Falun Gong is freely practiced in more than 50 countries around the world, but relentlessly persecuted in China. The peaceful courage of practitioners there has shocked their oppressors and moved the people of the world. While China continues to block all information, FGMtv brings you the stories you may not hear anywhere else.

 

Hello, and welcome to FGMtv on February 5th, 2002.

I¡¯m Susan Mitchell.

 

Our top story this week:

¡¤        During meetings of the World Economic Forum at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners meditate peacefully outside the hotel to protest inhuman treatment of their fellow practitioners in China

 

And some of our other stories:

¡¤        Over 1,300 Chinese and Western Falun Gong practitioners from the US, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and other places attend an experience-sharing conference in New York.

¡¤        Montreal's Les Presses Chinoise violates the court order issued by a Quebec Superior Court Judge by publishing a special 12-page supplement specifically to defame Falun Gong

¡¤        In Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russian practitioners of Falun Gong appeal peacefully outside the Chinese Embassy and then do an exhibition of the exercises in Red Square

¡¤        Pink lotuses in winter! Falun Dafa practitioners participate in the St. Paul's Minnesota Winter Carnival parade

¡¤        Exercises in the snow in Skopje, Macedonia

 

In this week's update from China:

¡¤        Canadians aren't the only ones digging out from snow storms! The heaviest snowfall in 30 years strikes the south of Xinjian autonomous region.

¡¤        The sad story of Wang Jingguo, a young award-winning teacher who was tortured to death for refusing to give up his belief and practice of Falun Gong

¡¤        and¡­ practitioners proclaim Falun Dafa Day in many cities across China

 

and finally¡­

A short interview with Ukrainian Kirovski District Police Inspector, Mikhael Marcheladze from Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine

 

Several kinds of protests took place in New York's midtown Manhattan during the World Economic Forum that took place from January 31st to February 4th ¡­

¡¤        While some held noisy parades, Falun Dafa practitioners conducted a quiet news conference in front of the Waldorf Astoria hotel where the World Economic Forum was taking place.

¡¤        Their purpose was to clarify the truth of the persecution in China to the business community.

¡¤        On January 31st, over 200 practitioners, all wearing yellow Falun Dafa scarves, had been demonstrating the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts since the early morning.

¡¤        At 11:30, approximately 30 different local and international media attended the news conference and afterwards interviewed the speakers as well as those who were doing the exercises.

¡¤        One of the speakers, Mr. Tan Yongjie, in his first public appearance in the US, told how he escaped from China after having his legs branded in 13 places with a red-hot iron.

¡¤        As the numbers of meditating practitioners increased, police kindly extended the cordoned off area for them to sit safely without disturbing either traffic or passers-by.

 

And still in Manhattan¡­

¡¤        The 2002 Greater New York Area Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference was held in the Hilton Hotel on February 1, 2002. Over 1,300 Chinese and Western Falun Gong practitioners from the US, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and other places attended the conference.

¡¤        Falun Gong founder, Teacher Li Hongzhi sent a congratulatory message encouraging all practitioners to "Walk your paths well."

¡¤        The day long program of speeches, poetry and music also included a reading of the resolution just passed in the New York State House of Representatives. The new resolution condemns the Jiang Zemin regime's persecution of Falun Gong in China and praises Falun Dafa and its founder and Teacher, Li Hongzhi.

 

moving now to Montreal in Canada¡­

¡¤        On January 7th, Quebec Superior Court Judge Reynald Fr¨¦chette upheld the decision of his colleague, prohibiting a Montr¨¦al-based, Chinese-language newspaper, Les Presses Chinoises, from publishing any materials defaming Falun Gong.

¡¤        The judge mentioned that the fact that Falun Gong is persecuted in China was a factor in his decision, and that the rights of reputation of the Falun Gong practitioners superseded the issue of freedom of the press.

