Friday, December 09, 2005

Taipei Times: Group Salms China's Persecution

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/12/09/2003283610


Here is another article that talks specifically about the lawyer's situation:

http://longtrekhome.blogspot.com/2005/11/high-profile-chinese-defence-lawyer.html

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Many people are deceived by the lies, which have not stopped.

December 6, 2005
Advocating human rights in China
Many people are deceived by the lies, which have not stopped.
By Yang Zhang

I commend the Daily for publishing the Nov. 30 editorial "Threat of the
peaceful in China." The abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in China is
something not to be ignored. I was appalled to read Lin Wang's strongly
worded "Falun Dafa and ignorance" published Friday. Although he states he is
not a member of the Communist party, everything he said about Falun Gong was
repeating party lines. As an alumnus and a person who grew up in China,
sharing many of the same experiences as Wang, I can see Wang was a victim of
the lies and slanders against Falun Gong.

Wang is not an isolated individual to fall prey to the Chinese Communist
Party. Recently, when nearly 100 tons of the cancer-causing chemical benzene
was dumped into a river near Harbin, a major industrial capital of
northeastern China of 3.8 million people, the government, again, lied to the
people. It took them a week to acknowledge the benzene leak, but by then
many small villages' water source had been contaminated. When the 50-mile
stretch of pollution came near, the city of Harbin shut of its water supply
for five days, but still keeping secret, initially citing reasons for the
shutoff as "water main maintenance."

Two years ago, the Chinese government's lies about SARS cost many innocent
lives in China and abroad. Even today, China still refuses to acknowledge,
let alone apologize for, the Tiananmen Square massacre. Throughout its
history, the Chinese Communist Party has killed approximately 80 million
people through various political movements and man-caused disasters, more
than the two World Wars combined. The movements and killings reveal the true
nature of brutality and carelessness with human lives.

I was 11 years old and living in Beijing when the Tiananmen Square massacre
occurred. Imagine my shock when I realized that nothing reported on TV was
true. I could hear machine-gun shots when the TV anchors stressed that the
turmoil was "rioters and students burning army tanks and fisting soldiers."
The contrast opened my eyes. I hope more Chinese people can read your
editorial "Threat of the peaceful in China" and become vigilant to words and
actions by the Chinese government. I also hope that, having the largest
Chinese student population in the country, the University can be a leader in
advocating for human rights in China.

Yang Zhang is a Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs alumna. Please send
comments to letters@mndaily.com.

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/12/06/66461/

Dec. 06, 2005 - FALUN GONG NEWS BULLETIN

Dec. 06, 2005
FALUN GONG NEWS BULLETIN


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Weekly news about Falun Gong in China and around the world – www.faluninfo.net

NEW YORK TIMES: TORTURE IS 'WIDESPREAD' IN CHINA, U.N. INVESTIGATOR SAYS
FDI: TWO FALUN GONG WOMEN RAPED AMID UN RAPPORTEUR VISIT
REUTERS: CCP ORDERS HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER TO CLOSE DOORS
EPOCH TIMES: CHINESE LAWYER SENT TO BRAINWASHING AFTER CONDEMNING IT
NEW YORK TIMES: TORTURE IS 'WIDESPREAD' IN CHINA, U.N. INVESTIGATOR SAYS
BEIJING—A high-level United Nations investigator [Mr. Manfred Nowak] condemned the "widespread" use of torture in Chinese law enforcement and said Beijing must…abolish labor camps before it can end such abuses...The police and security forces put him under constant surveillance, which deterred some people from meeting him, he said... He [also] said restrictions made it more difficult for him to get a complete view of the torture situation in the country. He said a "culture of fear" was pervasive and that some prisoners he spoke to, including people who had earlier filed complaints with his office, claimed during his visit that they had not experienced torture or that they could no longer recall the details. "There was a palpable sense of fear and self-censorship," Mr. Nowak said.
Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/international/asia/03china.html

FALUN DAFA INFOCENTER: TWO FALUN GONG WOMEN RAPED AMID UN RAPPORTEUR VISIT
NEW YORK—On November 25th two Falun Gong women, ages 42 and 51, were raped in police custody. Shocking photos suggest the violent nature of at least one of the two rapes. The rapes occurred only three days after the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture arrived in China for investigation. The women's abductions fit a pattern wherein Chinese authorities detain potential protesters or others who might expose abuses during “sensitive periods,” i.e., times during which prominent foreign visitors are in the country and/or foreign media are watching...Ms. Liu Jizhi, a 51-year-old wife and mother, was abducted by an estimated seven police on the night of November 24; her home was ransacked and all Falun-Gong related materials seized. Ms. Liu was taken to the local Police Station where she was interrogated, beaten with rubber clubs, shocked with stun batons, thrown to the ground, and her breasts were shocked with a stun baton...A police officer named He Xuejian then proceeded to remove his pants and rape the 51-year-old Liu.
Full story: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9299

