawyers Who Defend Falun Gong Face Punishment
• USA Today: “In China, a battle over web censorship”; Falun Gong adherents among “hacktivists” cracking “Great Firewall”

Center for Investigative Reporting: “Beijing Olympic Chief Linked to Torture”
April 24, 2008 – “The president of Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee was once found liable for torture in a U.S. federal court, a review of court records by the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.”

“…In an extensive legal opinion, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco determined in 2004 that Liu Qi was responsible for the illegal detention and torture of two Chinese nationals and a sexual assault against a French woman in China….The lawsuit alleged that as mayor, Liu directed security forces to violently crush the Falun Gong. The plaintiffs claimed that Liu’s forces subjected them to severe beatings, sexual abuse and ‘electric shocks through needles placed in [the] body.’”

For more information visit: http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/node/3625
For a summary of the case and relevant legal documents visit: http://www.cja.org/cases/liuqi.shtml

15-Year-Old Orphaned as Mother Dies in Custody for Practicing Falun Gong
May 8, 2008 – The Falun Dafa Information Center has learned of the death of Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhou Huimin (???), based on reports from her son and corroborated by sources from within China. Ms. Zhou passed away at Qingyang District People’s Hospital in Chengdu city, Sichuan province on March 15, 2008. She was 44 years old.

“Just a few days ago, I turned 15. [Also] just a few days ago, my kind and healthy mother was tortured to death,” wrote Zhou Hanyang, the son of Zhou Huimin, in a letter received by the FDIC last month. “During the 198 days since my mother was arrested, we worried and feared for her day and night. With great sorrow, I remember the days I spent together with my mother and mourn her.”

Full story: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9521

MSNBC: China’s Organ Harvesting Questioned Again by UN Special Rapporteurs
May 8, 2008 – Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs have reiterated their previous findings on China's organ harvesting. Once again, they requested the Chinese government to fully explain the allegation of taking vital organs from Falun Gong practitioners and the source of organs for the sudden increase in organ transplants that has been going on in China since the year 2000.

Citing recently published 2008 annual reports of the UN Special Rapporteurs, the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group (FalunHR) applauds the joint request that Ms. Asma Jahangir and Mr. Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief and on the Question of Torture, sent to the Chinese government.

Full story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24516546/

Prisoner of Conscience Cao Dong’s Wife Writes Open Letter Detailing Official Torture, Family Harassment and Lack of Due Process
April 8, 2008 – Yang Xiaojing, the wife of prisoner of conscience Cao Dong, published a letter addressed to the international community. Cao is a Falun Gong practitioner who was sentenced to five years in prison for meeting with European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan Scott in Beijing to discuss rights abuses.

“…right after his meeting with Edward McMillan-Scott, [Cao] was arrested and detained in the Beijing Security Bureau Detention Center. He was handcuffed to a chair for more than a month. The cruel torture caused massive hemorrhaging in his stomach,” writes Yang in the letter.

“…As his wife, I started to look for a defense lawyer for him in August, 2007...I consulted lawyer Li Heping. …Lawyer Li Heping was beaten up by police for several hours. All the materials that I gave him were taken away…My home was ransacked. Although the police didn't find any Falun Gong materials, they still took me away to a hotel. They interrogated me…”

Complete text of letter: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9522

Human Rights Watch Report: Lawyers Who Defend Falun Gong Face Harassment
April 29, 2008 – “Chinese lawyers who take cases seen by the government as politically sensitive or potentially embarrassing face severe abuses ranging from harassment to disbarment and physical assaults,” Human Rights Watch said in a new report. Among the cases highlighted in the report were lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng and Yang Zaixin who had defended Falun Gong practitioners and subsequently faced threats, disbarment, beatings, and/or detention.

“…On October 19, 2005, one day after Gao [Zhisheng] published a scathing open letter to the top state leaders about abuses against religious and Falun Gong practitioners, he received an anonymous threat by phone: ‘We know where you live and we know where your daughter goes to school.’ The next day Gao and his wife verified that their 12-year-old daughter was indeed followed by plainclothes police officers…” (pg. 34)

“…An attorney from impoverished Guangxi province, Yang Zaixin, was dismissed from his law firm in January 2006 after he took a series of sensitive cases, including those of defendants accused of being members of the banned Falun Gong.” (pg 48)

For more information visit: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/28/china18656.htm

USA Today: “In China, a battle over web censorship”; Falun Gong adherents among ‘hacktivists’ cracking ‘Great Firewall’
April 23, 2008 – “If an Internet user in China searches for the word ‘persecution’, he or she is likely to come up with a link to a blank screen that says ‘page cannot be displayed.’”

“…It's a reflection of the stifling, bizarre and sometimes dangerous world of Internet censorship in China….Fighting the censors every step of the way is an army of self-described ‘hacktivists’ such as Bill Xia, a Chinese-born software engineer who lives in North Carolina…Invoking the hit science-fiction movie The Matrix, Xia has compared what he does to giving Chinese Web surfers a ‘red pill’ that lets them see reality for the first time…”

“…Xia admits he had little interest in politics until the Chinese government banned the spiritual group Falun Gong in 1999 and started persecuting its members. Xia is a member of the group.”

Full story: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080423/1a_cover23.art.htm

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER- Contacts: Gail Rachlin 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 646-415-0998, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Joel Chipkar 416-709-8678. Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

Hypocrisy blooms at tulip fest

By PETER WORTHINGTON

Edmonton Sun: A certain amount of hypocrisy is inevitable (perhaps even necessary) in personal and public lives, but when overdone it is not only embarrassing but destructive to those who indulge in it.

