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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Chinese organ harvesting warning urged

Bloody Harvest, an updated version of a report on organ harvesting by the Kilgour/Matas research team, was released today in Ottawa.

"China's military is harvesting organs from unwilling live prison inmates, mostly Falun Gong practitioners, for transplants on a large scale — including to foreign recipients — according to a study." (more)


Take a look at the report here for more shocking evidence on China's murder for organs.


"The reason it is happening is that we have a totalitarian government combined with what I call 'carnivore capitalism' where anything goes, and it shouldn't surprise people to know that this unimaginable practice is happening," he said. Kilgour believes the International Olympics Committee should "start to make some very stiff demands on China," starting with stopping organ harvesting immediately. He added that if the organ harvesting does not stop, thousands and thousands of people will arrive in Beijing in 2008 with badges saying "stop persecuting Falun Gong" or "stop organ snatching." (more)


CTV /Canada.com CP: OTTAWA -- A former member of Parliament and a high-profile immigration lawyer are calling on the Foreign Affairs Department to issue an advisory warning Canadians off of travelling to China for organ transplants.

Former Liberal MP David Kilgour and David Matas, an immigration lawyer and senior legal counsel to B'nai Brith Canada, say they have overwhelming evidence that Chinese officials are killing Falun Gong practitioners and harvesting their organs for transplant.

The pair have travelled to 30 countries since issuing a report last July on the issue of Chinese organ harvesting and they say they have doubled the evidence they had that unconscionable practices are taking place.

They said one former patient told them he was given eight kidneys over two months before one finally worked, and he claimed he was told by the Chinese military doctor who performed the transplant that the organ came from an executed prisoner.

Xiaohua Wang, an engineer now living in Montreal, says he and other practitioners of Falun Gong -- a discipline banned by China's communist government -- were tortured, brainwashed and subjected to suspicious organ examinations and blood tests while he was imprisoned in a labour camp for two years.

Matas and Kilgour say they have documented cases of Canadians from Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver travelling to China for transplants and they say Foreign Affairs should be telling prospective patients headed to China that the organs they receive are likely to be acquired by unethical means.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Swatch caved in to China: NTDTV

Join us in our letter campaign to NTDTV's sponsor, Swatch, explaining the facts about Communist China’s intention to block the NTDTV Spectacular world-tour by slandering them (NTDTV). See a letter below and contact information for the Swatch Group.

U.S. stage show says China meddling with sponsors by Tom Hals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - China's government is pressuring companies to cancel their sponsorship of a Chinese New Year stage production on global tour because its U.S. promoter follows the Falun Gong spiritual group, the promoter said Monday.

Companies sponsoring the U.S.-produced show have been urged to pull out because the promoter, Samuel Zhou, practices Falun Gong, which is banned in China, according to a letter sent to the show's sponsors by China's Los Angeles consulate. The show combines dancing, music and singing. In one scene a young female practitioner of Falun Gong is murdered by a Chinese official and revenge is taken on the killer.

"They're pressuring our sponsors" to drop their financial support, said Zhou. The "Chinese New Year Spectacular" will be staged next month at New York's Radio City Music Hall as part of an ongoing global tour.

The letter was released to the media by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), a New York-based cable broadcaster that is promoting the tour to 29 cities around the world. The tour has already visited many of the cities.

"It is our sincere hope that your business retreat from any support for or involvement with 'Falun Gong' or 'NTDTV' now and in the future for your own interest," the letter said.

The Chinese consulate did not comment on the letter, but said in a statement that the show was "a sheer political tool used by the 'Falun Gong' organization to expand its influence and spread cult and anti-China propaganda."

Zhou, who is also senior vice president of programming with the television station, said watchmaker Swatch canceled its sponsorship for the event.

"We stand by the content," said Zhou, who added the loss of a sponsorship would not threaten the Radio City show.

China banned Falun Gong in 1999 for what it considers illegal activities. Zhou said he follows Falun Gong practices, which combine exercise and meditation, as do many of the staff at the station.

He said Falun Gong does not pose a threat to China and equated Beijing's ban to "the United States banning jogging."

The Chinese-language broadcaster has blamed China for meddling in its shows before. Two Australian Ballet dancers quit an event promoted by the station and a Chinese consular official told an Australian newspaper it advised the dancers not to perform.

Take action now - write to the Swatch Group. Thanks!

Dear Swatch Group:

Just the other day, I received a disturbing email from a friend visiting in the States about the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular coming up in New York from February 14-17. I had seen the show in Canada and thought it was simply amazing. My friend was pointing at possible interference from the Communist regime to try and block this cultural event. She went on to say how Swatch had pulled out as one of the sponsors. I admit it’s shocking but not surprising as I recalled seeing in the news, how the producer of the show, NTDTV, had their show cancelled in Korea due to pressure from the Communist party. The question is: could this be happening here in America?

As far as I know NTDTV has a fine reputation. It describes itself as an international, independent and non-profit Chinese language television station. The station employs over 60 reporters in more than 50 cities around the world and is currently available in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe, reaching over 200 million viewers worldwide. NTDTV has been banned from broadcasting in China by Beijing because it carries news from the free world. But China also forbids, CNN, BBC, etc from broadcasting on their airwaves as well. NTDTV claims to be the first TV station to have broadcasted about SARS and is concerned about bridging the gap between the East and the West.

Their Spectacular has sold out everywhere it went so far with raving reviews. What a reality check it is though, to think that the Communist regime is capable to not only convince the world that it is glorious and that its crimes against humanity should be forgotten, but it is able through calculated tactics of convincing well established firms, such as Swatch, that NTDTV is political. The fact that some of the atrocities committed by the Chinese regime were re-enacted in the show is nothing unusual; interpretative dance is a feature of all great symphonies, operas and ballets.

At this point, I find it sad that Swatch caved in to the Communist regime. This is certainly not the kind of company I would choose to deal with in the future. Needless to say that this kind of action is undoubtedly damaging to its reputation. However, it is not too late for Swatch to remedy the situation and stick to sound business ethics. BTW Swatch has it wrong--it's not NTDTV that is backed by a political group, but the Communist Party. Either way, the show must go on!


Swatch Group contact information:

"Swatch Group Info" Info@swatchgroup.com

"Swatch Group Press" Press@swatchgroup.com

http://www.swatchgroup.com/contact/contact.php

Carmen.Cao@swatchgroup.com

swatch.cservice.estore@swatch.com

Monday, January 29, 2007

BOYCOTT THE COMMUNIST “SAME SONG" SHOW

The show was introduced in the West for the first time last year in Toronto and New York City and is coming to Vancouver soon. One may wonder why boycott a cultural event? In fact, this is not an ordinary production—it is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The ideology behind the theme song is psychologically disturbing to many Canadians.

So what is CCTV’s Same Song? As stated on its website, CCTV serves as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. One of the more deceptive examples of the CCTV’s role in the persecution of Falun Gong, is a song produced by CCTV, entitled the “Same Song,” that appears to be a benign pop tune, but actually operates as a key element of the torture campaign that is being waged in China. This song, which is scheduled to be performed on February 12, 2007 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as part of a variety show of the same name, is used in forced labor camps throughout China amidst torture sessions as a way of championing and celebrating the breaking of a person’s spirit through intense brainwashing and brutal violence. As the victim succumbs to the torturers and pledges total allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, both torturer and victim alike must join in singing The Same Song.

