Chinese Lawyers Support Falun Gong in ‘Brave 300′ Case

Chinese lawyers and the public are increasingly more willing to oppose cases of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted by authorities, after an incident in Hebei Province where 300 villagers signed their names on a public petition calling for the release of a detained fellow villager.

More: The Epoch Times

 

Canadian MPs Tune in to Upheaval in China

 Members of Parliament, Senators, and political staffers packed a lunch forum on Parliament Hill to hear about seismic shifts taking place in China, where senior cadres have [...]

With this shift comes an opportunity and responsibility for Canada, said David Matas (panelist and human rights lawyer).

 “However, a power struggle is always more than just that. There are competing values at stake. The side of Bo Xilai is afraid and jealous of a popular, moral, spiritual belief system. The side of Premier Wen Jiabao appreciates the link of Falun Gong to ancient Chinese traditions and values its morality.”
“While internal power struggles are normally matters only of internal concern, the persecution of Falun Gong and organ transplant abuse concern all humanity. They are crimes against humanity; crimes against us,” he said.

 “We should take advantage of the opportunity this power struggle offers to support the side advocating an end to the persecution of Falun Gong, and an end to organ transplant abuse. In the current Chinese transition, Canada has an interest, for democracy, freedom, and human rights, which it must pursue."

More: The Epoch Times 

 Related Articles

Letter: Alberta and the Shen Yun Saga

If the Shen Yun saga doesn't get resolved positively any time soon, Albertans will have taken quite a loss in the arts department. This world-class show is just great and so rich in cultural heritage. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. The backdrop comes alive with the show like in 3-D motion, dancers have flawless moves and so in sync with the orchestra but seriously the net gets in the way Mrs. Kilmchuk! Anyhow, I thought the show was way beyond my expectations. It's so sad to see that a few people are trying to hurt the reputation of the Chinese expat artists. For the artists do a good job, first of all  they need cooperation from the theatre (Jube) where they play at and see that the terms of the contract are respected. That's only common sense. And the fact that the Chinese regime wants to stop the show because of their hatred for the artists and the presenters--as most of them practice Falun Gong--only gives an opportunity for our gov representatives to endorse our values and speak up. Bravo Wildrose and Rob Anders for doing just that! Let's hope that all is not lost and that Premier Redford can come to the rescue and honour artists with a cause.

Marie Beaulieu
Victoria BC

Organ Harvesting in China Mentioned in US Human Rights Report

The U.S. State Department’s 2011 Human Rights Report, published on May 24, 2012, addressed the issue of illicit organ harvesting in China...

The report says: “In response to allegations that the organs of executed prisoners were harvested for transplant purposes, Vice Minister of Health Huang Jiefu in 2009 stated that inmates are not a proper source for human organs and prisoners must give written consent for their organs to be removed. Overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting, particularly from Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs.”

Editor’s Note: When Chongqing’s former top cop, Wang Lijun, fled for his life to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu on Feb. 6, he set in motion a political storm that has not subsided. The battle behind the scenes turns on what stance officials take toward the persecution of Falun Gong. The faction with bloody hands—the officials former CCP head Jiang Zemin promoted in order to carry out the persecution—is seeking to avoid accountability for their crimes and to continue the campaign. Other officials are refusing any longer to participate in the persecution. Events present a clear choice to the officials and citizens of China, as well as people around the world: either support or oppose the persecution of Falun Gong. History will record the choice each person makes.
Read the original Chinese article.

More: The Epoch Times

The Choice and the Crisis Facing the Chinese Regime

The members of the bloody-hands faction that has carried out the persecution of Falun Gong sought safety in their common guilt, but now other CCP officials have turned against [...]

At a conference organized by the 610 Office in April 2003 in Hebei Province, the torture method called “the straightjacket” was billed as an “advanced experience in transformation” and promoted for use throughout China.

The Falun Gong practitioner’s arms are bound and twisted behind the back in a specially designed jacket. The guards then pull the arms over the shoulders to the chest, tearing the shoulder ligaments. The legs are tied up, the mouth gagged, and earphones placed in the ears. A rope is tied around the practitioners’ arms, its end is looped around the bars on a high window, and the guards hoist the practitioner off the ground.

The practitioners’ shoulders, elbows, and wrists instantly fracture. Meanwhile, recordings slandering the practitioner’s beliefs are pumped through the earphones at high volume. If the practitioner is left hanging for an extended period of time, the spine fractures, and the practitioner dies in excruciating pain...

To choose to continue such acts as hoisting up Falun Gong practitioners tied up in straightjackets is to choose barbarism over civilization. It is to choose to bring disaster and shame onto China.

To oppose the persecution of Falun Gong is to choose a future based on what is best in humanity.

Although the recent, dramatic events in China may be distracting, this choice is plain for all to see. Each CCP official must choose where he or she stands, as must each Chinese citizen.

In addition, each government around the world and the world’s people must make the same choice.

This moment before the persecution ends allows for all to reflect on what has been displayed in China. It is a chance to choose a good future.

  

More: The Epoch Times

Shen Yun shut down: PC intimidation continues

Wildrose Party: Edmonton, AB (May 28, 2012): The PC government’s abrupt and arbitrary cancellation of annual Shen Yun performances at the provincially operated Jubilee Auditoriums in Edmonton and Calgary shows the PC culture of bullying and intimidation will continue even after the provincial election.

In a letter to the Falun Dafa Association of Calgary, Culture Minister Heather Klimchuk pulled the plug on all future Edmonton and Calgary performances of Shen Yun – an annual showcase of Chinese dance, music and other performing arts – after the Association publicly raised safety and privacy concerns at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

Falun Dafa had already scheduled their 2013 Shen Yun performances at both Jubilee Auditorium facilities.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this government’s intimidation tactics are going to stop any time soon,” Smith said. “It’s textbook PC politics – keep quiet or suffer their wrath. I hope Ms. Redford will signify a new tone for her government by reversing her Minister’s decision and issuing a public apology.”

Wildrose Culture Critic Blake Pedersen today asked Klimchuck to reinstate the performances and publicly apologize to the Falun Dafa Associations. He also said the annual Shen Yun performance is a beautiful and skillful display of the Chinese culture and adds to the diversity of Alberta’s performing arts scene.

“Falun Dafa and Shen Yun have a proud tradition in Alberta that goes back to 2007. It’s a shame Albertans will be denied this tradition because of petty PC politics,” Pedersen said.