For example, it was probably distasteful to the Queen to host Rumania's Nicolae Ceausescu, prior to his being summarily executed by his own people, as it was awkward for then-president George H.W. Bush to be reminded he'd once praised Ceausescu's "respect for human rights." Hypocritical, perhaps, but a hazard of the job.

Canada's good (and profitable) relations with Taiwan didn't deter us from banning Taiwan from competing in the 1976 Montreal Olympics in order to appease China to whom we sold wheat and because PM Pierre Trudeau hero-worshipped Mao.

So hypocrisy and double-standards are nothing new.

Though of little international significance, a recent example of hypocrisy and cowardice was the organizers of the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa reneging on an invitation to have a celebrated Chinese marching band play O Canada and The Maple Leaf Forever, minutes before they were to appear on stage.

Apparently the Chinese embassy in Ottawa objected to the Tian Guo Marching Band because it is linked to Falun Gong, a benign, meditative philosophy that China banned as an enemy in 1999 because it was more popular than the communist party.

FALUN GONG

Beijing has been persecuting and harassing Falun Gong practitioners ever since -- not only putting practioners in jail, but allegedly "harvesting" their vital organs for sale to rich people needing transplants. China denies this but has admitted criminals on death-row (of which there are thousands) often have executions delayed until there are customers for their body parts.

Human rights groups, the European Union and others are compiling evidence of China selling the body organs of dissidents -- a practice suspended for the Olympics.

According to Epoch Times, which keeps a close eye on China and specializes in covering human rights issues, the marching band offered to remove hats, scarves and jackets that showed the Falun Gong motif. Festival organizers initially thought this a sensible compromise, but the Chinese embassy said no way -- off with their heads (rhetorically speaking).

So Ottawans were denied hearing this unusual band, which has won awards, including the Canada Day Parade President's trophy and the Best Band award in Ottawa's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Federal, provincial and municipal governments sponsor the Tulip Festival, and in 2002 had banned the Tian Guo Band from the Flotilla Parade down the Rideau canal.

Again, Chinese embassy pressure. Public reaction got the ban revoked, despite embassy protests.

This year, the band's three performances at Dow's Lake have also been cancelled.

At a press conference, band member Grace Wollensak said what festival organizers did was "exactly the kind of thing people escape China to get away from."

She added: "Canada is respected worldwide as a beacon of tolerance. When people are banned from playing O Canada in Canada's capital for fear of offending Chinese communists, it damages our nation's esteem in the world."

That's putting it mildly.

While this isn't a big story, it reveals a form of misguided political correctness that infects our national psyche and the thinking of those in power. Will we next revoke the Dalai Lama's honorary Canadian citizenship because Beijing considers him "a dangerous separatist?" Don't laugh -- it could happen.

China's Organ Harvesting Questioned Again by UN Special Rapporteurs: FalunHR Reports

Press Release: Thursday May 8, 6:00 am ET

SAN DIEGO, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--May 8, 2008 -- Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs have reiterated their previous findings on China's organ harvesting. Once again, they requested the Chinese government to fully explain the allegation of taking vital organs from Falun Gong practitioners and the source of organs for the sudden increase in organ transplants that has been going on in China since the year 2000.

Citing recently published 2008 annual reports of the UN Special Rapporteurs, the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group (FalunHR) applauds the joint request that Ms. Asma Jahangir and Mr. Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief and on the Question of Torture, sent to the Chinese government.

The request is a follow-up of their previous communications to the Chinese government on August 11, 2006, made jointly with Ms. Sigma Huda, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons. Drawing on information submitted by individuals and volunteer groups, including FalunHR, the three Special Rapporteurs highlighted and raised questions about the identifiable sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly-matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Although the Chinese government responded in November 28, 2006, with categorical denials, it failed to address the critical issues raised by the Special Rapporteurs. The follow-up communication by Ms. Jahangir and Mr. Nowak, sent on January 25, 2007, holds the Chinese government to address those critical issues.

FalunHR has posted the Special Rapporteurs' original and follow-up communications here.

The Special Rapporteurs' original communication is documented in their respective 2007 annual reports, and their follow-up communications in their 2008 annual reports. The annual reports of UN Special Rapporteurs typically document their previous year's activities.

It is important to note that, in their 2008 annual reports, Ms. Asma Jahangir and Mr. Manfred Nowak also reported their joint urgent action, together with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, on behalf of Mr. Cao Dong, a witness to China's organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners. On May 21, 2006, in Beijing, Mr. Cao gave his testimony on China's organ harvesting to Edward McMillan-Scott, the Vice-President of the European Parliament. Following the meeting, the Chinese authorities arrested Mr. Cao. Reports indicate that Mr. Cao was sentenced to five years in prison for "accepting illegal interviews."

Band files human rights complaint against fest

By BETH JOHNSTON, SUN MEDIA

OTTAWA SUN: Members of the Tian Guo marching band will complain to the Ontario Human Rights Commission if they don't get to play at the Tulipfest.

"This is a principle issue. We're Canadian citizens. I thought we were a multicultural society," Lucy Zhou, whose 12-year-old son plays in the band, said yesterday.

Band members say they weren't allowed to play at the Canadian Tulip Festival because they are members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement banned in China by the repressive Communist regime.

They were invited to play O Canada and The Maple Leaf Forever at the festival's opening ceremonies Friday, then told they couldn't play because organizers feared the group planned to protest against the Chinese government.