CCTV follows the CCP’s plans and mandates as well as those of the Central Propaganda Department. “Its tactics are virtually identical to those used in Nazi Germany, in Rwanda, during the massacre of the Tutsi by the Hutu, and in Yugoslavia under Slobodan Milosevic,” rights lawyer Terry Marsh explains. “In all of these massacres, not only is the message always the same (‘Destroy them or they will destroy you’), but the name of the mass crime that follows is genocide or ethnic cleansing, and now we’re seeing something similar propagated against Falun Gong in China.”

“CCTV has effectively created a network of lies about Falun Gong,” adds Marsh, “that encourages and incites the public, the police and other security forces in China to subject practitioners of Falun Gong to unlawful arrests and detention, organ harvesting, torture as well as brutal forms of brainwashing, and indoctrination techniques to force practitioners to renounce their belief in the tenets of Falun Gong.”

Therefore, the Falun Dafa Association urges you to write a letter to government officials requesting to keep this damaging Communist propaganda out of our cultural events and to bar entry to this traveling troupe from China on the basis of humanitarian grounds. The Same Song is merely a tool of persecution, a symbol of shame and evil and should not be allowed to spread its message of hate in our society.

Take action now--write a letter to:

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay:
Mackay.P@parl.gc.ca

Fax: (613) 992-2337

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day:
Day.S@parl.gc.ca
Fax: (613) 995-1154

Immigration Minister Diane Finley:
Finley.D@parl.gc.ca
Fax (613) 996-9749

Kilgour/Matas release updated version of "Report into Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China"

MEDIA ADVISORY
10 a.m., January 31, 2007 (Wednesday)
Charles Lynch Conference Room,
130-S Centre Block,
Parliament Buildings, Ottawa

Ottawa – David Matas and David Kilgour are to release their revised report into organ snatching from Falun Gong practitioners in China on January 31, 2007, following travels to approximately thirty national capitals to gather more evidence and raise public awareness about the issue.

The second report presents more evidence, including interviews with organ recipients from various countries. “There is no doubt that Canadians are among those going to China from many parts of the world for transplants and we have asked the Canadian Council For Donation and Transplantation to let us know the extent of it,” said Matas. “Only last week, we learned that such patients needing aftercare are required in some provinces to indicate where their operation occurred,” Kilgour added.

Copies of the revised report will be available at 9 a.m. in 130-S Centre Block. The earlier version can be accessed here in 18 languages.

Contacts: David Matas 613 808 3563 c (as of Jan 30th at 8am)
David Kilgour 613 747 7854 (until Jan 31st at 1.30 pm)

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Protest letter to the Chinese Consulates -- NTDTV New Year Spectacular

A letter campaign is in full swing to protest the interference from the Chinese Consulates in the activities of NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular world-tour. If there is a Spectacular playing in your area, please send a letter of protest to the closest Consulate near you. Look here for a list of World Consulates and here for a list of Spectacular cities (click on -select a city- for the complete listing). Many thanks for the much needed support.

Dear Consul-General:

I was shocked to learn that NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular was cancelled in South Korea just days before the show was scheduled to appear due to pressure exerted on Korean officials from the Chinese Communist Party.

So far NTDTV Spectacular world tour has sold out everywhere it went with raving reviews. It is sad that the Communist regime has chosen not only to convince the world that it is glorious and that its crimes against humanity should be forgotten, but through calculated tactics it has gone as far as meddling with the Spectacular with the aim of damaging NTDTV. The fact that some of the atrocities committed by the Chinese regime were re-enacted in the Spectacular is nothing unusual in the free world; interpretative dance is a feature of all great symphonies, operas and ballets.

There have been reports of public and private threats damaging the promotion of the Spectacular and jeopardizing their sponsors in different cities where the show is scheduled to appear. In Canada, for instance, the Consulate issued a strong statement asking people and dignitaries not to support the show in any way, shape or form. The statement is said also "to have warned officials from any country [from] participating in the event." This warning is meant to discourage government officials from attending the Spectacular in Canada (and elsewhere) or from sending New Years greetings to it.

The Multiculturalism Minister said that “this government of Canada isn't going to censor any Canadian citizen from exercising their charter rights of freedom of expression, assembly, and religion, regardless of what any foreigner may say.”

There will soon be a NTDTV Spectacular playing in your area. I hereby urge you not to engage in any tactics to interfere with the NTDTV’s Spectacular in any way. It is not in a foreign Consulate’s mandate to interfere with citizens’ activities in a host country. The consulate should accept and respect the freedom of expression that is part and parcel of life in the free world.

Note: NTDTV is highly respected and has a fine reputation in the West. It describes itself as an international, independent and non-profit Chinese language television station. The station employs over 60 reporters in more than 50 cities around the world and is currently available in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe, reaching over 200 million viewers worldwide. As you are well aware, NTDTV has been banned from broadcasting in China because it carries uncensored news from the free world. It’s not surprising as China also prohibits CNN, BBC, etc from broadcasting on their airwaves. NTDTV claims to be the first TV station that broke the story of the SARS epidemic. It is also dedicated to bridging the gap between the East and the West.

Reference:

CTV Televisions: Another spat between China and Canada Copyright 2007 CTV Televisions, Inc.All Rights Reserved CTV Television, Inc. SHOW: CTV NEWS 23:00:00 ET

January 20, 2007 Saturday LENGTH: 335 words HEADLINE: Another spat between China and Canada ANCHORS: SANDIE RINALDO BODY:

SANDIE RINALDO: There's another spat brewing between China and Canada. The Chinese government is outraged by a stage show that it calls propaganda for the Falun Gong spiritual movement which Beijing has banned. But Ottawa is standing firm, and a show is going on in Toronto this weekend after a controversial debut in the nation's capital. CTV's Roger Smith reports.

ROGER SMITH (Reporter): It's billed as a Chinese new year spectacular, a celebration of traditional culture. But the modern political message has outraged the Chinese government.

HUANG HUIKANG (Diplomat): It is political propaganda.

SMITH: The show is organized by a Chinese language TV network and a newspaper that oppose the communist regime and support Falun Gong, a movement that China has outlawed as an evil cult. This dance portrays a Falun Gong practitioner being murdered by police. Defenders say it's just art reflecting reality.

LUCY ZHOU (Falun Gong Practitioner): In reality there is a large group of Falun Gong and they're persecuted, and I saw the show. It was represented so beautifully.

SMITH: Beijing, though, gives it two thumbs down, demanding that Ottawa lower the curtain.

HUIKANG: Not allow Falun Gong to use Canadian territory to engage in anti-Chinese activities.

SMITH: But the official programme includes a greeting from Stephen Harper, and his government insists the show is none of China's business.

JASON KENNEY (Multiculturalism Minister): This government of Canada isn't going to censor any Canadian citizen from exercising their charter rights of freedom of expression, assembly, and religion, regardless of what any foreigner may say.

SMITH: The controversy is no big surprise. With its depiction of persecution, the show has run on international stages for four years. And for just as long, the Chinese have been protesting. Chinese pressure did force the cancellation in South Korea, but the show goes on elsewhere. Not just in Toronto, but also in several European capitals next month. Roger Smith, CTV News, Ottawa.

LOAD-DATE: January 22, 2007

Religious persecution intensified

Will the Pope change China—there is no harm in trying.

Excerpt: In addition to Christians, Muslim Uighurs and ethnic Tibetans have come under government scrutiny with the most famous case involving the Dalai Lama, a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism who has been forbidden to return to Tibet. Since 1999, beatings, imprisonments, torture and murders have escalated against the Falun Gong religious movement which Beijing has identified as an “evil cult.”