REUTERS: CCP ORDERS HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER TO CLOSE DOORS
BEIJING—The Chinese government on Friday formally closed a law firm that made a name for itself defending political dissidents, underground religious activists and disgruntled citizens... The notice said the firm was being forced to close because it violated the law by changing its address without registering...Gao said he had tried to register his 13-lawyer office several times since August, but officials refused to handle his application... Gao has also defended followers of the Falun Gong spiritual [group].
Full story: http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-12-2/35281.html

EPOCH TIMES: CHINESE LAWYER SENT TO BRAINWASHING AFTER CONDEMNING IT
BEIJING—Mr. Liu Ruping, an attorney in Jinan City, Shandong Province, was sent to the Shandong Province Legal Training Center in Liuchangshan, Jinan City, on October 17, 2005, to be brainwashed. [He was] told that he would be sent to a labor camp unless he stopped practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Liu had written an open letter to the Chinese government that detailed how detaining and trying to brainwash Falun Gong practitioners violates China's constitution. He urged the government to "immediately stop the forced brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners."
Full story: http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-11-30/35133.html


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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER- Contacts: Gail Rachlin 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 646-415-0998, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Friends of Falun Gong

As we at FOFG give thanks during this holiday season, our thoughts turn to those Falun Gong practitioners still suffering for their beliefs. Let us take this opportunity to bring you up-to-date on our activities and the latest news related to the persecution.

Two Falun Gong Women Raped Amid UN Rapporteur Visit
On November 25, 51-year-old Ms. Liu Jizhi was tortured with an electric stun baton, beaten about the hips and buttocks and then raped by police at the Dongchengfang Town Police Station in Hebei Province. Read the story

FoFG Helps Rescue Li Weixun
FoFG Executive Director Alan Adler worked with the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights and various US government officials to help rescue Ms. Li Weixun safely to the US as an officially recognized United Nations Refugee, the first Falun Gong practitioner to be granted such status. Li, who was tortured in China, recently explained, “I remember after my third arrest I was taken to the basement at the Liaoning Province Liaison Office in Beijing. After dinner, the police officers there had 'fun' by torturing us in all kinds of ways, including hanging us by our handcuffs…” Read the story

NTDTV to Host 3rd Annual Chinese New Year Gala in 16 Cities
New Tang Dynasty TV, an independent, nonprofit Chinese language television network, is set to celebrate the Chinese New Year by hosting a Global Gala in 16 cities worldwide, and you’re invited! Complete with classical music and dance from both Chinese and Western cultures, the show is sure to be both entertaining and enlightening. Radio City Music Hall will provide the venue for 3 performances in New York. For more information and tickets, please visit: http://gala.ntdtv.com/2006/en

CCP Shuts Down Human Rights Attorney
The Beijing Judicial Bureau formally closed the legal practice of well-known and respected human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng. Gao says it’s likely in reaction to an open letter he sent to the Chinese government appealing for Falun Gong, while the Judicial Bureau claims it was for “not applying for a change of address for his legal practice and illegally providing legal documents to other attorneys.” Read the story

FoFG began a grassroots campaign to raise awareness of this development by writing a letter to dozens of human rights non-profits, legal organizations, government officials, and contacts in the media. Read the letter

US State Department Names Worst Human Rights Violators
On November 10, The State Department made its annual report of human rights violators to Congress naming China and others "countries of particular concern." US envoy for international religious freedom, John Hanford, said, "The suffering that [Falun Gong practitioners have] endured is unspeakable. There have been so many who have been arrested, thousands and thousands, many who have died in police custody."Read the story

FoFG joins NGOs in a letter to President Bush
Just before President Bush left for his journey to Asia, FoFG joined dozens of human rights organizations asking President Bush to "urge President Hu Jintao and the Chinese government to immediately release Falun Gong practitioners who were arbitrarily and unjustly sentenced to long jail terms, and to provide unfettered exit visas to a small group of children who are suffering and are in need of special care...children who have lost their parent(s) and family members during the persecution of Falun Gong." Read the letter

FoFG Volunteer Gives Speech at DC Rally
On November 21, Jared Pearman, an FoFG volunteer, gave a powerful speech at a rally commemorating the one year anniversary of the Hanyuan County massacre. Speaking of what is commonly reported in the media as the "peaceful rise of China," Mr. Pearman said, "Who is rising peacefully? Not the Chinese Communist Party, whose leaders snap their fingers and murder, who snap their fingers and lie, deceive, Suppress, Steal, Control, Bribe, and Eliminate...If we want to talk about a “peaceful rise,” we should look at Falun Gong spreading throughout China during the 1990s. From 1992-1999 one hundred million people began to practice Falun Gong. Without coercion, without money involved, one by one they filled the parks of China every morning with the graceful movements of their qigong exercises." Read the speech

Speaking of Speeches...
We would like our members to know that FoFG has speakers available for all kinds of engagements, both large and small. If you are involved in or know of a women’s group, church group, rotary club, or any other gathering of people from 5 to 500 who would like to know more about the human rights violations of Falun Gong, please contact us. You may call our toll free number at 866-FG-Friend or send an e-mail to info@fofg.org

The volunteers at FoFG wish you and your loved ones a happy and peaceful holiday season, and we thank you as always for your support.