"They came from a protest on Parliament Hill and they came decked out in Falun Gong or Falun Dafa regalia," organizer Doug Little said. "That's not who we thought was registered."

WANT APOLOGY

The group believes the Chinese embassy influenced festival organizers because they practise Falun Gong.

Zhou blames a "public misconception" about the group and its purpose for the cancellation of the performance. They want a public apology and to be allowed to play at Dow's Lake next Wednesday and on May 18.

"It's outrageous for this guy to say our appearance is an insult to the festival or to the Chinese embassy," she said. "It's almost like the appearance of the Jews was an insult to the Nazis."

Coun. Clive Doucet said any group has a right to protest on public property, but the National Capital Commission owns Major's Hill Park where the festival is held, which muddies the issue.

"This is a democratic country, absolutely they should have the right to protest on publicly owned land," he said. "But this is a controlled event. It's a different kettle of fish."

PEACEFUL FIGHT

Doucet has accepted an invitation to speak during the festival.

"It's their call what kind of politics they want to hear," he said.

Zhou said the group is trying to handle the dispute using their principles -- truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance.

"We're not trying to pick a fight with them," she said, adding festival organizers won't return phone calls from the group.

"If all these groups have to go away to please a dictatorship, it is a dangerous thing for this society."

City continues court fight against Falun Gong

Granville Street shack subject of upcoming B.C. Supreme Court hearing

Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier

Published: Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The city will go to court in June in another attempt to have Falun Gong practitioners remove their makeshift signs and shack outside the Chinese consulate on Granville Street, says a city spokesman.

Joseph Li said Monday that the city's law department will participate in a hearing related to a petition the city filed in B.C. Supreme Court two years ago. The hearing comes after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in April that the case will not go to trial--as requested by the Falun Gong.

The hearing is scheduled for three days beginning June 23.

View Larger Image

The Falun Gong has occupied a shack outside the Chinese consulate on Granville Street since 2001.

Photo-Dan Toulgoet

Lawyer Clive Ansley, acting on behalf of the Falun Gong, said the group since filed a statement of claim in B.C. Supreme Court in attempt to quash the hearing. Ansley said the group wanted a trial so witnesses, including Mayor Sam Sullivan, could be called and cross-examined.

"The apparent enforcement of this bylaw is for completely illegitimate reasons and it's really to restrict the freedom of expression of Canadian citizens because their expressed views are making the Chinese government uncomfortable," Ansley said.

The Falun Gong alleges in documents filed in court that Sullivan ordered the structures be removed because of pressure from the Chinese government. David Hurford, assistant to Sullivan, said Monday the mayor won't comment on the case because it is before the courts.

The Falun Gong has held a round-the-clock vigil on the 3300-block Granville Street since 2001. Several of its large signs and a small shack are on city property, just off the sidewalk.

The practitioners built the structures to protest what they say is the Chinese government's persecution of the Falun Gong in China. The Chinese government calls the group a cult while the consulate has left the matter in the hands of the city.

In June 2006, the Courier reported about the mayor's wish to remove the structures. At the time, Sullivan dismissed a connection between his request and the Chinese government's disdain for the Falun Gong. Sullivan said his request was simply related to the group contravening a city bylaw.

"I hope that they will recognize that this is nothing against them," the mayor said.

In her ruling last month, Madam Justice Mary Humphries concluded the city is doing nothing more than enforcing its bylaw that prevents obstructions on city streets.

"It is not a bylaw concerned with regulating expression in which the city might be seen to have engaged in debate about the substance of a particular viewpoint or political ideology," Humphries wrote. "Even though the applicants say the effect of the enforcement is to interfere with their rights under the Charter to express themselves, the city has not taken issue with the substance of importance of the message the applicants wish to convey."

Since the Falun Gong began its vigil, the Vancouver Police Department has received at least two reports of assaults on practitioners who were sitting in the shack. Police did not establish a motive.

Tulip Festival taking things too far

By KERRY THOMPSON

Tulip Festival organizers certainly aren't tiptoeing through the tulips this year.

A marching band says it was kicked out of the program only minutes before it was supposed to perform O Canada at the opening festivities on Friday because festival organizers didn't want to offend officials from the Chinese embassy. The rest of its performances in the coming weeks were also cancelled.

It's international diplomacy gone horribly awry.

Indeed, festival marketing director Doug Little said the Tian Guo Marching Band was told it could not perform at the last minute because its members showed up with Falun Dafa scarves and the like. Had organizers, however, done their research, they would have found that this is what the band wears to every performance, including Ottawa's St. Patrick's Day parade and Easter parades in Toronto and Montreal, documented in photos on the group's website, which show a Falun Dafa banner carried out in front of the band. The website address was provided to festival organizers back in March.

Little says the festival is all about friendship, and that means friendship with all embassies with which it partners. Obviously that friendship doesn't extend to everyone.

The band members all practise Falun Dafa exercises and follow its creed of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." The movement is banned in China.

But what happened here on Friday wasn't even an issue of free speech. It was about festival organizers failing to properly research an organization they felt in the end had "deceived" them.

The band says it was there to play, and not to hand out literature. So what's the problem?

Little said yesterday: "We have a partnership with the embassy of China and we felt this was not appropriate." He added, however, that the Chinese embassy had not actually asked for the band to be removed.

This is not a meeting of world leaders. It's a festival celebrating a flower. And the band that had been invited to play was not playing some Falun Dafa salute -- if such a thing even exists -- it was asked to play our national anthem.

On this matter, the festival that touts itself as one celebrating friendship has forgotten what that word means.