To address the increased persecution of Chinese Christians, Pope Benedict XVI said this week that the Holy See would continue its efforts to improve diplomatic relations with China. “The Vatican will continue the path of respectful and constructive dialogue with the governmental authorities so as to overcome past misunderstandings,” a Vatican statement said. In a meeting at the Vatican residence with several Chinese Roman Catholic bishops, the Pope said he would send a personal letter to Catholics in the country very soon expressing his support for the free expression of religious beliefs. (more)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Albertans participate in illicit organ harvesting: Kilgour

Edmonton Sun by Cary Castagna - An unknown number of wealthy Albertans have traveled to China to buy vital organs harvested from executed devotees of the outlawed Falun Gong movement, says former Edmonton MP David Kilgour.

And he wants the crimes against humanity to stop.

“There’s no doubt people are going from Edmonton and Calgary to China to get new kidneys or new livers,” Kilgour told the Sun Thursday.

He said many of the organs sell for up to $70,000.

“Only foreigners in places like Alberta can afford to pay for them.”

Kilgour, former secretary of state for the Asia-Pacific region, says he has traveled to more than 30 countries while investigating allegations that an underground network of Chinese surgeons, nurses and hospital administration staff are harvesting organs for sale.

“We call it a form of inhumanity,” he said.

Kilgour co-wrote a report on the alleged atrocities last summer with Winnipeg human rights lawyer David Matas.

The two, who spoke at a U of A forum Thursday night on China’s illicit organ harvesting and transplant tourism industry, are set to release a revised report next week in Ottawa.

The new report reveals ’ lot more proof’‘ that this practice, which began about mid-2001, is still going on, Kilgour said.

The former Liberal cabinet minister said Albertans need to know that if they’re going to China for an organ transplant, the chances are the organ was taken from a Falun Gong practitioner who was jailed for his or her beliefs.

“These are not executed criminals,” Kilgour said.

Meanwhile, local devotees of Falun Gong are awaiting the results of a judicial review.

Thursday, Matas and colleague Shirish Chotalia contested a Crown prosecutor’s decision to not proceed with charges against a group of Chinese diplomats.

The lawyers contend anti-Falun Gong booklets distributed in June 2004 by the Chinese consulate in Calgary constituted hate propaganda.

A written decision is expected within the next few months.

ccastagna@edmsun.com

Respected Surgeon Urges Others to Speak Out Against Organ Harvesting in China

Leading British Physician Condemns Organ Harvesting in China

Australian Surgeons Condemn "Horrific" Organ Trade


Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Alberta: Public Jucidial Review of Hate Crimes Probe Against Chinese Consular Officials

News Release

Edmonton – Renowned international human rights lawyers Mr. David Matas and Ms. Shirish Chotolia will jointly contest Attorney General of Alberta’s earlier decision of dropping the charge of hate incitement against the Chinese diplomats despite expert investigative report from Edmonton Hate Crime police that the anti-Falun Gong booklets distributed by the Calgary Chinese Consulate in 2004 is hate propaganda.

“Canada should not allow itself to become a platform for global promotion of hatred, said David Matas, what is happening in Edmonton is happening all over the world where China has a Embassy or Consulate, and every police service should react in the way Edmonton police have acted to stop hate against Falun Gong.”

In June 2004, two Chinese Consulate officials were witnessed to have disseminated anti- Falun Gong materials to attendees of a conference held in the University of Alberta. The materials were sent to Edmonton Hate Crime police for investigation.

Constable Stephen Camp of the Hate Crimes Unit of the Edmonton Police concluded after one-year investigation that “these booklet constitute a breach of the hate crime law under Section 319.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada, the law banning the ‘willful promotion of hatred’ against an ‘identifiable group’”, “According to the law, the Alberta government has to decide whether to lay a charge in these cases.”


“The Chinese government is defaming and persecuting members of Falun Gong across the country. Alberta could be the first province to lead the way, to say enough is enough,” said Constable Camp.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Singapore: Stop persecuting Falun Gong

Once again, I encourage you to write to the Singapore Consulates and Embassies of the world and let them know that caving in to China is not good for their citizens. Singapore must endeavour to apply the rule of law! Update: The six practitioners were released from jail 14 hours later--that is a good sign. May justice prevail at the hearing Wednesday. (more) Read the Human Rights Law Foundation statement here.

Consulate General of the Republic of Singapore
1820-999 Hastings Street West
Vancouver, BC V6C 2W2

Dear Consul-General:

On Monday, January 22, 2007 the Singapore court put 6 Falun Gong practitioners on trial because they distributed flyers in October 2005. They were convicted of “assembly without license”. Once more, many irregularities in the proceedings were noticed, namely the fact that Singapore chose, from 35 courts, to use the smallest courtroom that only seats 8. Then the court did not allow the public to access the courtroom because of its size. That being the case, the media, relatives and friends were not allowed in. To avoid this form of ‘secret trial’, the 6 practitioners protested asking for a bigger room by peacefully reading a passage from their teachings. Singapore charged them with “Contempt of Court” and they were sent to jail for 2 days.

Allow me to draw your attention to some unusual details about this proceeding. Before the trial started, Yuyi and the other practitioners asked for a bigger courtroom but the judge rejected the request. They asked again on Monday but the judge said that there was no bigger room. Yuyi asked: “Are you sure?” and the judge did not answer. Then practitioners asked to add a few chairs knowing that the court did this before. The judge denied the request and started the hearing abruptly.

Apparently, forty minutes after the court started, the police asked the supporters to back off. The supporters saw the six practitioners handcuffed and walked by. The police said that they did not cooperate. The court started again at 2:30 pm but no one saw the practitioners getting in--they were brought to the court using another path. When the prosecutor started to question the practitioners, they turned around and started to read “Lunyu” out loud. Then the judge charged them with “Contempt of Court”. Practitioners pleaded not guilty. They were sent to jail without bound and relatives are not allowed to visit them. The next court hearing will be on Wednesday.

This is not the first time that practitioners are treated unfairly in Singapore. We would like to further remind you how the Court treated two Falun Gong practitioners last December. In a rare pronouncement more typically reserved for dangerous offenders, Judge Shanmugam demanded that two Falun Gong practitioners serve their jail sentences prior to initiating their appeal. Moreover, the practitioners had no legal representation in court after their lawyer, Madasamy Ravi, was unexpectedly suspended from the bar in November.

While many countries are supporting appeals to end the internationally condemned persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese regime, Singapore stands alone in continuously interfering with and stopping the peaceful appeal activities by Falun Gong practitioners. It is unfortunate that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who have been persecuting Falun Gong for their belief for almost eight long years will not hesitate to import their mean evil ways into other countries. Illicit organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China confirms the extent of the atrocities.

Freedom of religion is for everyone and the free world should respect those values even more. For the greater good of all humankind, we should not indulge dictatorships in carrying out their brutal repression via the embassies and consulates of the world. Singapore should show some integrity and leave Falun Gong alone. They have suffered enough at the hands of the CCP.

Practitioners from Vancouver and from around the world appeal to the Singapore government, Consulates and Embassies to respect the rule of law and set free the six Falun Gong practitioners detained illegally. This type of injustice in your democratic country is immoral and should be stopped. Practitioners, as all taxpayers, should be entitled to exercise their civil rights. It is high time that Singapore start to uphold justice and integrity instead of kowtowing to China at the peril of its own residents and citizens.