¡¤        The court order, first handed down by Justice Danielle Grenier on December 10th, restrains the newspaper and the author, Ms. Bing He, from publishing or distributing any materials which are unreasonable and contrary to Canadian and Quebec law that attack Falun Gong, its founder, or its practitioners.

¡¤        FGMtv is sad to report that once again, those loyal to the Jiang Zemin regime in China have shown their true colors. On Saturday, February 2nd, in direct violation of the Court Order, Les Presses Chinoise published a special 12-page issue specifically to defame Falun Gong.

¡¤        Many phrases used are copied directly from Chinese propaganda.

¡¤        It will be very interesting to see how the Quebec Superior Court reacts to this newspaper's refusal to comply with Canadian law.

 

moving now to Russia¡­

¡¤        On January 27, 2002, Falun Dafa practitioners from St. Petersburg and Moscow gathered and held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy. The practitioners unfurled banners reading, "Chinese Government: Stop the Illegal Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners," and "Stop Slandering Falun Gong in Russia." During the demonstration, they also held photographs of those practitioners tortured to death in China by Jiang Zemin's regime.

¡¤        As in other countries, embassy staff refused to accept the letter from the practitioners that was addressed to the President of China

¡¤        Later in the day, the group went to Red Square ¨C a politically sensitive place in Moscow ¨C to perform the exercises there. Authorities allowed them to go ahead and do the exercises as well as videotape them. This is a wonderful improvement in the general climate for Falun Dafa in Russia.

¡¤        The Russian practitioners assured us that it was not snowing in Red Square when this photo was taken. As in so many other places, small Falun ¨C the law wheels of Falun Dafa ¨C floated around the practitioners as they exercised.

 

Pink Lotuses in Winter!

¡¤        Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota in the US, this year celebrated its 116th Carnival Festival. The Carnival Parade has always been an important part of the celebration and attracts about 50,000 people.

¡¤        This year, Falun Dafa practitioners brought the beauty and peace of the East with their colorful float decorated with large pink lotuses and people in golden yellow outfits performing graceful exercises

Onlookers applauded and praised the float as it moved along. Many raised their arms and showed the V sign to express their support and encouragement.

 

And across the Atlantic in Macedonia on the Southern Balkan Peninsula¡­

During the first week of January 2002, several practitioners from Canada, Sweden and Austria, spent time in the snow-covered city of Skopje, Macedonia to introduce Falun Dafa to the local people and inform them of the brutal persecution in China.

Using every opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa, they handed out flyers to anyone they met--taxi drivers, police officers, store clerks or passers-by.

At a Chinese restaurant on their last day, the Canadian practitioner handed the Chinese waiter a Falun Dafa brochure and told him that she had learned to know and appreciate Chinese culture through Falun Gong. He was surprised to hear that and accepted the brochure. Then the restaurant owner appeared, looked at the flyer and said, "Those three words, Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance, are the most important thing on the whole flyer. If you don't have those, you have nothing." He went on to say that "people need to hear these principles." Then he asked for a small supply of flyers because, he said, many employees of the Chinese Embassy come to eat at his restaurant.

 

And in this week's update from China:  Canadians aren't the only ones digging out from winter snow storms:

¡¤        Heavy snowfalls in the Hetian and Kashi areas have resulted in property damage and deaths. According to Xinhua news agency in a January 25th report, the heaviest snowfall in 30 years has struck the south of Xinjiang region. Temperatures fell as low as minus 26ºC.

¡¤        In Pishan, Moyu and Yutian, the three counties in the Hetian area, the number of people affected by the snowstorm is reported at 3,527; the number of cattle deaths is 1, 340, and houses are collapsing everywhere. In Yecheng County, Kashi area, 4,000 cattle froze to death, and 12,000 more were trapped in the snow. The losses caused by the snowstorm are estimated at millions of Yuan, and the people in the affected areas face tremendous difficulties because of the extreme weather.

¡¤        In the community of spiritual cultivators, it is said that so called 'natural' disasters are actually warnings to people and retribution for bad deeds committed. For instance, the persecution in China of Falun Gong, a righteous practice, is a persecution of goodness and innocence. Will Buddhas, Taos and Gods allow it to go unpunished?