Related:
Alberta revisits cancelling China dance group | Metro

Letter: Calgary Shen Yun Ban -- Indefensible

Re: "Jubilee spat goes public," May 18.

Dear Editor: The Jubilee's and Minister Heather Klimchuk's treatment of Shen Yun Performing Arts is totally indefensible and every Albertan should be concerned about it.

Shen Yun is one of the top performing arts companies in the world and performs yearly at venues such as the Lincoln Centre in New York City and the London Coliseum. The performance wins the critical acclaim of discerning audiences across the globe, so why do Klimchuk and Jubilee management feel the need to be brazenly antagonistic towards Shen Yun?

If any other top performing arts companies were to grace Alberta with their world-class professionalism and book with the Jubilees, neither the Jubilee nor Klimchuk would ever dare to act as they have with Shen Yun. However, the world's other top performing arts groups are not com-posed of and presented by Falun Gong practitioners, as Shen Yun is.

It is relevant because Shen Yun exposes the ruthless and brutal persecution Falun Gong practitioners have suffered since 1999 at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The persecution of Falun Gong is the real source of the "controversy" in this conflict.

The CCP desperately seeks to conceal from the world the crimes it has commit-ted against these prisoners of conscience simply because the exposure of those crimes will lead to the overthrow and elimination of the CCP in China.

Neil Campbell, Calgary

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Indefensible/6663986/story.html#ixzz1vqADS7iH

More: Calgary Herald

Calgary MP disagrees with Chinese dance troupe ban

Shen Yun Performing Arts told to find new Alberta venues in 2013 by the province

The fight over the Alberta government's decision to cancel bookings by a traditional Chinese performance troupe has prompted criticism from a Calgary MP.

The province has cancelled the 2013 bookings made by the Shen Yung Performing Arts group following a dispute with the managers of government-owned auditoriums in Calgary and Edmonton.

Conservative Rob Anders says it appears Alberta is caving to pressure from Beijing as Premier Alison Redford prepares for an upcoming trip to China.

Anders has long been an out-spoken critic of what he calls a "brutal regime" in Beijing. He's accusing the Alberta government of being afraid of offending China.

"I just think it's a shame that we're not allowing this to go forward and I do think it's an opportunity for the powers that be to demonstrate their belief in freedom of speech," he said.

In the past, the Chinese government has pressured venues in other countries to cancel or delay Shen Yung Performing Arts events because the troupe highlights Chinese persecution of the spiritual movement of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa.

The Falun Dafa Association of Calgary presents Shen Yun's Calgary performances.

 

 More at CBC

Letter: Why Shen Yun is banned from Calgary Jube is not rocket science

Dear Editor,

Did the Calgary Herald forget to mention in their May 24 article entitled "Minister denies pressure from China"  that Shen Yun has been the target of a string of sabotage attempts from Beijing's long arm to cancel Shen Yun shows in  major cities  around the globe--and particularly in 2009 and 2008 when the Chinese Consulate blocked Calgary Shen Yun sponsors (CBC).  It is utterly outrageous to learn that this dance company got barred from Calgary and Edmonton Jubes simply for speaking out. Seriously, how can we ignore the elephant in the room when it comes to Shen Yun?  It's a well known secrete that those expat artists are on the Chinese regime most hated hit list. The  poor treatment from the Jube and their unwillingness to openly resolve the issues at hand after 3 years deserved to hit the media. The overzealous response alone from the Alberta Minister of Culture is proof enough that something unusual is at play here and denial is not going to cut it. Let's not get fooled again! Communist China is doing a little bit more than just watching. Paging Dick Fadden!


Marie Beaulieu
Victoria, BC

Vancouver: Forum on China’s political turmoil and future - 26 May, 2012

Public Forum on China in Vancouver

Expert panel discusses China’s political turmoil and future

Insights into recent political turmoil in China and its impact on China and the world

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Tianliang Zhang, Professor at George Mason University, Senior China Analyst with NTD. Dr. Zhang has provided over 40 commentaries since the explosive Wang Lijun case began making headlines in February. Traffic to NTD website has increased sevenfold since February. Will participate through TV from Washington DC.

Jason Loftus, Chief Editor of The Epoch Times (Canada), which has won national awards in both Canada and the US for its China coverage. The paper has reported ahead of the curve on events unfolding in China and its Chinese website has had upwards of 6 million hits per day recently due to its coverage of the current political turmoil there. 

Yiyang Xia, Senior commentator with NTD. Mr.Xia has presented his research and analysis at the European Parliament and United Nations. Will participate through TV from Washington DC.

Saturday, May 26, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

  Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, Room B
   181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC V6Z-2W3 

The past three months have been anything but ordinary times in China. Headline-making developments include a high-profile defection attempt to the US consulate, the ousting of a prominent Party official, and the dramatic escape of a blind rights lawyer from house arrest--all prior to the upcoming power transition in China. With the downfall of a few hardliners in the leadership, many wonder whether there is an opportunity for China to move toward greater respect for rule of law and human rights.

We welcome your participation in this forum. See you there!

Sponsored by New Tang Dynasty TV (NTD)

An award-winning multilingual TV and broadcaster of uncensored news into China

 Channel 541/Shaw Cable

Letter: Temper tantrum over Shen Yun spat in Calgary

Re: "Jubilee spat goes public," Herald Online, May 18.

Dear Editor: I am appalled after reading of Culture Minister Heather Klimchuk's handling of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Group. The way she has treated this Chinese troupe is likely to remind them more of their totalitarian native land than our beloved democratic Alberta.

Klimchuk has taken the stance (much like the Chinese Communist Party) that "if you criticize me, I will make you disappear." Isn't her job to cultivate and support culture in this province? How are we supposed to build and improve culture with a minister who is completely unable to take constructive criticism?

The Jubilee Auditorium is a government-owned theatre. I would expect my tax dollars would go toward keeping the venue at the highest standard to ensure we can continue hosting world-class performances.

For Klimchuk to have a tantrum and block a company from returning after they brought legitimate concerns to her is infantile and unprofessional.

I saw Shen Yun in Edmonton this year and the experience blew me away. I was brought to tears many times during the show; it was so moving. One piece in the show told the story of two Chinese people who had the courage to resist persecution and violent suppression in China by the Chinese Communist Party.

I don't think they should tolerate it in Alberta, either.