BC Falun Dafa Association

Monday, January 22, 2007

Chinese Embassy Condemned for attacking Canadian values in Canada, says FDA

In its attempt to block the Chinese New Year Spectacular, the Chinese Consulate has spread its venom in the Canadian and American media.


You know the old saying : there is no such thing as bad press--well they're (the Consulate) doing a fine job at promoting the show--using the same old tricks to attack spiritual Falun Gong.


"We strongly oppose the show because Falun Gong is an evil cult," said Jian Huali, acting spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. "This is not a real Chinese culture show. It's a very politicized show ... so people should not go to show their support."


News Release

Chinese Embassy Condemned for attacking Canadian values in Canada, says the Falun Dafa Association of Canada

Falun Gong represents the best of true Chinese culture. The Canadian government must stop the Chinese regime from attacking Canadian values here in Canada.

The Falun Dafa Association of Canada condemns the Chinese Embassy in Canada for inciting hatred and interfering with Canadian affairs in their attempt to threaten Canadian officials and the public to discriminate against Canadians exercising their rights of freedom of expression.

Falun Gong practitioners’ participation in the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular showcases our principles of Truth, Compassion, Forbearance that encompass the best of Chinese traditional culture where internal cultivation, and the quest for wisdom and enlightenment were the very foundation of ancient Chinese society. The dance depicting the persecution of a Falun Gong practitioner is a pertinent contemporary metaphor for the principle of "good rewards good, evil begets evil," a principle that often plays a role in old Chinese tales. The show itself is quite profound and goes far beyond a Falun Gong practitioner being killed by communist police. Our message is a voice of courage, hope, and a revival of the moral and spiritual essence in Chinese culture.

Falun Gong itself is not about human rights or politics. Unfortunately, because of the terrible crimes against humanity and hatred waged by the CCP some people automatically equate Falun Gong with human rights or have been deceived by the CCP into believing that Falun Gong has political motivations and then assume that anything said or done by Falun Gong is propaganda.

Most people are unaware that in order to strengthen its power during its 60 year rule, the CCP has carried out one of the most destructive attacks on traditional culture and values in world history including the Cultural Revolution, where almost every traditional Chinese value was eradicated and millions of innocent Chinese citizens were killed to solidify allegiance to the CCP.

It is a great sorrow for the Chinese nation that they have come to believe the CCP’s few decades of brutal communist brainwashing that, “To love the CCP is to love China,” is now more valued than 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Today, anyone who watches the Chinese regime’s Chinese New Year programs would see that praising and worshipping the CCP is always their theme.

For many years the Chinese Embassy and consulates here in Canada have been trying to manipulate the Canadian public into attacking Canadian Falun Gong practitioners who are practicing their freedom of belief and freedom of expression here in Canada. This must be put to an end.

We call on the Canadian government to stop the Chinese regime from interfering and attacking Canadian values here in Canada. Also, any principled media body should stop giving voice to the hatred and defamation from the Chinese Embassy and consulates here in Canada including not repeating their defamation that Falun Gong is an “evil cult” in the pursuit of sensationalism.

Contact: Lucy Zhou Ottawa 613-852-7494 (c); Joel Chipkar Toronto 416-731-6000

Falun Gong out of San Francisco New Year's Parade?

Falun Gong’s participation in the the SF Lunar parade is the subject of controversies again this year. It's not hard to figure out why this is--the communist influence in San Francisco is just fierce.

Excerpt: But lawyers for Falun Gong disagree. They say the San Francisco city charter prevents the city from using taxpayer dollars for political means and in essence, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is excluding Falun Gong because of political pressure from China.

"The Chinese consular general sits on the Chinese chamber of commerce," Zhan said.

"They want to create the image that Falun Gong is not accepted around the world when in fact there are over 100 million followers.

They're basically trying to repress Falun Gong everywhere." (more)

FogCity-Letter published Jan. 20, 2007: Chinese government persecution of Falun Gong well documented by Marie Beaulieu

It sounds like the Chamber of Commerce is fearful of allowing Falun Gong in their parade again because they (the Falun Gong) don't approve of the Communist Regime, or is it the other way around?

Hasn't the regime been responsible for torturing and killing their family members for almost eight years?

The evidence of the persecution is well documented at the UN and everybody knows by now that the Falun Gong will keep on defending their human rights until the atrocities come to a halt.

Would someone tell the Red Barons that standing up for human rights is not the same as being political. This is America not China! Let the Falun Gong enter the parade to share their Chinese heritage.

Letter - China’s censors

SF Examiner: Jan. 22, 2007 - I find it odd that the Chinese Consulate officials shamelessly tell Americans what to see, hear or do in San Francisco [“Chinese officials denounce show,” Jan. 20-21]. Since when do Communist values take precedence over American values? These Beijing propagandists are nothing short of transparent — and would seem silly if not so bloody — in their pretended righteousness against those of us who attended the unique and magnificent Chinese New Year Spectacular.

The fact that some of the atrocities committed by the Chinese regime were re-enacted in the show is nothing unusual; interpretative dance is a feature of all great symphonies, operas and ballets. America is all about celebrating multiculturalism. I give the Chinese New Year Spectacular five stars for their originality in blending ancient and modern China on the same stage.

Marie Beaulieu
Victoria, British Columbia

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Letter: Beijing's TV channels don't belong in Canada

Special to the Sun Published: Thursday, January 18, 2007

Re: Now is Harper's chance to defend the rights of the Falun Gong, Jan. 12

Daphne Bramham is right on the mark. The Harper government will have to walk the walk, won't it?

And it should. The nine Communist channels don't belong in a democratic country. This subtle infiltration appears benign on the surface, but in reality it is not so -- the evidence confirms that it's abusive.

Groups like the Falun Gong have all the right to oppose CRTC's decision. The Japanese and Taiwanese people have also been targeted by those Beijing state-controlled channels where hate is spread as if it were a natural thing to do.

Let it be said that Canadians cherish higher values of freedom and democracy.

It's high time Canada put a halt to Communist infiltration and this is a good place to start.

Marie Beaulieu lives in Victoria.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Welcome to the Peoples' Republic of China in your front room

CRTC, Chinese Propaganda, Cable

A brilliant piece by Judie McLeod on the hottest topic on this blog these days. Look here for more.


CFP Excerpt: “2007 was to be the year of welcome propaganda in Canada and most Canadians were to know nothing about it until it was a bureaucratic fait de accompli.


CRTC, our supposed guardian of the airwaves, has always had a hang up about keeping Canadian content sacrosanct against all costs.

Now CCTV, which will mix sports and entertainment programming along with propaganda, will be broadcasting in several Chinese dialects to capitalize on Canada's rapidly growing Chinese-speaking market.

With CCTV, Canadian television will never see exposes lamenting China's appalling record on human rights, programs that detail the harvesting of human organs for sale or get to watch Chinese citizens being led away in handcuffs for the crime of writing essays on the worldwide net.

The nine networks' journalists and producers are monitored in China by the China Radio Film and Television Group, which is self-touted as "an important mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, an important cultural battlefield for the CCP and our country."

History will be rewritten and upcoming generations will be told a different story about the tragedy of Tiananmen Square. (more)

Chinese Stability: Yin and Yang

Lucky find of the month: Jonathan Ansfield, a long-time writer and resident of Beijing, is Spot-on in his sharing of Chinese culture and politics. Remember to check Spot-on twice a month to read his articles on China.