Letter: Hoping for Change in Chinese Presence

Embassy, April 30th, 2008

Yes, indeed we will remember Lu Shumin in more ways than one (RE: "Embattled Chinese Ambassador Lu Shumin to Return Home," April 23).

For some of us, I'm sure Lu will be most remembered for his aggressive campaign in trying to derail the local New Tang Dynasty TV's application to broadcasting licence. Many thanks to Zhang Jiyan, the wife of a Chinese diplomat, for her courage and making public in March 2007 a smuggled document from the embassy confirming this plot with Lu's signature on it.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in China on April 25, 1999, it has become habitual for the Chinese consulates to interfere with the affairs of Falun Gong abroad. For example, letters are sent from embassies and consulates to foreign notables and dignitaries slandering Falun Gong events and urging non-attendance. Venues have been cancelled under pressure and sponsors have declined. There are many other such interferences, but I will not list them all.

According to Chen Yonglin, a former Chinese diplomat, Chinese consulates and embassies deal with Falun Gong by assigning at least one official in a mission to play a role in persecuting the Falun Gong and other repressed groups. Mr. Chen estimates that there are over 1,000 Chinese secret agents and informants in Canada.

I must be dreaming, but wouldn't it be great if the next Chinese ambassador would respect the rights of Chinese-Canadians and stop meddling in their affairs in this free country? It would be even greater if our government would remind them that trampling on the rights of Chinese-Canadians in the host country does not only go beyond their mandate, but it is diplomatically out of line.


Marie Beaulieu

Letter: Support free speech

Province: Published: Monday, April 28, 2008

I'm dismayed that a full trial will not go ahead to protect the rights of Falun Gong practitioners who have held a peaceful vigil in front of the Chinese consulate in Vancouver for the last few years.

Why don't we support these Chinese-Canadians in raising awareness about the atrocious persecution of their followers and family members?

Why would we in Vancouver go along with the harsh party-line and cave in under pressure?

It's high time our politicians said no to the Chinese Consulate and became more in touch with the needs of Vancouverites instead.

Diluting and corrupting our free speech is not the Canadian way.

Marie Beaulieu

Letter: Anders has it right

Calgary Sun: April 27 -- I'm thankful for gutsy MP Rob Anders for making a statement on China's appalling human rights abuses. He should be praised for this brave gesture and an act of civil duty rather than criticized. I wouldn't be surprised if many politicians felt the same way but don't dare to speak their mind for fear of retribution. Let's face it; the Olympic spirit was tarnished the moment we gave the Games to China. It's time to make a stand for human rights and dignity. Never mind, let's just give the Games back to Greece.

Marie Beaulieu

(It's a free country. Anders has a right to speak his mind no matter 
what the Liberals say.) NO KIDDING!

Letter - The Olympic game

The Olympic game

Times of Malta - Valletta,Malta

LETTER TO THE EDITOR --

Dear Sir:

It is despicable, but not surprising that Chinese Ambassador to Malta CHAI XI would openly defame Falun Gong and fabricate lies about their belief. Somebody should tell him that this isn’t China where people have been brainwashed to believe that Falun Gong are criminals. As the teachings are widely publicized and available for free download on the internet, it’s not a secret that Falun Gong of the Buddha School holds human life in the highest regard. They simply don’t kill themselves or others to go to heaven and are anti-violent. Not once in nine years of persecution have Falun Gong adherents retaliated in the face of brutal torture, including organ thefts by the brutal regime.

However, it is well known in the free world that Beijing’s platform to retain power and oppress people at will is based on pure communist party propaganda and brutality. This surprise attack on Tibet is a prime example. The fact that over 300 thugs dressed up as monks committed acts of violence in the streets explains to what extent Beijing is ready to go to portray the victims as the perpetrators and the number one enemy.

No wonder CHAI XI was quick to accept the interview request from The Sunday Times. He had a lot of crime justification to do. Hence, we all know that things are not well inside China with the ongoing crackdown on religious groups and voices of dissent ahead of the Olympics.

But, this thing has gone too far now and I don’t think people believe those kind of lies coming from Beijing bosses anymore—the communist party is just spinning its wheels.

Marie Beaulieu

China 'gaffe' was all Rae

Its human rights record is awful and new Liberal MP should not appease tyranny

Toronto Sun: By PETER WORTHINGTON

It's widely conceded that when he was premier of Ontario, Bob Rae screwed up his mandate, his legacy, the province and his party.

After doing penance (sort of) for a decade after the NDP was voted out of office, Rae returned to politics, this time as a federal Liberal to challenge (and fail) for the leadership of the party.

He's since been elected MP in Rosedale, previously the riding of Bill Graham, who, when Paul Martin began to unravel as PM, picked up the pieces and became the Liberals' all-purpose cabinet minister, giving the party what little credibility it had at the time.

Rae was quickly appointed Liberal foreign affairs critic. For all his experience (elected eight times federally and provincially prior to 1996), Rae didn't waste much time in proving himself a catastrophe.

He took it upon himself to slam Tory loudmouth Bob Anders (Calgary West) for "further damaging our already strained relationship with China by comparing its government to Nazis."

The "gaffe" Rae thinks Anders made was to note that the Chinese regime "has one of the worst human rights records on the face of the planet," and awarding it the 2008 Olympic Summer Games was similar to awarding the 1936 Games to Nazi Germany.

Who can argue that Anders is wrong?