Justina Wheale, Wetaskiwin

Read more: Calgary Herald

Events in China Outpacing Canadian MPs, Says Anders

Conservative MP Rob Anders is concerned that very few Members of Parliament seem to really understand the significance of events unfolding in China today or the true nature of the Chinese regime.

[...]“They (MPs) are people that go on five-star trips and get wined and dined and what have you,” he said.
“I think a lot of people get bought into the checkbook diplomacy. I think that China is very good at taking people over to China and Shanghai and giving them a stay at a five-star hotel, and introducing them to people that speak excellent English and take them out for a night on the town, and stroke their egos and offer them business deals.”

The problem is a lot of our people are naïve. MP Rob Anders.

Some MPs The Epoch Times has spoken to have been uncomfortable talking about the unfolding events on the record; but few seem to have followed events closely. Some MPs who are closely involved in China seem relatively unaware of the abuses by the regime.

“The problem is a lot of our people are naive,” said Anders.

MPs offered great business deals that keep paying after they put up a bit of money don’t see themselves as bought, said Anders. Other officials approached by a woman a third their age don’t want to recognize that they are being offered favours, he said.

“They don’t want to see that for what it is. … They’re too proud to admit that they’ve been taken.”

[...] “But when you judge the regime and what it has done, in terms of taking over other people’s territory, or in terms of gun boat diplomacy against their neighbours, or in terms of exporting revolution-like Maoist rebels to Nepal, or in terms of harvesting the organs of Falun Gong practitioners, or having the largest number of political executions in the world, and its massive system of jails and forced labour—that’s how the regime has to be judged."

“That is the best way to judge the regime—by their actions, not by the words of the leaders in one-on-one meetings.”

Subtle Seduction...

More: The Epoch Times

Chinese Security Chief Zhou Yongkang To Be Investigated

Chinese leader Hu Jintao has agreed to have public security chief Zhou Yongkang investigated, The Epoch Times has learned from well-placed sources in Beijing. Zhou headed up the Chinese regime’s massive public security apparatus and controlled the courts, police, and domestic surveillance, but was recently stripped of his authority. 

He is also widely implicated in severe human rights abuses and considered the current top-ranked member of a faction of party cadres known as the “blood-debt gang” that rose to prominence under former leader Jiang Zemin by zealously suppressing the Falun Gong meditation practice.... 

More: The Epoch Times 

China's Bo Xilai scandal revs up news media run by exiles

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the scandal are the print and broadcast operations run out of New York by Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned by the Chinese government, which deems it a cult. It runs the newspaper Epoch Times, which carries a daily litany of unflattering stories about the Chinese government in 19 languages as well as tales of persecution of Falun Gong members.

Talk shows on the group's New Tang Dynasty Television explore the recent escape of blind dissident Chen Guangcheng and a rumor that Premier Wen Jiabao might resign during the turmoil.

"CNN made its name in the Gulf War. Al Jazeera in the 'Arab Spring.' The political changes in China this year will make us a top media player," Samuel Zhou, a vice president of New Tang Dynasty, said this month in a conference room at the network's New York headquarters. Viewership has increased at least fivefold in recent months, with at least 500,000 watching on the mainland, Zhou said.

More: L.A.Times

Host of Shen Yun calls on Premier to intervene

Host of Shen Yun calls on Premier to intervene and revoke Minister's decision to cancel shows at the Jubilee Auditorium and work toward a resolution

MWC: Calgary – The local host of Shen Yun is calling on Premier Allison Redford to intervene:to revoke the Alberta Culture Minister's decision to cancel the shows at the Auditoria, that the Alberta government not give in to foreign influence by the Chinese Communist government, and act committedly to resolve this issue in the interest of Albertans and the Province.

As the organizers of the performances by Shen Yun in Calgary, which Culture Minister Heather Klimchuck noted enjoys a “tremendous reputation” in Alberta, the Falun Dafa Association of Calgary was dismayed by the poor behaviour of the theatre management towards Shen Yun over the last three years, and the unwillingness on the part of both senior theatre management and the minister’s office to meet and address its concerns.

However, the recent conduct of Minister Klimchuck in response to the group’s concerns being made public is really beyond the pale and calls into question whose interests the Minister is serving.
Calgary local host of Shen Yun brought to light serious and valid concerns with the conduct of management at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, and did so only after nearly a dozen failed attempts over the last three years to meet with the Minister, and after repeatedly being rudely rebuffed by theatre management, including Ms. Katherine Huising.

Minister Klimchuck responded to the publication of the concerns not by finally agreeing to take the time to meet with the group, but by scolding the group for having raised the matter publicly, cancelling Shen Yun performance in Calgary, and further punishing Shen Yun organizers by cancelling the confirmed dates for the Shen Yun performances in Edmonton (which are hosted by a separate organizer, no less). Moreover, the minister went further by misleading the public in interviews about the nature of the concerns and about the communication the group had had with her office—suggesting the group had not tried first to meet personally with her, when in fact we had made numerous requests.

“This is not the conduct of someone fit to lead the Ministry of Culture and Community Spirit, and accordingly we are calling on the premier to intervene in the matter and to work with us to resolve it,” said Jenny Yang, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa association of Calgary.

“Minister Klimchuck’s conduct also makes less convincing her assertion that there is “no linkage whatsoever” between her actions and pressure received from the Chinese consulate in Calgary,” said Yang,  “We were made aware that the minister’s office had received pressure to end our show in Calgary. Since that time the treatment by management towards Shen Yun and our association has rapidly deteriorated. On several occasions, management has encouraged us to cancel our show, and the Minister has now taken that step herself”.

“Minister Klimchuck’s behaviour is not that of someone who genuinely wants to resolve this issue in the interest of the public and all involved. She appears eager to put a stop to a show that even she acknowledges has a great reputation among Albertans,” said Jenny Yang. “Who is Minister Klimchuck pleasing? It doesn’t benefit the Jubilee. And it doesn’t help the image of Alberta as a cultural destination. The thousands of Albertans who enjoy Shen Yun each year can’t’ be pleased either. Probably the only ones pleased to see the show cancelled are representatives of the Chinese consulate in Calgary. Actually this is exactly what the Chinese consulate wants.”

The Chinese Consulate in Calgary has actively sought to interfere with the Shen Yun performances here, and in 2008 Tourism Calgary notably caved into pressure and withdrew its sponsorship.

“We are calling on Premier Allison Redford to show that the Alberta government will not similarly give in to foreign influence and is committed to to resolve this issue in the interest of Albertans and the Province,” said Yang.