“Beijing's fever for press briefings, post-SARS and pre-Olympics, diverts attention from the real mess in the provinces.”

“That’s right. Corner of Panjiayuan Lu and East Second Ring. He just flew by on his bicycle and stuck the petition into my door handle,” barked the cabbie, who I’ll call Chen, after the surname on the I.D. clipped above the passenger’s side glove compartment. “It said ‘something-something Nine Criticisms of the Communist Party" (more)

Chinese Spectacular Tour Non-Political, says NTDTV

This interference with our free speech from the Chinese Consulate comes as no surprise. The Ottawa Citizen picked up the story. Look here for Ottawa Citizen's initial story.

Media Advisory

On January 16th, 2007, the Vancouver Sun published an article entitled “ China denounces show depicting killing of a Falun Gong member: Embassy calls performance propaganda and chastises PM for backing event” and the Times Colonist: "China angered by response to visiting Falun Gong Show".


NTDTV Canada would like to respond as follows:

  • The NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular is a cultural event with music and dances showcasing traditional Chinese culture and values. The show is now in its fourth year and is touring 28 cities globally including the Canadian cities Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The show was very well received in previous years, and the New York show was rated as the top 7th internationally according to the Billboard magazine boxscore in Feb. 2006. The 2007 shows were greeted with great enthusiasm by the audience. Many in the audience described the show as “the best show” they have ever seen.

  • Some people prefer to ignore the well documented persecution of Falun Gong in China.NTDTV has decided not to shy away from the issue. In a time to celebrate, such as the New Year, it is a Chinese tradition to remember the unfortunate things that have transpired and to celebrate with the victims in mind. The program mentioned in the Citizen’s article is an artistic expression of what is happening in China today. The choreography and the execution of the dance performance are of a high artistic standard, and the content of the program is of high moral standard, depicting the traditional Chinese belief that “doing good will be rewarded, doing bad will be punished.” A program such as this should be celebrated, not criticized. NTDTV believes that Falun Gong’s principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance are traditional Chinese values. To avoid Falun Gong in a New Year celebration amounts to self-censorship – something most Chinese-language media groups are all too familiar with. NTDTV will not avoid the Falun Gong values and will continue inviting artists who practice Falun Gong to perform in our shows as long as they meet our artistic standards.

  • This is not the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has attempted to interfere with NTDTV’s operations in Canada. Since 2004, CCP officials have been sending letters to NTDTV’s invited artists, supporters and business partners to threaten and discourage them from working with NTDTV (fax copies of the letters are available upon request). The Canadian government, media and general public should be concerned that a foreign government is interfering with Canadian businesses.

"We urge the Chinese Embassies/Consulates to immediately stop interfering with NTDTV activities in Canada and around the world."

Contact: Joe Wang 9647) 206-8388

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Chinese TV in Canada opens door to propaganda

An excellent piece by Elaine Xie, co-chair of Canadians Against Propaganda, a coalition of 29 organizations founded to stop the spread of China's propaganda in Canada. The association is appealing to have the CRTC's decision overturned. This is followed by a great editorial called Channels of distortion. Related articles on CRTC’s decision to allow 9 Communist TV channels to air in Canada can be found here, here, here, here and here! Let's keep on reminding CRTC about the scope of their mandate. Tell your MP to speak out for your/our rights.

AP/Winnipeg Press - Jan 14 2007: On the Friday before Christmas, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission quietly released a long-awaited decision, approving nine controversial state-run television channels from China for broadcast on Canada's digital cable network.

With this approval, the CRTC has opened the door for a foreign communist regime to incite hatred against targeted groups in Canada, using our own airwaves. Worse, the CRTC acknowledged this threat but did not act to stop it.

These nine services, collectively known as the Great Wall Package, are represented by China International Television Corporation (CITVC), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Central Television (CCTV), the main television station of China's ruling Communist party. They are sponsored in Canada by media giant Rogers Communications.

Canadians Against Propaganda was among more than 2,500 groups and individuals to submit letters to the CRTC against the Great Wall application when the CRTC made the unprecedented move earlier this year to reopen public comments for evidence of hate incitement. More than 2,000 others signed petition signatures against the application.

CAP made clear in its submission the well-documented fact that state-run media in China, including television networks, have for decades been used by the Communist party to incite hatred against persecuted groups. They are weapons of a repressive and deceitful regime.

The CRTC was presented with a comprehensive investigation published by international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which called the Chinese regime's news agency, Xinhua, "the world's biggest propaganda agency."

Other submissions made clear that the Communist regime continues its persecutions of Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, Christian house churches, democracy advocates, Muslim Uighurs and others, and that CCTV is obligated to toe the Communist party's line on these persecutions through its programming.

The CRTC, however, chose not to see the big picture. In its decision, the CRTC overlooked the context in which these stations operate. Instead, it chose to consider only "issues that relate directly to the sponsored services themselves." For the CRTC, that meant taped broadcasts that had aired on the networks.

Despite the extreme difficulty in acquiring taped evidence of spontaneous broadcasts in a foreign country, in a foreign language – a difficulty that was communicated to the CRTC -- several tapes were provided. And the CRTC found many of the programs abusive.

CRTC concluded that on multiple occasions CCTV-4, one of the nine networks, had exposed "the targeted group or individual to hatred or contempt."

The CRTC called comments in several of the broadcasts targeting Falun Gong "clearly abusive, in that they are expressions of extreme ill will against Falun Gong and its founder, Li Hongzhi." The CRTC added: "The derision, hostility and abuse encouraged by such comments could expose the targeted group or individual to hatred or contempt" and in some cases the statements could even "incite violence and threaten the physical security of Falun Gong practitioners."

The CRTC then approved CCTV-4, allowing it to air freely in Canada with no monitoring precautions whatsoever.

The rationale for this decision is foggy at best. The CRTC said in its ruling that it was "unable to conclude that the offending stories" -- programs aired between 1999 and 2001 -- "are typical of the content currently aired on CCTV-4."

However, in April 2006, CAP had couriered a request to CITVC -- in which the CRTC was copied -- calling for tapes of six specific programs aired as recently as November 2005, offering to pay shipping costs. The request was ignored. The CRTC made only a brief mention of this in its decision. Apparently, the CRTC believes the refusal to provide more recent programming is evidence that the programs did not incite hatred. The CRTC went on to say it will "expect that the CCTV-4 service that will be distributed in Canada will be free of abusive comment."

It is hard to understand what this expectation is based on. In fact, a Canadian Chinese-language broadcaster was already reprimanded in 2002 after it aired a CCTV-4 program attacking Falun Gong. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the program breached five separate articles of the broadcaster and journalist ethics codes. Its contents were "nothing more or less than a biased attack on Falun Gong by the producer of that news item." And an on-air apology was ordered of the Canadian carrier.

CCTV has never apologized. They have never accepted that they have broadcast abusive comments, despite CRTC's finding that they have done so numerous times. And they have never promised to cease such programming.

Nonetheless, they have somehow earned the CRTC's blind trust.

As Canadians we value freedom of expression of the press. We deserve to be exposed to a variety of viewpoints from a variety of sources. This is part of our democracy. However, Canadians also expect that these media will not be used to inflict hatred, discrimination, or worse yet violence against groups in Canada. It is the CRTC's job to protect Canadians from this. Sadly, in this case they have failed. The CRTC's unfounded faith in CCTV has put thousands of Canadians at risk.