What Rae is saying (if one is generous) is that no matter how despicable China's record of abusing its own people, of killing its own citizens, of harvesting the organs of dissidents for sale to rich foreigners, and its continued abuse of minorities, we shouldn't say so because the Chinese might not like it and might not buy our natural resources.

Bunk, of course, but that's the socialist mind-set of people who think like Bob Rae, and who want him to replace Stephane Dion as Liberal leader.

At the same time, Rae panders to Jews by suggesting that comparing the Chinese Communist Party to Nazis "trivializes" the Holocaust.

It does no such thing. China's record of killing up to 80 million of its own people (under Mao Zedong, whom Pierre Trudeau once mindlessly admired) is as horrific as any crime against humanity of the 20th century.

David Matas, human rights lawyer and legal counsel for B'nai Brith, told the newspaper Epoch Times that it's Rae, not Anders, who should reconsider his comments.

Rabbi Ruevan Bulka of the Canadian Jewish Congress has also drawn parallels between the Nazis and Beijing's persecution of Falun Gong members and harvesting their vital organs for sale.

Where has Rae been hiding to avoid the truth about China?

Anyone following the progress of the Olympic torch's "Journey of Harmony" around the world must be aware of the demonstrations that are erupting because of China's continuing cultural rape of Tibet and other minorities.

Demonstrations in Britain, France and San Francisco are one thing. Similar outbursts have been quelled in Indonesia, India and Australia. Japan has cancelled the run. Very possibly China itself will have outbursts when the flame arrives. If so, participants will indeed be risking their lives.

As for relations and trade with China that Rae seems to fear will be damaged, forget it. China trades with us, and the U.S., and with any country, because it is of benefit to China, not because it helps us.

By standing up to tyranny, we gain respect. There is no respect given to those who grovel, or make excuses for tyranny or who compromise principles for money.

Rae is the one who committed a "gaffe" by his attempted defence of China's credibility and humanity.

Most contemptuous will likely be the Beijing rulers themselves, who well know what they do, and why.

Falun Gong lose trial bid over protest camp, but vow to fight on

By Keith Fraser, The Province

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Falun Gong protesters outside this city's Chinese consulate have lost a second bid to get a full trial into issues surrounding the city's attempt to remove their protest camp.

But a lawyer for the protesters says the fight is far from over and says an appeal of the B.C. Supreme Court ruling is possible.

In 2006 the city filed a petition seeking to dismantle the protest signs and a small shed outside the Granville Street consulate that have been in place since 2001.

City officials argued that the protest camp, which is staffed by at least one protester at all times, violates a bylaw requiring structures to have city approval.

The protesters applied to have the matter heard as a trial, with witnesses testifying in court such as Mayor Sam Sullivan, rather than be limited to a hearing where lawyers argue the merits before a judge on the basis of affidavits filed.

They argued there were complex Charter of Rights issues involved but the city said the move was premature and the judge agreed in December 2006, noting that the case leant itself better to a petition hearing. The protesters appealed that ruling to the B.C. Court of Appeal, but the province's highest court upheld the lower court ruling.

Undaunted, the protesters went back to court in another attempt to hold a full trial, but a second judge, B.C. Supreme Court Madam Justice Mary Humphries, has ejected their application, saying there isn't much new in it from the previous case.

Joseph Arvay, a lawyer for the protesters, said that the group is disappointed but is considering a possible appeal or another move which he declined to elaborate on.

"We believe we're going to win this case no matter what -- whether it's a petition or a trial," he added.

Arvay said he believes the city is just caving in to pressure from Chinese officials threatening to withhold Canada as a designated spot for tourism.

"The city and the province and the federal government want tourism. They want the dollars and they're willing to sacrifice these important expressions of rights. Personally I think that's disgusting."

City officials could not be reached. The petition is scheduled to be heard in June.

Falun Gong has been described as a combination of exercise, meditation and spiritual belief.

Adherents claim there's been a well-documented genocide against their group by the Chinese government.

kfraser@png.canwest.com

Chinese Consulate Meddling in Calgary Show, Says Host

Look here for a CBC report.

Organizer appeals to Canada to review diplomat's role in quashing sponsorships

By Matthew Little Epoch Times Staff

Apr 24, 2008

The artists of the Divine Performing Arts salute the crowd at the end of the Chinese New Year Spectacular in Montreal. (Yifang Ning/The Epoch Times)

Related Articles

- Chinese Communist Party Interferes With Cultural Event Tuesday, December 25, 2007

- Linkoping MPs Expose Chinese Interference, Defend Free Speech Friday, March 28, 2008

- Secret Document Reveals Chinese Regime's Interference with NTDTV New Year Show Sunday, March 04, 2007

- Attack on Cultural Show Aims at Network Friday, January 19, 2007

- Chinese Regime Tries to Crush Cultural Show in Canada Thursday, January 18, 2007

The organizers of a cultural show in Calgary are calling on the Canadian government to review the status of a Chinese diplomat who allegedly threatened some of the show's sponsors into canceling their negotiations with the performing arts group.

Tourism Calgary and Travel Alberta had planned to sponsor the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular, a Chinese cultural show set to perform at Calgary's Jubilee Auditorium from April 30–May 2.

The two tourism agencies reneged on the sponsorship plans after being contacted by Wu Xinjian, the consul general representing the People's Republic of China in Calgary, The Epoch Times has learned.

Based in New York, the Divine Performing Arts has staged the Chinese Spectacular in some 65 cities throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. The dance company is composed of expatriate Chinese performers and includes a live orchestra and dramatizations of Chinese legends and China's various dynasties and ethnic groups.