Please note the below breakdown of misconceptions communicated by the Culture Minister and her office in recent interviews with the media. 

Fact sheet clarifying misconception about the matter

Misconception:Pressure from the Chinese Consulate in Calgary has played no role in Jubilee’s attitude towards Shen Yun
Fact:Shen Yun’s problems with the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium started in 2010, after  the diplomatic pressure from the People’s Republic of China on the Alberta government to cancel Shen Yun.
In the Calgary Herald, Heather Klimchuk dismissed this notion, saying it had “no linkage whatsoever” to her decision to cancel the performance.
However, it is a fact that the efforts the Calgary Falun Dafa Association or Shen Yun made since 2010 to meet with either the Minister of Culture or Jubilee management about our concerns, both the Minister of Culture and Jubilee management had only one reply: which was to suggest Shen Yun could cancel their shows and seek other venues. This response did not come after discussion or negotiation; it has been the only response put forth by Jubilee management or the Minister of Culture to resolve our concerns. This is a highly abnormal way for a professional organization to treat its clients and it is does raise valid questions about whether they are under outside pressure.
————————
Misconception:Shen Yun is bringing a private issue to the public
Fact:The Jubilee Auditorium is owned and operated by the provincial government. Therefore, the operation of this venue is an issue in public interest.
The Globe and Mail quoted Marie Iwanow, communications director for Alberta’s Culture Ministry as saying, “We do consider this a private matter with a client… So it’s unfortunate maybe that they chose to express their concerns through the news media.”
In fact, we have made numerous requests over the last three years for a meeting to address our concerns, and on every occasion we were rebuffed. Only when the poor treatment by theatre management escalated and we saw no willingness on the part of the government to address these concerns did we bring the matter to the public.
In fact, the Minister of Culture directly oversees the Jubilee Auditorium. It is a government owned and taxpayer-subsidized institution and is therefore accountable to the public. If a client of the Jubilee chooses to raise an issue with Jubilee management to the public, this is an above board action. The idea that we should only communicate our concerns in secret with the provincial government is wrong.
————————
Misconception:The Calgary Falun Dafa Association did not give the Jubilee or the government time to respond to its complaints
Fact:The Calgary Falun Dafa Association has tried to book appointments to meet with the Minister of Culture for three years.
The CBC quoted Heather Klimchuk as saying, “When we have a situation like this it’s really important to resolve this through the channels first.”
In nearly a dozen attempts to meet with the minister of culture over three years, each attempt was ignored or rebuffed. In our view, the ministry of culture has had many opportunities to respond to our complaints.
————————
Misconception:The relationship between Shen Yun and the Jubilee has deteriorated to the point it cannot be resolved.
Fact:The Calgary Falun Dafa Association is asking that the Minister of Culture apologize to Shen Yun, invite them to return, and remove the orchestra pit safety net for future Shen Yun performances. We feel that these are all reasonable requests and if they were met our issues would be resolved.
Furthermore, in Heather Klimchuk’s letter to the Calgary Falun Dafa Association she stated that she felt the relationship between her department and us had deteriorated to the point it could not be resolved. However, since the Minister of Culture has never met or talked with us, we feel it is presumptuous to say that our relationship is unsalvageable. We remain committed to resolving the issues and only hope for the government to step forward on its side and show a willingness to do the same.
————————
Misconception:Shen Yun is asking for apology about a safety net
Fact:Shen Yun has never asked for an apology about the net, only a chance to negotiate its removal given that it is highly obtrusive and unlike any other in the more than 100 theatres Shen Yun has performed.
The Calgary Herald quoted Heather Klimchuk as saying, “I'm not going to apologize for the safety of performers or musicians at either Jube.” Ms. Klimchuck is either demonstrating that she still has not understood our request or she is intentionally misleading the public.
In fact Shen Yun has never asked for an apology about the net, they’ve only asked to negotiate the removal the net. Even the government’s Northern Jubilee theatre has no such net—making the minister’s complete unwillingness to have a reasonable discussion on the matter all the more unusual.
————————
Misconception:Shen Yun is asking for apology about technical errors
Fact:The Calgary Falun Dafa Association is asking that the Jubilee apologize for any disrespectful and unprofessional treatment towards Shen Yun
In response to this request, Heather Klimchuk said in the Calgary Herald that an investigation had been undertaken and that, “we were satisfied that everything is fine.” She went on to say, “I know how hard they work in both Jubilees and I'm very proud of my team.”
The Calgary Falun Dafa Association has highlighted a few examples of technical errors, such as a lighting error, but was not asking for apologies about these specific issues. We asked for an apology because Jubilee management did not take these errors and other transgressions seriously and were rude, dismissive and arrogant when confronted with them.
————————
Misconception:The Jubilee Auditorium has complaints about Shen Yun
Fact:The Metro newspaper reported that Marie Iwanow, spokesperson for the Minister of Culture, said that complaints involving both parties date back to 2010.  However, neither Shen Yun nor our association have been notified of any of the supposed complaints directed toward us. If there were complaints that the Minister deemed relevant, it would seem only reasonable to communicate those to us such that we might address them. We are particularly interested in knowing of any complaints as we are aware of past efforts by the Chinese regime to disrupt Shen Yun shows by complaining to theatres in the name of concerned members of the public.

Letter: Shen Yun and the elephant in the room

Dear Editor,

I don't think we can ignore the elephant in the room much longer when it comes to Shen Yun. After a string of sabotage attempts from Beijing's long arm to cancel Shen Yun shows in major cities around the globe--and particularly in 2008 when the Consulate blocked Calgary Shen Yun sponsors (CBC report)--it is utterly outrageous to learn that this dance company would get barred from Calgary and Edmonton venues simply for speaking out. The poor treatment from the Jube and their unwillingness to openly resolve the issues at hand after 3 years deserved to hit the media. The bullying response alone from the Alberta Minister of Culture is proof enough that something unusual is at play here. Let's not get fooled again! Communist China is doing a bit more than just watching here.