Channels of distortion

Asian Pacific Post: Editorial: 12 January - Over Christmas and without much ado, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), our guardian of the airwaves, approved nine Chinese state-run television networks to broadcast their shows in Canada.

The networks called the “Great Wall package” are wholly-owned by China Central Television, the main state-run television network in China.

The nine channels will carry news, sports, and entertainment programming in several Chinese dialects to capitalize on Canada’s rapidly growing Chinese-speaking market.

The networks’ journalists and producers are overseen in China by the China Radio Film and Television Group, which describes itself as “an important mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, an important cultural battlefield for the CCP and our country.”

As such these channels give voice to Beijing’s defamation of the Dalai Lama, why China should rule democratic Taiwan, attack Falun Gong practitioners as members of an evil cult and promote the defiance of the Vatican in the middle kingdom.

China-state run media is also infamous for its reality-deficient reports laden with political prejudice.

Remember how China suppressed the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in the summer of 2003, which killed 800 people around the world, including 44 in Toronto.

In June 2005, the Publicity Department of the Communist Party told China Central Television, which owns the nine stations given the green light by CRTC, that national press must “communicate” with officials in the area being investigated and inform them of the content of the critical reporting before publishing the article or airing the programme.

Chinese television news producers were also instructed to highlight the positive. Even in exposés on corruption, they must emphasise that the sleaze was an exception while the overwhelming majority of officials had high moral standards.

This simply means there will be no coverage by these channels on China’s lack of accountability or the destruction of its environment.

Don’t expect news on the air pollution that kills 400,000 people a year, chemical spills that contaminate rivers or that 660 Chinese cities face extreme water shortages.

What you will get is the Communist party’s version that will paint the internationally acclaimed human rights advocate as corrupt or the whistleblower as being an agent for a foreign government.

You will be force fed views that the individual being detained without trial for years in a Chinese labour camp is a terrorist.

You will be told that nothing untoward happened in Tiananmen Square, there is no cultural genocide in Tibet, Taiwan is a rebel province and there is no widespread torture and killing of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

The core mandate of CRTC is to ensure that what is broadcast in Canada reflects Canadian identity, attitudes and opinions.

Maybe the CRTC can tell us when the suppression and distortion of news became a Canadian value.

The Chinese ambassador to Canada, Shumin Lu says the nine new channels would “help diversify the cultural life of the Canadian people.”

We say thanks but no thanks.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

New Book: China's Psychiatric Inquisition: Dissent, Psychiatry and the Law

WSJ Jasper Becker gives an explosive account of Robin Munro’s new book “China's Psychiatric Inquisition: Dissent, Psychiatry and the Law in Post-1949 China. The Chinese Law Prof blog 's review is equally good. I’ve read Munro’s excellent response to critics regarding his past articles pertaining to Falun Gong’s abusive psychiatric treatment. The simple fact that the Communist regime coined the term “evil-cult-induced-mental-disorder” especially to send Falun Gong in mental assylums proves again their ability to manipulate the medical profession in executing their dirty work. Remember organ harvesting and this statement from the WPA?

WSJ: Scarring China's Psyche - Just when you thought China's cabinet of horrors has finally been emptied, along comes fresh research that plumbs even deeper into Mao's inequities and the legacy he left behind.

In "China's Psychiatric Inquisition," Robin Munro shows how China emulated the Soviet Union's methods of destroying political dissidents -- and then surpassed it, thanks to the authorities' obsession with enforcing "thought control" over its citizens. Mr. Munro's book chronicles this gruesome tale of violence, which became acceptable within society. He observes, "As the Cultural Revolution unfolded. . .the distinction between political crime and mental illness -- one that had apparently been tenuous even at the best of times--was effectively abandoned in Chinese public life."

Consider the figures. While in the Soviet Union, political dissidents never constituted more than 1% of mental asylum inmates, more than half of those incarcerated in China were political prisoners. At one Shanghai mental hospital run by the local police, 73% of patients were political prisoners; a common occurrence. Conditions were horrible. One cadre detained for 16 years in a police-run asylum close to Shanghai's Fudan University gave this description after his 1979 release: "The whole 'institute' was a large cage from within which one could not see the skies. Inside this large cage there were many small chicken cages, which were only half as high as an average person. One could only squat or lie in them, and I had to crawl in or out of mine."

He was lucky. Some patients were dragged out of the asylums and brutally coerced into "confessing" their sanity. After reclassification as counterrevolutionaries, they were jailed or summarily shot. Genuine political prisoners were sent to top secret prisons such as Qincheng and deliberately force-fed hallucinatory drugs. Many ended up insane. Their ravings were recorded and later used against them.

Even after the end of the Cultural Revolution and Mao's death in 1976, a substantial proportion who openly contradicted the new Party line risked being labeled as criminally insane. In the 1980s, the number of dissidents in police-run asylums ranged between 7% and 15% of all inmates, as the authorities still found it a convenient method of extralegal and arbitrary detention. Since Deng Xiaoping's relatively more moderate regime was no longer eager to execute its opponents, it needed a "more elaborate mechanism for inducing long term fear," writes Mr. Munro.

After 1987 the Ministry of Public Security established a network of around 25 so-called ankang, or "peace and health" hospitals -- highly secretive institutions that ran themselves without need of outside supervision. The police used the ankang system to diagnose cases of "paranoid psychotics" or "political paranoia" or "litigation mania." One of these cases was Wang Wanxing, held for 13 years after he unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square in 1992 protesting the June 4th massacre three years earlier. After his release, he described fellow patients dying as they were tied to their beds and punished by nurses using electric acupuncture at excessive currents or by being force-fed during hunger strikes, among other horrors.

Following the failure of the 1989 democracy movement, the number of political cases started to decline. It wasn't until the Falun Gong demonstration outside Zhongnanhai 10 years later that authorities resorted once again to the old Maoist methods of thought correction. Thousands of Falun Gong members have since been persecuted and tortured in a systemized way, justified by Chinese psychiatrists inventing maladies like "dysphrenia" or sometimes "evil-cult induced mental disorder."

No Chinese psychiatrist seems troubled by such abuse of professional ethics. It took Mr. Munro years of meticulous research, combing medical and legal publications in China such as the Chinese Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, to piece together the documentary evidence. Such tactics are now increasingly being used by the police to destroy citizens who are fighting injustice or corruption. Once the victim is labeled as mad, he has no civil rights, no recourse to any lawyers and cannot appeal against the police psychiatrist's diagnosis. The "troublemaker" is thus comprehensively silenced.

The one bright spot Mr. Munro identifies is that political victims of the ankang system have sued the police for wrongful arrest after their release. Some cases have been heard in the courts. None have succeeded, but some cases have been highlighted by the media since 2004, sparking a debate about the need for systematic safeguards, a code of ethics and outside supervision. This is partly in response to Mr. Munro's efforts to illuminate the abuses.

The response by the World Psychiatric Association, however, has been lamentable. The group's general assembly voted unanimously to investigate the allegations in 2002, after Mr. Munro's original report appeared, but after two years gave up trying to negotiate the terms of an on-site visit. The Chinese side refused to grant access to detainees or police-run asylums. Instead, the matter was dropped after China conceded "some misdiagnosis [had] occurred" -- but only with respect to Falun Gong cases.