The dance company says it seeks to revive China's ancient cultural traditions, including its moral and spiritual legacies. Some performances also touch on themes of human rights in modern-day China, specifically the persecution of Falun Gong.

In an e-mail correspondence from Travel Alberta to the show's Calgary organizers, it was stated that the agency must cancel plans to support for the Divine Performing Arts show after being contacted by the Chinese consul general in Calgary.

Organizers say they believe the consulate may have threatened Travel Alberta's business negotiations with China.

A similar email from Tourism Calgary says it would withdraw its support of an April 30 reception for Divine Performing Arts performers and cancel a ceremony where the performers were to be made honorary citizens of Calgary and receive white cowboy hats.

Joe Wang, president of New Tang Dynasty Canada, which hosts the Spectacular, said the cancellations are part of a larger pattern.

"This is typical of the Chinese regime's interference with the Spectacular since it began in 2004. In almost every city and country where the show has toured, Chinese consulate and embassy officials have sought to have it cancelled or to otherwise cause trouble."

Wang said such interference was a violation of Canada's sovereignty and goes beyond the mandate of diplomats in a foreign country.

"This is a gross violation of Canada's sovereignty and free artistic expression. They may well have broken the Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs and overstepped their diplomatic duties."

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Travel Alberta managing director Derek Coke-Kerr described the situation is an unfortunate mistake.

He said a junior official with the agency began talks with DPA about a sponsorship deal that would have exchanged ads on New Tang Dynasty Television, which broadcasts globally via satellite. The broadcasts are accessible in China by those who purchase satellite dished on the black market. However, the tourism agency doesn't have permission from Beijing to advertise tourism products in China, said Coke-Kerr.

As part of the cancelled deal, performers were to receive a trip to Banff with the support of Travel Alberta.

Despite the cancelled sponsorships, the Chinese Spectacular will go on. The show is scheduled for Calgary from April 30 to May 2, and Edmonton from May 5 to 7 at each city's Jubilee Auditorium. The show will play in Vancouver this weekend.

Why April 25, 1999, matters

Taipei Times: April 25, 1999, marked a turning point in recent Chinese history. On that historic day, more than 10,000 peaceful Falun Gong practitioners turned up at the Zhongnanhai government compound to appeal the beginning of the persecution (of Falun Gong) in China by the Chinese Communist Party. This was undoubtedly the biggest spontaneous public gathering since students assembled on Tiananmen Square in 1989, the outcome of which is well-known by all.

Just as with the Tiananmen protests, the "Zhongnanhai appeal" sounded the alarm and sent shockwaves through the political elite in Beijing. On that fateful day, Jiang Zemin (江澤民) was seen patrolling the area in his big black sedan, hiding behind tinted windows and probably shaking with fear. That same night he wrote a letter to the politburo saying that the Marxists must defeat the Falun Gong.

Just seven years before the gathering at Zhongnanhai, Li Hongzhi (李洪志), a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, brought the spiritual practice of Falun Gong to the public. A combination of exercises, meditation and moral principles, Falun Gong quickly became popular throughout China. It was this popularity that would pose a dilemma for the Chinese regime, which displays zero tolerance toward any alternative voices.

To this day the persecution, which went into full swing in July 1999, has continued unabated.

Recently, news of organ harvesting from living practitioners in military and civilian hospitals has come to light. Human rights reports speak of 100 Stalinist-style torture methods used on practitioners to coerce them into abandoning their beliefs. Some China observers have labeled the Zhongnanhai event as the catalyst for one of the most vicious periods of oppression of a spiritual movement in modern times.

To commemorate this black day, practitioners will hold silent protests in various locations around the world. If you drive by the Chinese consulate in Vancouver, Canada, tomorrow, you will see a miniature reflection of what happened back in 1999. To underscore their request that persecution come to an end, Vancouver practitioners have, for the past few years, maintained a round-the-clock peaceful vigil at the consulate. It is a shame that Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has caved in to pressure from consulate officials and chosen to take practitioners to court, using bylaws as an excuse.

Speaking out against torture and human rights abuses is a constitutional right that should be enforced, not diminished.

But in the face of brutalization by one of the most powerful and autocratic political groups in history -- a group responsible for the deaths of over 80 million people -- never once have practitioners resorted to violence. To this day, Falun Gong is still Falun Gong. Peace and justice will prevail, eventually.

Marie Beaulieu

CBC using Beijing’s defamatory lexicon on Falun Gong

MWC: I just couldn’t help but notice for some time now how the CBC appears to use the same language as the Chinese regime’s state-controlled Xinhua news agency when it comes to describing Falun Gong. The article published April 17 titled ”China 'worst human rights abuser in the world': Tory MP” is a good example but there are many more. Here is an excerpt of that piece: “a meditative practice the Chinese government likens to a cult”.

This is a benign group that has been badly persecuted by the Chinese regime for 9 years because they refuse to give up their peaceful meditative exercises and their belief in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance.

As you may be aware, the persecution of Falun Gong is well documented by the world’s human rights organizations. According to UN Rapporteur on torture Manfred Novak, 66% of the people who are victims of torture in labour camps across China are Falun Gong practitioners. In fact, many Canadians are Falun Gong practitioners and some have been tortured to the point of disability. Their family members in China are still suffering under the tyrannical rule of the regime and languish in the gulags simply for their beliefs. Recent reports confirm that they are subjected to organ thefts often resulting in death.

For decades human rights experts have all reached the conclusion that dictatorships use vilification of target groups as tactics to eradicate those groups from society. For example, labeling the ‘undesirables’ as ‘criminals or/and cult members’ justifies the persecution of those groups at their own hands. It worked in Rwanda and Sudan.