Marie Beaulieu
Victoria BC

China and the West: An Uncomfortable Connection

By The Hon. David Kilgour on May 16, 2012

I admire the people of China greatly, including their often heroic protests against acts of misfeasance by their government. To his credit, the outgoing premier, Wen Jiabao, has spoken often about the necessity for democratic reform. He recently had a major role in blocking the advance of Bo Xilai to the nine-member Standing Committee of the Communist Party. Bo and his mentor, former President Jiang Zemin, have been among the worst offenders in the ongoing persecution of the Falun Gong movement since July, 1999.  Bo has been removed from his  posts and his wife, Gu Kailai, is under investigation concerning the murder of a British citizen. The next to go will hopefully be Zhou Yongkang, the Party head of security, who worked closely with Zemin and Bo in the persecution of Falun Gong.

The differences real friends of China in open societies everywhere have are with the party-state in Beijing, which is unworthy of the Chinese people and has ruled contrary to their best traditional values since seizing power in 1949. Four major areas of concern at home and internationally today are Maoist governance practices, persecution of religions, state capitalism, and systematic attacks on Internet freedom....

In mid-2006, Canadian lawyer David Matas and I were asked to report independently on allegations that peaceful Falun Gong practitioners were being killed for their vital organs. To our dismay, we located 52 kinds of evidence that a new crime against humanity was occurring across China on a large scale, which continues today. You can access our revised report in 18 languages at http://organharvestinvestigation.net/ or our 2009 book, Bloody Harvest, which is available in Mandarin and English.

International gathering of Falun Gong practitioners

Matas and I have since travelled as volunteers to more than 40 national capitals, meeting with Falun Gong practitioners who managed to leave both forced labour camps across China and the country itself, citizens, legislators, government ministers, academics and journalists in a campaign to persuade the party-state to cease a barbaric national and international commerce. I understand that Wen Jiabao has recently called on the party-state to cease the persecution.

The piece concludes that the persecution of Falun Gong, Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and other spiritual communities continues across China and that “All people of faith and their governments must let the party-state know continuously that they decry its tactics of persecution and intimidation against … spiritual communities.” ...

More: The Metropolitain

An Open Letter to President Obama: Support Falun Gong in China

By Alan Adler Executive Director-Friends of Falun Gong

Dear President Obama,

There is still time—but not much—to change your position on the communist regime in China. In the battle between good and evil, there can be no bystanders.

The gang that has terrorized its own people for 60 years is playing an end game. More than 115 million members of the Chinese Communist Party, Youth League, and Young Pioneers have withdrawn their membership and their hearts. Civic unrest and voices of dissent form a rising tide that the corrupt security apparatus cannot stem.

A victory for those that support Falun Gong will be a victory for all the good people of China.

China’s own people can no longer tolerate a regime responsible for more than 80 million unnatural deaths—nor should your administration, in the face of evidence of the unprecedented human rights violations the regime has perpetrated.

Media reports have often described the series of events, including the attempted defection of Deputy Mayor and former Chief of Police Wang Lijun to the U.S Consulate in Chengdu that revealed a plan by Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai and domestic security czar Zhou Yongkang to launch a coup, the removal of Bo Xilai from office, etc. as instances of infighting among the high-level officials in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but the story is not that simple.

As you know, in July 1999, Jiang Zemin made a fateful decision to persecute tens of millions of Chinese practicing Falun Gong. What followed was a campaign of terror, imprisonment, lies, torture, and killing on a scale the world has never seen. It is a campaign of pure evil against a group of people who have no political aspirations, but aspire only to be good people.
 

The ghastly crowning achievement of this persecution is that the regime perfected techniques of removing organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, killing untold thousands for profit, with the blessing of officials up to the Politburo level.

Through its history, the United States has made good choices and bad choices when deciding to support one group or another for political power in foreign lands. This time, the choice is far beyond two groups seeking control. It is a stark choice between those who have wielded torture and genocide vs. those who wish to redress wrongs and heal their nation. On a higher plane, it is a choice between good and evil, the kind of historic choice that a generation may get a chance to make just once.

The Falun Gong issue is the issue in this tense fight. The different factions have staked their careers on either side. A victory for those that support Falun Gong will be a victory for all the good people of China and all the groups and spiritual organizations that have been repressed and brutalized since 1950. The U.S. can side with the good mainstream people of China (Falun Gong) or placate the CCP, fall into their trap by continuing to support this evil, tyrannical regime with no future, by doing nothing. If someone is doing something evil, and you sit by and let it happen, your inaction is immoral. That is not who you are. That is not who the people of this great country, that you represent, are.

What you can do specifically now:

• Convey to President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao that you support efforts to redress the wrongs perpetrated against Falun Gong practitioners since 1999.
• Support all lawsuits brought against Jiang Zemin, Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, (and others) in U.S. and international courts.
• Publicly proclaim, clearly and unambiguously, that the persecution of Falun Gong in China violates numerous fundamental human rights and must cease immediately.

We urge you to come forward quickly, since the situation in China is dynamic and moving with unforeseen speed. The speed with which the Soviet Union fell is a recent example.

Some 7000 Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world gathered in New York this past weekend to celebrate 20 years since the public introduction of the practice in China—as well as to peacefully call for the end of 13 years of persecution. They would welcome your coming forward now at this moment.
It would be even more welcomed by the tens of millions of good Chinese people that have suffered for thirteen long years simply because they strove to improve their health and character by following the universally good principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives.

Your legacy, and the fate of millions of innocent people, hangs in the balance. The choice is yours. We urge you to do what is right.

Sincerely,

Alan Adler
Executive Director
Friends of Falun Gong

More: Epoch Times

Local host of Shen Yun Performing Arts says Minister acted punitively

CALGARY—Alberta’s Minister of Culture and Community Services, Heather Klimchuk, responded to recent complaints of professional misconduct at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium by canceling future performances by internationally acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Calgary Falun Dafa Association, who is the presenting organization of Shen Yun in Calgary, raised the complaints in an April 16 news release.  In a response addressed to the group, Klimchuk said that she was concerned that the presenters brought complaints to the public, and concluded that she would cancel previously booked performances in both Calgary and Edmonton.

Jenny Yang, a spokesperson for the presenting organization said, “The Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a taxpayer-funded venue whose purpose is to serve the public and enrich the cultural experience of Albertans. When a world-class arts company feels that it can no longer perform in Calgary due solely to the conduct of auditorium management, we believe that is an issue in the public interest. We informed the media of the situation only after our repeated requests for meetings failed.”