Long after his death, Mao's evil has been institutionalized. The abuse of psychiatry by the state is responsible for destroying countless lives in China. Despite the widespread belief that China's human rights record has greatly improved, the sad fact is, as Mr. Munro's research proves, much is still hidden from sight and urgently in need of change.

Mr. Becker is the author of "Dragon Rising," (National Geographic, 2006).

DowJones

Beijing 2008 - China's Olympic reputation risk

Read the excerpt first. "What will the police do?" Good question -- take their pictures and torture them later so that they can project the image that they're a harmonious society -- when in fact everybody knows that they're not.

Phayul Excerpt: To avoid criticism China will have to sell tickets for events to anyone who wants them. It will be politically problematic and bad press to start denying entry visas to ticket holders. The fear is that organisations like Free Tibet and the Falun Gong will buy up large numbers of tickets and the final of the 100 metres will see the stands full of little old ladies protesting by doing tai chi live on camera. What will the police do? (more)

Kilgour's Speech: Is peace just wishful thinking?

Address by Hon. David Kilgour

Un Colloque

Palais du Luxembourg-15 rue de Vaugirard-75006

Paris

11 janvier 2007

The word peace conveys different meanings depending on context; my talk will relate primarily to matters where the term is intended to convey the absence of violent conflict or unfair economic competition.


It will include some thoughts on democracy building; treating all peoples as equally important internationally; better explanations of crises to our respective publics; human rights, fair trade and other issues with China; and life with Russia today.

1. The community of democracies across the world must work harder, smarter and more effectively to promote the emergence of democracy everywhere for, among other compelling reasons, the sake of a more peaceful planet .

A great European, Immanuel Kant, was the first thinker who noted in a book, Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch , that governments which are elected by people, i.e. democratic governments, do not go to war with each other. Today, the notion that democracies don't fight among themselves is known as "Democratic Peace Theory".


Some of the 40 or so dictators still in power are causing enormous damage both domestically and internationally. One study indicated that between 1816 and 1991 among the 353 conflicts classified as "major international wars" every one involved non-democracies as one or more of the participants. As not one war occurred between two democratic countries, one major lesson is clear: to prevent violence between nations, promote democracy.

EU member countries and Canada should be encouraging new, restored and emerging democracies effectively. Are our respective governments making it clear to the world's dictators that we stand with their respective peoples by adopting policies and actions which are supportive of civilian well-being and human rights and not complicit with tyrants of any political hue? Are our embassies and consulates actively encouraging the governments in such states to move in this direction, and encouraging their civil societies where they exist to implement the elements of democratic institutions? To be certain, democracy in its myriad forms does not imply any particular economic model. I might also add here that in most of the 67 dictatorships that have reportedly fallen since 1972 peaceful civic resistance--strikes, boycotts, protests, civil disobedience etc--was a strong causative factor.


2. The United Nations and the world community as a whole must treat all peoples as having equal worth and importance.


This implies both major and subtle changes in policies and attitudes, but I'll attempt to illustrate the point only with the case of Burma (Myanmar). The military regimes, which have been running Burma's kind peoples and beautiful country ever deeper into the ground since 1962, have been among the most ruthless, violent and bloody in terms of systematic human rights violations, ignoring an HIV/AIDS epidemic, rampant human and narcotics trafficking and creating thousands upon thousands of internally-displaced persons and refugees.


Many ask why it took until Sept.15, 2006 for the UN Security Council to add Burma to its peace-making agenda. Will the permanent members of the Council with large commercial interests in Burma (China and France) now permit that body to do something effective about the chaos and military slaughter of civilians, such as referring members of the junta to the International Criminal Court and providing adequate protection to victim groups? Will the Council manage to free the Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest after more than ten very difficult years for this much-admired heroine of democracy? Can the rest of us across the world who are so troubled by the plight of 50 million Burmese now establish an effective coalition for a democratic Burma?


3. World media, governments, educators and parliamentarians ought to explain better outbreaks of violence and their underlying causes to promote effective action by the international community and to avoid worsening such crises.

Consider, for example, the continuing catastrophe in Darfur. How many French, other European, and Canadian nationals know that hundreds of thousands of civilians of civilians throughout Sudan's Darfur province have died over the past four years, probably about half murdered by agents of the government in Khartoum and the rest from related causes such as starvation? How many of us know that girls as young as eight have been gang-raped by allies of the same racist dictatorship? How many still believe the self-serving nonsense that the tragedy unfolding in Darfur is only a "tribal war"? Where are most of the world's independent media--with the honourable exceptions of a few--while such atrocities continue unabated?


Where is the UN Security Council when needed? To be certain, the major obstacle to saving Darfur is indifference among leaders in too many governments, who were after Srebrenica and other atrocities prepared to intervene in Bosnia and Kosovo to stop similarly-motivated violence in the 1990s, but will not yet do the same in Sudan. They justify their inaction partly by telling themselves that governments closer, having the means to stop the carnage, will not act. They wait and more people die every day.


4. A major factor in peace is the world's largest remaining party dictatorship — China; world leaders should be calling now for action on the human rights and other commitments Beijing made to win the Olympic Games for 2008.


If things don't improve rapidly, I think there is a good possibility that various governments, NGOs and individuals will speak up on human rights and other issues in China even while the Olympics are underway in August, 2008. The genuine friends of the Chinese people around the world should thus remain engaged continuously with the government in Beijing, while at the same time endorsing its peaceful transformation to a democratic and open society, with all the essential features of any modern responsible country, including the rule of law.

The spectrum of EU-China relations is already deep and growing. For example, EU trade with China grew fully 25% in 2003 and was up nearly 40% in 2004, with two-way trade now in the 200 billion Euros range annually, albeit with the surplus hugely in China's favor. I understand that France's yearly deficit alone with China alone is now running at $US 19 billion. How many lost French job are represented by this phenomenon?


Moreover, have EU governments, businesses and civil societies considered these factors?


When Chinese manufacturers go after a specialty sector in virtually any country, the businesses in it and their employees suffer severe consequences. Take the Czech Republic: in late 2004, its unemployment rate rose to 9.5% - 541,675 jobless in a population of about ten million. In the case of South Africa, I'm told that at least 67,000 badly-needed textile jobs have been lost in recent years for the same reason. The textile industries world-wide are under enormous pressure, primarily because the economic system in place now in China-which I've termed 'carnivore capitalism'- exploits China's working people and their natural environment grievously.


Canada's own trade deficit with China was in the $Can17 billion range in 2004; this phenomenon could be costing Canadians more than 50,000 jobs yearly. It's good for fighting inflation, but at what other human costs? Only last week, Goodyear Tire near Montreal announced that it will stop tire production there, thereby terminating 800 livelihoods. Does any economist think this is sustainable over the longer term? Is the government of China, moreover, still subsidizing its exports through currency interventions and indirect grants, contrary to solemn obligations it gave to the World Trade Organization? Does the People's Bank of China, for example, accurately report its business affairs to its own people, foreign investors and the world?


Have policy makers asked whether our respective private sector investments in China are exacerbating existing social inequalities there? In the case of the rural-urban disparity in incomes, one World Bank project discovered that in 35 poor rural areas four in ten children aged 7-15 received no schooling whatsoever.


HUMAN RIGHTS

Are cabinet ministers in Europe and Canada raising in a continuous way with the government of China concerns about basic human rights within that country? The annual human rights dialogues in some of our countries-and the larger international one held annually in Berne- appear for some observers to have become essentially meaningless charades. Moreover, will victims not feel forgotten when such talks take place behind closed doors?