Given that this is also the tactic used by the Chinese regime--Jiang Zemin implemented its genocidal policy targeting Falun Gong on April 25 1999--it would be appropriate and responsible for Western media to exercise more caution in this respect and use a vocabulary that reflects our values rather than parroting the communist line. In other words, let’s not persecute Falun Gong practitioners in our own country by keeping the communist (tactics of) vilification alive, and blindly adopting Beijing’s defamatory lexicon.

I find it distressing that the CBC has a history of catering to the Chinese regime. I recall the recent debacle surrounding the film by respected director Peter Rowe ‘Beyond the Red Wall’, which would have been a unique documentary had it not been doctored by the CBC to clearly incorporate the official Beijing view. In the end the so-called documentary gave voice to the regime's justification for committing crimes against humanity, implying that punishing the victims—Falun Gong practitioners labeled as criminal cult members—is OK.

On that topic, human Rights lawyer David Matas was quoted as saying: "The CBC should not be the mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party and that is what it has become in this instance by behaving in this way,"... "In my view, the CBC becomes complicit in the Chinese censorship of the Falun Gong by doing this."

As a Canadian broadcaster, the CBC should pride itself in striving for excellence by broadcasting the views and sentiments of Canadians, not those of foreign consulates representing rogue governments who are known to be both massive violators of human rights and habitual liars.

It is long overdue for the CBC to take a stand to protect our Canadian values along with the human dignity that we so cherish as a people of the free world. This should be the most fundamental principle of the code of ethics governing ‘responsible journalism’. I hope that CBC can amend its approach in the future and be more Canada friendly by not allowing the Chinese regime to dilute and corrupt our freedom of speech.

At this point, CBC should be reminded that history has taught us that a great amount of vigilance and integrity is required when doing business with dictatorships. No doubt that the CBC bosses are acutely aware of the irony underlying the recent blocking of the CBC website in China, after CBC had been so obliging in doctoring “Beyond the Red Wall” to meet Beijing’s demands.

Marie Beaulieu

Letter to the Editor By David Matas

March 16, 2008

Editor
Star Times
New Zealand

The article written by Tim Hume "The gospel truth: Falun Gong" is troubling. I have written a report with David Kilgour which concludes that Falun Gong practitioners in China have been killed in the tens of thousands so that their organs could be sold to transplant tourists. Hume's article casts doubt on our report in a number of gratuitous ways.

However, my primary concern with the article lies elsewhere, its unfair generalizations about Falun Gong practitioners. Through the travels I have undertaken around the world, including New Zealand, to publicize our report, I have met many Falun Gong practitioners. Though I myself have never practised Falun Gong, the extensive contact I have had with the Falun Gong community in over forty countries has taught me at least this.

Falun Gong is not an organization. It has no leadership. It has no funding. It has no membership. It is rather just a set of exercises with a spiritual dimension. The people who engage in Falun Gong exercises have as much or as little cohesion, planning, coordination and organization as people who engage in running or swimming or any other form of exercise.

Because Falun Gong has a spiritual dimension, one can think of it as a religion. But it is a religion without congregations or priests or preachers or churches. The writings of Li Hongzhi which inspired Falun Gong are all publicly available through the internet.

Falun Gong practitioners understandably get worked up when their co-practitioners in China are persecuted for something as innocent and beneficial as exercising. Individual practitioners throughout the world volunteer time, effort and money in an attempt to end the persecution. But this indignation, even when fervent, does not bespeak a plan or a policy or a platform. It is, or at least should be, a normal human reaction to the torture and killing of innocents.

Hume's article, which is quite long, throughout treats the Falun Gong as a group or an entity and attributes to this entity the behaviour and words of individual Falun Gong practitioners. It is as if one attributed the words and behaviour of some fervently patriotic New Zealanders to all New Zealanders, or of some enthusiastic swimmers to all swimmers. The article, because of its failure to grasp the nature of Falun Gong, is fundamentally misconceived.

Sincerely yours,

David Matas

Chinese show lives up to name

Honolulu Star:

COURTESY DIVINE PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY The "Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular" shares centuries-old culture through music, dance and costuming. A dance about plum blossoms conveys their important symbolism of courage, endurance and inner beauty in the Chinese culture.

By Katherine Nichols

knichols@starbulletin.com

For one night only, Oahu residents have the rare opportunity to experience a rich overview of Chinese culture teeming with elements now forbidden in the country of their origin.

Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular Place: Blaisdell Concert Hall Time: 7:30 p.m. Monday Tickets: $38, $58, $78 and $98 Call: 591-2211, ticketmaster.com or Blaisdell box office Info: BestChineseShows.com

Chinese Spectacular transcends entertainment. It's a two-and-a-half-hour lesson in Chinese history, a study of various dynasties over 5,000 years through traditional dance, music, costumes and digitally projected backdrops. On another level, it symbolizes a revival of cultural elements suppressed in communist China.

Honolulu was fortunate to get the 100 dancers and musicians in the Divine Performing Arts company to stop here at all. In fact, the show is wedged between appearances in Auckland and Seattle on a worldwide 60-city tour.

"I've seen many shows, and this is one of a kind," said Hong Jiang, spokesperson for the event and a professor of Chinese cultural geography at the University of Hawaii. Those expecting a circus performance, however, are missing the mark on this large-scale production. "People have a misconception of what a Chinese show is; the classical Chinese dance actually serves as a basis for acrobatics."