“That the Minister would act punitively against us for raising a public issue to the media is unbecoming of someone in her position. This is all the more true of performances in Edmonton, which are hosted by our sister organization, and where there are no complaints concerning the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun has performed to audience acclaim in hundreds of cities internationally since its founding in 2006, and has graced the stages of the world’s most prestigious theaters and opera houses. The company’s mission is to revive the essence of China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture through classical Chinese dance and music. It has performed annually at the government-owned Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium since 2007, where its performances have been consistently well received.

Since 2010, however, Shen Yun management has been dismayed by a marked deterioration in the professionalism and conduct of auditorium staff. These developments coincided with revelations that the consulate of the People’s Republic of China had sought to disrupt the performance by applying diplomatic pressure on the government of Alberta.

During its April 2012 performances in particular, the shows were marred by a glaring technical malfunction, as well as an incident where a male stage crew member opened the door of a loading dock that revealed the female change room area, exposing undressing female dancers to several male crew members. When confronted over these and other lapses, auditorium management was condescending and unapologetic. For several years, the theater has also refused to compromise on the placement of an intrusive orchestra pit safety net that impedes the performance.

The Falun Dafa Association of Calgary requested a meeting with the Minister of Culture several times in 2010 to resolve concerns about the safety net. Since 2010, the local presenters have documented nearly a dozen attempts to request a meeting with the Minister about other issues. In all cases the Minister of Culture either ignored or declined the meeting request. The presenters again contacted the Minister’s office in April 2012 to resolve the recent issues, but did not receive a reply. Finally, the Falun Dafa Association presented its cause in a media release outlining our concerns, and also contacted elected representatives for assistance.

In media interviews that followed, theater management indicated that they would resolve the matter privately with the presenter. However, we received no correspondence from either the theater or the Minister of Culture.

When the Minister inquired about the company’s complaints with the Jubilee Auditorium, she concluded that because the presenters had raised their complaints in the media “we may have missed an opportunity to resolve these issues efficiently and effectively.”

“The Government of Alberta should be accountable for what happened in the theatre. We have been requesting a meeting with officials in the ministry for years to address our valid concerns but have been ignored. We felt we had no choice but to raise these issues with the public,” said Yang. “We are requesting that the Southern Jubilee Auditorium apologize to Shen Yun for the misconduct, invite them to return, and to remove the net over the orchestra pit for future performances.”

The Falun Dafa Associations of both cities call on the Minister to act on the interests of Albertans and work toward a resolution on this issue, such that the people of Alberta may continue to enjoy the experience of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

More: MWC

Flashback: Interview with Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong

TIME: What is the final goal?

Li: The ultimate purpose is to enable people to attain the Tao and to complete their cultivation practice. In the end they can free themselves from the worldly state. I know that human lives are not created from the dimension that human beings think they know.

  

More: TIME

Ottawa: Ribbon Dancers and Political Prisoners celebrate World Falun Dafa Day

Hundreds of Falun Dafa adherents gathered on Parliament Hill to mark Falun Dafa Day, an annual celebration of the public introduction of the meditation practice.

 

We should not allow economic considerations to trump human rights considerations.

—Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz

  More: The Epoch Times

Taiwan: More Than 7,000 Practitioners Form the Image of Master Li, the Founder of Falun Gong—A Grand Spectacle

(Minghui.org) On April 29, 2012, more than 7,000 Falun Gong practitioners assembled at Freedom Square in Taipei to form a spectacular image of Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. They were celebrating World Falun Dafa Day—upcoming on May 13— the twentieth anniversary of Falun Dafa's public introduction. The grand scene attracted the attention of tourists from around the world, who stopped to watch and take photos.

 

 
At Taipei's Freedom Square, 7400 Falun Gong practitioners form the image of Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong—a grand spectacle

The image was 120 meters long and 90 meters wide. Dazzling colors of red, orange, yellow, green, dark green, blue and purple embrace the compassionate and solemn image, demonstrating the enormous energy of the Buddha's light that illuminates everywhere. Ms. You, a passerby, said excitedly, “This is the first time that I have seen such tremendous cohesion and energy. I was surprised upon seeing such a spectacular scene. I have never seen the formation of such an image, and it is hard for me to imagine how to imagine how it is done. Now I know, it's marvelous.”

 
More than 7,000 Falun Gong practitioners doing the exercises in a large group 

More at Falun Dafa Minghui

Heaven’s Gate Opens after History’s Long March

Over 7,000 years of human civilization, how many heroes have taken the stage?

Rise and fall, success and failure are like waves gone by,
Love, hate, gratitude, and resentment are like sand taken away by the ocean.
Wise men and sages of the past have exhausted their wits,
Enlightened beings descended to the world to impart their religions.
Seeing sentient beings suffer in reincarnation, they tell people to become good.
Wise men foretold a divine message: the Gods will steer the boats that save people during the last havoc
Through thick and thin, people have waited for thousands of years.
Taking goodness as a boat, you have suffered through many lifetimes in waiting.
Today, the moral level slides down, kindness and conscience disappear from people’s hearts.
The earth is as small as a village. You wonder, “Why haven’t gods arrived yet?”
You don‘t know what has transpired for 20 years: He has spread the Fa [the Law or Dharma] with great effort, and his hair has become tinged white.
He kindly persuades such an evil and poisonous world to be good, even while bad people spread salacious rumors about him.
They create an enormous lie to cheat the world, ruining people’s chance for salvation by the righteous teachings,
Which brings sadness to every village in the land.
But, there is Shen Yun to rotate Falun [Law Wheel or Dharma Wheel] again,
There is a giant boat to save sentient beings from tribulations and eliminate the last disaster.
Heaven’s gate opens after history’s long march,
Buddhas and Gods come down to save human beings.
All the effort made is to help people discern good and evil in their hearts,
The truth will sweep away the dark haze from your path.

Read original Chinese article.
Tang Bi is the nom de plume of a Chinese poet and artist.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.

New York Hosts World’s Largest International Falun Dafa Conference

WHITE PLAINS, New York—Sunday marked the culmination of events around New York, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Falun Gong’s introduction to the public. Over the weekend, practitioners held events at Times Square, Chinatown, outside the Chinese Consulate, and in parks all over Manhattan. On Sunday, more than 7,000 people attended a conference at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., where they shared about their improvements in the practice.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual practice with teachings based on the principles of being honest, kind, and tolerant, and that also involves doing gentle exercises and sitting meditation.

The day of the conference, May 13, held special significance, since it’s the birthday of Falun Gong’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi. May 13 is also celebrated each year as World Falun Dafa Day.