What about China's probably best-known and most courageous lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, and his family? How can a lawyer be convicted in private, as he recently was, of "inciting subversion" by calling for independent judges, the rule of law, democracy and basic human rights in any country hosting the Olympic Games today? How can his wife and children be followed, harassed and even struck by squads of police who follow them constantly? If any more such abuses occur to any of them, I believe many governments, NGOs and individuals will speak out.

Independent observers of human rights in China, including a meeting of about twenty country heads of Amnesty International last year, concluded with much regret that since Hu Jintao became president in 2003 the overall situation has deteriorated significantly. Falun Gong, Uyghurs, democrats, Muslims, Christians, journalists, Tibetans, Buddhists, internet users﹘all and many others have experienced a worsened Party oppression. Permit me to provide a couple of thoughts about the repression of practitioners of Falun Gong and the Uyghurs (a longer statement is available on my website .

Falun Gong: The independent study David Matas and I did last summer, which concluded to our great regret that the government of China and its agencies are stealing vital organs from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience on a large scale, can be found now in 18 languages at www.organharvestinvestigation.net . We've also traveled as volunteers to about 30 national capitals since to raise awareness and pressure on the government in Beijing to stop the killing of some of its own citizens for profit immediately. A revised report which includes damning new evidence should be out later this month.


Uyghurs (a 4000-year-old Turkish ethnic community living in central Asia): The continuing "strike hard" campaign against them from China's central government resulted in even more arrests during the 50 th anniversary of the Uyghur region. Religious and other repressions continue. For example, many Uyghurs are jobless, but the government in Beijing brought in many thousands of persons from the mainland for the cotton harvest. The Uyghur language is barred from being taught in schools even though it is the official language of their region.


COMPREHENSIVE ENGAGEMENT

Is it not time for a comprehensive engagement strategy, which calls for friendly cooperation with China 's government, but also includes discussions on such issues as human rights, labour conditions, the rule of law and the natural environment? Over the longer term, our national interests are complementary. Ignoring or downplaying such matters does not encourage more responsible conduct.


Better environmental practices: Take China's emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas and the major cause of global warming. Over the next seven years, Beijing expects to commence operations in fully 562 coal-fired plants, which will be nearly half the world's total. An estimated 400,000 Chinese nationals already die annually from lung and heart diseases related to air pollution. Sixteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China. What is the government of China doing that is effective to combat global warning?


Human Rights issues: Amnesty International has noted: "(T) rade contracts worth millions of US dollars are determining the European Union's policy on human rights in China" The same was equally true for Canada until Prime Minister Harper began last year to call for a more balanced approach to China.


Why not offer incentives to reform? For example, India-with whom all democracies should seek a strategic relationship-should be invited to join the G-8 because it is a democracy with human rights standards, competing free media, rule of law and independent courts. Why don't EU members and Canada vigorously seek to increase trade with countries like India to further promote the democratic values they represent? Surprisingly, the last time I looked India accounted for only 1.7% of total EU trade, most of it coming from the UK. By positive actions, we indicate to China's government that progress in these areas is essential to acceptance in the responsible international community.


5. Consider another major player in world peace - Russia

Despite a long history of disagreement between the EU and Russia (Canada's other immediate neighbour) on human rights, bilateral trade is growing rapidly, especially in the energy sector. More than half of Russia's foreign trade now is with EU countries. Germany and Russia have agreed to build a gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Poland protested, saying that Russia is using its oil to apply political pressure on Europe. Moscow certainly does not want Europe to be more politically and economically involved with the former Soviet republics, especially in Central Asia. Turkey, as a prospective member of the EU, promises to bring better access to Central Asian regions, thus making Europeans less dependant on Russian oil.


In fact, the diplomacy of oil is becoming a powerful tool of political manipulation. And Russian political leadership demonstrates fluency in this new diplomatic language by threatening to discontinue oil supply or to increase prices to neighbouring nations if they happen to displease the Kremlin in one way or another.


Being dependent on Russian oil will probably make European leaders less willing to bring pressure on Russia on transparency and human rights violations. Yet the Russian leadership should be reminded, constantly, that Russia has belonged to the Council of Europe since 1996 and therefore must comply with the European Convention of Human Rights. Was not its membership bid based on the condition that it would meet the Council's standards for a pluralistic democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights? Some of us thought that improving its human rights record in Chechnya was the main condition of Russia's acceptance into the Assembly (Resolution 1055). Are enough governments speaking out about the decline of democracy and human rights in Russia? What are all our governments doing to register our continuing concern about the indicated murders of 43 journalists in Russia since 1993, including the much-respected Anna Politkovskaya?


Legitimacy in the eyes of the world is one of the central goals of diplomacy virtually everywhere today. A county's reputation is now connected with the degree that it can influence others. If in the past influence was mainly defined by nuclear arsenals, bombs and rockets, having them today is not enough to have real influence in the community of nations. Even the US has come to accept this new reality. The aura of legitimacy has become a very precious commodity, which the governments of Russia and China understand too.


Since there is realistically no probability that Russia will be evicted from the Council of Europe, where can constructive engagement be best employed? Strasbourg urged Moscow to join the International Criminal Court to make the country more accountable for its conduct in Chechnya and elsewhere. The court is becoming more important as an integral part of the structure of international law. Unfortunately, three out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council ( China, Russia and the US) refuse to be accountable to the court, whose main objective is to punish perpetrators of crimes against humanity.


6. International Stability

Unfortunately, many conflicts around the world are either exacerbated or proxies for the interests of other nations. Can democratic nations join to create a solid set of principles which ensure the sustainable growth of representative democracy and good governance across the world? How should those principles guide our relationships with other nations to ensure that the broadly-accepted principles which guide the international community today are not consistently compromised and ignored?


China and Russia are (with the US) adept at manipulating the international community through trade or access to oil and other natural resources. Can France, the EU, Canada and other nations willingly accept a political order in which major powers have different and often incompatible positions in their treatment of the environment, respect for rules and principles embedded in international law?


CONCLUSION

The EU members and Canada should demonstrate stronger leadership in advancing the fundamental truths of peace so dear to us. We should stop allowing our foreign policies to be driven mostly by the profit expectations of multinationals or blatant often short-term self-interest. Economic policy and international policy should have separate foundations and different objectives.


The EU and Canada should promote the values of democracy, human dignity and respect for human rights everywhere. This is also our joint responsibility as members of the democratic community in the United Nations.

The United Nations itself must be reformed through expansion of the Security Council membership and transformation of the veto power.


All of us here in this hall today, whether civic organizations, elected officials, journalists or individuals, must play a proactive role in pressuring our respective governments to advance policies and decisions that promote peace, justice and democracy, both domestically and internationally.


You can call it idealism, but ideas do come to fruition one day. It was Europe and the Europeans who created the idea of Perpetual Peace. In the last century, this ideal was not taken seriously enough, and was often regarded as too idealistic. Yet ideas, their history, their maturation have tremendous power, as argued by your fellow French citizen and thinker Michel Foucault. Today, almost a hundred years after the creation of the League of Nation, the first international organization, we have come to understand that peace is not mere wishful thinking. It requires much hard work, patience, courage and principles shared by our peoples, civil societies and leaders. Canada and its citizens take these ideals very seriously. This makes Canada very close to Europe, despite the geographic distance between our continents.


Thank you.

David Kilgour is a former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific, 2002-2003; Latin America and Africa, 1997-2002) and a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 2006.