Hong said that several details make this show unique. First, of course, is the dance. While acrobatic components are included, the dance is decidedly "high culture," said Hong, like classical ballet, with its own unique tradition.

Orchestra music -- with the addition of Chinese instruments such as the gong and drums -- accompanies the dance, providing another impressive ingredient.

"The orchestra is a fine blend of East and West," said Hong. "It's not Western classical, but it's not foreign to any audience, basically. You don't feel any disharmony at all."

In addition, each new set dictates a costume change. The Tang Dynasty, for instance, represents the peak of Chinese cultural development, around 800 A.D., and ornate dressings accurately depict that era. "They have a team of people researching the clothes of different dynasties," said Hong.

Perhaps most fascinating is the way Chinese Spectacular integrates modern techniques to recreate authentic settings for each time period by digitally projecting the images on a screen behind the actors.

"You talk about all these different periods, and it would be difficult to have a stage set that reflected all of that," said Hong, who saw the show last year in Los Angeles and said it was "already pushing the envelope" in terms of technology. "It's so dynamic and realistic. You can't put a Ming Dynasty door on a Tang Dynasty building, so everything is also very precise."

Aside from what promises to be a highly engaging history lesson, the show touches on spiritual components and "traditional Chinese cultural values," said Hong. These include the loyalty, piety, benevolence, faithfulness and compassion associated with Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoist (or Taoist) traditions. Ethnic numbers portraying the music and dance of Mongolia, Tibet and Korea further broaden the scope of the presentation. And through it all, the performers celebrate the ability to present these ideas without the constraints of censorship, propaganda or politics.

"Many people are searching for traditional values," Hong said of people in China. "But there's still not a lot of freedom of expression that would allow that." Even so, she thinks people all over the world will be able to relate. "When you go deep into a culture, it's really about universal values. But you don't have to be steeped in Chinese culture to enjoy the show."

Inhuman Torture in China: the Tip of the Iceberg

By Nigerian Times. via Media Channel

With the Chinese regime’s roundup of Falun Gong practitioners in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics, the massacre in Lhasa, Tibet, and the clampdown on the media, the spotlight has been shining ever brighter on China’s horrendous human rights abuses.

The FLGHRWG wishes to announce that it has sent out millions of emails around the world to alert government officials, NGOs, human rights groups, and many individuals of the inhuman torture going on in China. In order to win the Olympics, China made a promise to improve human rights. Far from keeping its promise, the human rights violations have gotten worse - much worse.

The following torture cases of Falun Gong practitioners represent just the tip of the iceberg. They are typical of what tens of thousands have experienced, what hundreds of thousands face, and what millions fear if they dare to place their own belief above belief in the Chinese Communist Party.

Ms. Zhang Yulan: In 2000, at the Changchun Women’s Labor Camp Ms. Zhang was forced to do slave labor, often until midnight, and was beaten and shocked with electric batons. In 2003, just two years after the Communist regime promised to “improve human rights” in order to get the Olympics, Ms. Zhang’s father and brother were tortured to death for practicing Falun Gong. On November 28, 2007, the police arrested Ms. Zhang, and caused her to “disappear.” The authorities refuse to give her family any idea of her whereabouts, or even tell them whether she is still alive.

Ms. Zhao Zhongling: Ms. Zhao was arrested five times for practicing Falun Gong, and suffered injuries due to torture each time. One month after her arrest on March 23, 2007, the authorities reported she was in critical condition. However they refused to release her. They continued to use heavy shackles on her legs, kept her tied to bed and even sentenced her to three years of forced labor. Ms. Zhao was tortured to death less than a month and a half after her arrest. She was only 44. After her death, the local authorities forced her family to sign a statement acknowledging her guilt.

Mr. Liu Hongwei and Ms. Mu Ping: On May 13, 2003, Mr. Liu’s wife was tortured to death at Jilin Province Hezuizi Women’s Prison for practicing Falun Gong. To avoid capture and further persecution, Mr. Liu had to leave his daughter and wander about. Ms. Mu Ping’s husband was tortured to death on May 13, 2002. For practicing Falun Gong, she herself had been tortured at a labor camp for close to three years. After she was released, her son never left her side.

The two adults came together, formed a new family, found work and settled down. On October 24, 2006, the police arrested them again, ransacked their home, and froze the 70,000 Yuan in their bank account. Their children were left without care, one of their parents suffered a heart attack. Both of their elderly mothers are on the brink of mental collapse, and Mr. Liu and Ms. Mu are still in prison for their belief.

Ms. Wei Fengju: Ms. Wei was first arrested in 1999. She was jailed for speaking the truth about Falun Gong. She was forced to work 17 to 20 hours per day and was sometimes not allowed to sleep at all. The guards used electric batons to shock her on her chest and in her mouth, which disfigured her mouth. When she was detained in February 2007, the torture left her with abdominal pain and she could not eat. After her release, she could not recover and died on July 12, 2007. Before her death, she told others, “I won’t be able to recover because they injected some unknown drug into me.”

Mr. Li Hongfu: Mr. Li was repeatedly jailed and tortured for telling people the truth about Falun Gong. The torture included the tiger bench, electric shocks, nailing bamboo shoots under his fingernails and merciless daily beatings by convicted drug addicts. The brutality caused Mr. Li’s spleen to rupture and his chest to collapse. He vomited and had difficulty breathing. He weighed less than 40 kg, could no longer walk unaided, and was in constant excruciating pain. Mr. Li never recovered and died on December 8, 2006, at the age of 31.