More: The Epoch Times

Letter: Falun Gong Practitioners “Deserve Respect”

Dear Editor:

I was profoundly sad to read Lea Marshall's take on the cancellation of Shen Yun Performing Art's production. Ms. Marshall appeared to take the opportunity to impugn and degrade the Falun Gong spiritual discipline. She cites a 12-year-old New York Times report to substantiate the notion that Falun Gong is a "cult" — allegations that are profoundly inconsistent with mainstream understandings within the scholarly community.

Falun Gong is a form of meditative practice whose central values are truth, compassion and tolerance. Does Falun Gong believe in extraterrestrial life? Yes. So does Stephen Hawking. The existence of aliens is a peripheral concept mentioned in passing in Falun Gong's texts.

It plays no important role in either Falun Gong's greater cosmology. The practice also counsels against activities such as premarital and extramarital sex, as well as homosexuality. In this respect, Falun Gong is no different from Christianity or Buddhism.

By late 1998, the Chinese government estimated that 70 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Demographic surveys from the mid- to late-1990s showed that Falun Gong practitioners in China held college degrees at a rate 10 times higher than the national average (28 percent compared to 2.8 percent).

It was for this reason that some of the party leaders felt threatened by Falun Gong. In 1999, then-party leader Jiang Zemin launched a persecution of the practice that continues to this day.

Falun Gong practitioners have responded to this persecution in a remarkable fashion. They have completely eschewed violence even as they are vilified in the media. Instead, they have dedicated themselves to promoting freedom of information in China, and — in the case of Shen Yun — seeking to convey an uplifting message of hope, moral courage and peace. For these efforts, they deserve respect, not derision.

Dong Xiang, Executive Director
Falun Dafa Association of Washington

More: The Style Weekly (USA)

Li Hongzhi: To Choose

 

To Choose

The Dafa (the Great Way) that saves the world was born in the East,
It is not the wicked Chinese Communist Party [that can save the world].
Why did the Lord Creator choose that land?
To use the flames burning the wicked Party to temper the Vajras.
Are Dafa disciples any different from Jesus?
People, do not choose the wrong direction,
Curry favor with the wicked regime, and you’ll be duped by demons.
Dafa has already spread to the West from China,
Only by learning the truth is there hope of salvation!
Li Hongzhi
May 3, 2012

This poem by the founder of the spiritual practice Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) discusses the situation in China today. This translation is subject to revision.

More at the Epoch Times

Canadian MPs Discuss Torture in China

A handful of MPs gathered near Parliament Hill on Wednesday to discuss the plight of Falun Gong on the 13th anniversary of the largest peaceful protest in China since the [...]

 

MP Brent Rathgeber described the current abuses, which include evidence of forced organ harvesting, as “disturbing.”

More: The Epoch Times

A Beguiling Emissary From the Dictatorship Back Home

 

China’s regime sends messengers, wielding gifts and promises, to buy off dissidents

Tang Baiqiao, a prominent dissident and proponent of Chinese democracy, was subject to unsettling overtures by a messenger from the Chinese Communist Party.

More: The Epoch Times 

Chinese Military Hospitals Earn Criminal Profits

Chinese military hospitals have been reaping vast profits with an abundant and cheap source of organs - but not everything about it looks kosher. Far from it.

More at The Epoch Times

Organ Trafficking Threat to US Security

Organs that are transported from overseas might contain infectious diseases, but there are no customs protocols in place to indicate that they are carrying live tissue into [...]

China Organ-Trafficking Boom

China, which uses organs for transplant from prisoners on death row, has been a particular concern. A growing illicit organ trade industry in that country has been linked to the persecution and disappearance of Falun Gong practitioners, prisoners of conscience in China.
In 2006, former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and international human rights lawyer David Matas produced a report that concluded Falun Gong practitioners, arrested en masse and without trial, were being killed to service a burgeoning and illicit trade in organs in China.

The Transplantation Society has distanced itself from the Canadian report saying that the issue was the domain of United Nations or World Health Organization investigation.
To date there has been no international investigation into the Canadian report’s findings but the TTS has worked hard to enforce ethical guidelines.

 

More at The Epoch Times

Chinese Doctor Says He Narrowly Escaped Forced Organ Harvesting

A deputy director of kidney surgery in China says he narrowly escaped becoming a victim of forced organ harvesting.

More at The Epoch Times

Blind Activist’s Escape an Opportunity for Beijing and Washington

When the blind activist-lawyer Chen Guangcheng sought protection in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the spotlight on his case shifted squarely onto the high-level official [...]

More at The Epoch Times

Beijing Leaders Considering End of Communist Rule

According to a high-level source in Beijing, key leaders in the Politburo have reached four points of consensus that would end one-party rule in the country. 

 

According to the source, the four points of consensus are:

1. People from all walks of life, political parties, and social organizations should send representatives to form a preparatory committee for a new constitution. They will draft a new constitution that protects the rights of citizens to freely form associations and political parties.

2. It will be announced that the Chinese Communist Party has finished its historical mission as the ruling party. Party membership will need to be re-registered, with the free choice to re-enter the Party or leave it.

3. “June 4,” Falun Gong, and all groups who have been wrongly persecuted in the process of devoting themselves to China’s realization of democracy will be redressed and receive compensation.

4. The military will be nationalized.

More at The Epoch Times

How to explain the current political storm in China? Why Falun Gong issue is at the core?

Grace Wollensak, Falun Dafa Association of Canada
Speech at Information session hosted by Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong
House of Commons, Ottawa, Canada
April 25, 2012

Contrast in foreign visit because of different involvement in persecution of Falun Gong

Last week, 2 prominent Chinese top leaders made foreign visits to Canada -- one is Li ChangChun, the propaganda chief of the Communist party. He met with the Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs of Canada. But he had to sneak into Canada and then sneak out, unannounced to media or public (according to the Globe and Mail and Epoch Times reports).  Why was his trip so secretive? Because he tried to avoid facing protests and lawsuits, as he is one of the people who are deeply involved in persecution of Falun Gong and had been served with lawsuits previously during his visit to Ireland and in France. He is afraid as so he should be.

The other one is the premier Wen Jiabao, who has been cited as wanting to end the persecution of Falun Gong. He visited Iceland on the weekend and was greeted and welcomed by Falun Gong practitioners who called to bring Jiang Zemin and his gang to justice.

[One main banner practitioners held read “Bring to justice Jiang Zemin and his gang for persecuting Falun Gong.” Another said simply “Welcome Wen Jiabao.” Both were in English and Chinese. ]
This shows a really sharp distinction of how officials in China have handled Falun Gong.

This example shows us that it is important to know about Falun Gong issue and its impact to many fronts, including the relationship between China and Canada. And obviously, the Canadian government has not known what was going on in China.

We are not saying that Canada should pick political battles in China. The point is there are people in China who still care about basic humanity and still feel guilty that Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted. What Canada needs to do is to support those people’s stance on Falun Gong and encourage them to do the right thing. They need that support. Our voice to support of justice now can make a huge impact on the future of China.
 
How to explain the current political storm in China? Why Falun Gong issue is at the core?
On February 6, the police chief in Chongqing city, Wang Lijun, attempted to defect to the US consulate, and sought political asylum. That triggered a political storm that has been going on in China which could have the effect of re-shaping China’s future.

Wang’s boss, Bo Xilai, the party secretary of Chongqing city and member of the party politburo, was dismissed from that post in Chongqing city on March 14 and was removed all posts within the party on April 10 and is presently under investigation of serious violation of disciplines.

World media have covered the oustering of Bo Xilai, who had tried hard to grab the highest power and was once viewed as a ‘rising political star’. The focus of world media is also on Zhou Yongkang, the police chief of mainland China, who is believed to be deeply involved in Bo Xilai’s case and a strong supporter of Bo, and is facing trouble too. There have been countless rumors and speculations, also puzzling and confusion on this Hollywood style saga showing in China.

Few people know what is really going on and what is behind and under the surface reasoning. Actually, yesterday I read a media article citing a China expert saying, “ Bo Xilai case shows China pundits ‘don’t have a clue’”

However, Mr. Zhang Tianliang, The Epoch Times Chief commentator, has written 40 articles after Wang Lijun case burst out since February, and all of his analysis and prediction turned out to be true so far. He explains that it’s not that he is so smart that he is able to predict these issue in China, he believes that the reason why his prediction is so accurate is because he consider Falun Gong is at the most important parameter on this political earthquake in China. 

Actually, all the three people mentioned above, who have fell in this political storm or were implicated, were heavily involved in the persecution of Falun Gong.

It may sound like boasting, but it is true that Falun Gong, which most people view as a human rights issue, is the most important defining issue for the current and future of China.

No matter how much you know Falun Gong, but you must have noticed one fact, that Falun Gong is the only long lasting, peaceful and massive civil disobedience in Communist China’s history. If we look back at the CCP’s history, even the President or a Marshal could not survive for three days if the CCP wanted to beat them down. This makes Falun Gong a very special phenomenon. If the CCP failed to suppress Falun Gong completely, we must not neglect the role Falun Gong played.

The important thing to remember is that even central authorities supported Falun Gong in the beginning. Falun Gong was awarded, endorsed and supported throughout China. The number of practitioners is between 70 to 100 million before the persecution according to Chinese government survey. As long as the society has a tiny mechanism to maintain justice, it is impossible to persecute so many people that are well-rooted in the society. In order to carry out the persecution, Jiang Zemin, former leader of the Communist party, decided to establish a new organization, the “610 Office”, which was founded on 6/10/1999, a Gestapo type of organization to command all the persecution related issues. The first and foremost task of this “610 Office” was to completely destroy China’s justice system.

The whole country and all the resources are used to suppress Falun Gong. Because of Falun Gong practitioners’ perseverance and use of all the peaceful means against the persecution, Jiang was so outraged, and he escalated the torture and killing again and again, to the point that the persecution became a crime against humanity.

Consequently, Falun Gong practitioners launched international lawsuits against dozens of high level Chinese officials for torture, genocide and crimes against humanity for their role in the persecution of Falun Gong.

In 2007, when now disgraced but then Chinese Commence Minister Bo Xilai visited Ottawa, he was served with a lawsuit, one of the 14 lawsuits Bo got in 13 countries for persecuting Falun Gong. According to Wiki-Leak cables, Bo was demoted to Chongqing shortly after because premier Wen Jiabao said the lawsuits against him "negatively impacted the image of China". Wen said Bo should go to Chongqing and retire there.

Jiang Zemin clearly knew that few people agreed with his persecution policy. Jiang was very afraid that when he gave up the power, he would be brought to justice. He made a few moves in the top level leadership arrangement in order to continue the persecution. One of them is to promote some people who were heavily involved in persecuting Falun Gong to the core leadership, such as Li Changchun to charge the propaganda and Zhou Yongkank to charge the police, etc.

People like BoXilai who is in the news lately as being ousted from office while his wife is charged for the murder of a British business man, was also one of the key people in fueling the murder of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in the organ harvesting campaign.

These people, and others as well, rose in power under Jiang Zemin because they agreed to fuel the persecution and had motivation to continue the persecution of Falun Gong for Jiang Zemin even after his retirement.

Since 2002, the power struggle of CCP has been centered on Falun Gong issues. One side is Jiang Zemin and his gangs, including Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai, who committed genocidal crimes against the Falun Gong group, and the other side is new party secretary Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao, who didn’t actively participate in the persecution and are reluctant to continue.

So if you want to understand Falun Gong you need to understand that what is happening behind the scenes is a major issue as officials in high positions responsible for the persecution are starting to fall as China is coming to grips with these mass atrocities that have taken place in China.

The most important point people need to understand is Falun Gong and the persecution is what will define what happens to China’s leadership in the future and those who have been involved in the persecution will be brought to justice and the best way Canada can encourage positive change in china is to support the end of the persecution of Falun Gong.

This is not just because it is good for the tens of millions of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners and their families who have been torn apart in China, it is also good for Canada because we want to deal with a country that has basic values for Human Rights.

Thank you.

References:

• For more information about Falun Gong, please visit faluninfo.net
• If you want to understand what is happening in China, I encourage you to read Epoch Times more often. It is being referenced and followed by major media in covering these events unfolding in China.

Chinese: http://www.epochtimes.com/
English: http://www.theepochtimes.com/ , click on the right bottom button on ‘Chinese Regime in Crisis’
The extensive and in-depth reporting and insightful analysis on the on-going China issue has earned the Epoch Times reputation and dramatic increase of the readership to the Epoch Times online.
The Chinese Epoch Times website traffic jumped from 1 million page views a day to as high as six million to make it the world's largest media while other Chinese newspapers saw their traffic continue at regular rates during news of major upheaval in China.