 

Falun Dafa Days proclaimed by practitioners throughout China!

¡¤        Inspired by practitioners from the City of Changchun proclaiming December 22nd, 2001 Falun Dafa Day, practitioners in many cities across China do the same thing to celebrate the Spring Festival

 

A Falun Gong artist has done this series of drawings to detail the story of one practitioner from China:

1.      Twenty-nine year old Jingguo Wang began to practice Falun Dafa in 1999.

1.      Because he was an outstanding history teacher at Nongfeng Town High School in Shuangcheng City of Heilongjiang Province, every year he won a prize for teaching.

2.      He also received awards for being a city and town role model several times. One year, he won the second prize in the city's academic thesis competition.

3.      When Jiang Zemin began to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Jingguo experienced an extremely heavy heart. How could Falun Dafa, which is so good, be slandered?

4.      In June of 2000, he decided to go to Beijing to appeal and clarify the truth of Falun Dafa to authorities at the appeals office. However, he was illegally detained for 19 days in Shungcheng City's Second Detention Center.

5.      On November 8, 2000, in order once again to validate Falun Dafa, Jingguo and his family went to Beijing to appeal but once again were arrested and detained in Shungcheng City's Second Detention Center. At the end of his 15 days' detention, the officials of Nongfeng Town said, "Feel free to detain him for another month. It's even better if he can be sent to a labor camp."

6.      On December 3, 2000, he was illegally transferred to a cell for criminals who constantly tortured him. They forced him to sleep on the cement floor for over 40 days and beat him every evening.

7.      One used a finger to poke at his eyeballs. Others kicked Wang on his chest with their leather boots, making him unable to catch his breath and suffer much pain.

8.      Another punched his face countless times. By then, his heart, lungs and kidneys were deteriorating dramatically. Despite all this, the prison guard encouraged the criminals to continue their atrocities.

9.      Even though Wang Jingguo was brutally beaten many times, he didn't treat those ruffians with resentment or hatred. On the contrary, he still told them of the principle that "Good is rewarded with good and evil is punished," trying to raise their benevolence.

10. When Wang was close to dying, the detention center ¨C not wanting to accept responsibility ¨C extorted 2000 Yuan from his family, and asked them to take him home. When his family tried to take him to Beijing for medical treatment, they were prevented from doing so by Nongfeng town officials. On May 23rd, 2001, Jingguo Wang, a righteous and kind young man, died of his injuries.

 

These types of atrocities continue in China to this day. Kind people the world over are doing their best to encourage authorities there to stop this senseless persecution of good people. There are occasional glimpses of sunshine: Montrealer Shenli Lin was released January 23rd from Dafeng Labor Camp and Zhao Ming, the PhD student from Ireland's Dublin University is scheduled to be released from Tuanhe Labor Camp in March.

 

and finally¡­  an interview from the Ukraine:

An Australian practitioner recently interviewed a Ukraine police inspector. Here is what he had to say:

"My name is Mikhail. I started practicing Falun Gong two years ago. Even though it seemed coincidental, as soon as I started doing the exercises, I knew that this practice was very good.

Here, I want to express my sadness that the Chinese police do not know the truth of Falun Dafa.

I am a Ukraine policeman. I wear a police uniform, but Falun Dafa does not have any uniforms. Our Teacher said that in Falun Dafa the most important thing is a person's heart. Now there are so many people practicing Falun Dafa, including Ukrainian policemen.

Like practitioners in 50 other countries all over the world, we practice in parks and hand out flyers. We want to let more people learn about Falun Dafa; we want everyone to know about it. We are helping everyone to understand Dafa. When we distribute materials, we communicate with people from our hearts. We also use newspapers, TV and radio broadcasts to help people know the truth.

Almost all of my friends know about Falun Dafa, and many of them also practice Dafa.

Falun Gong brought peace and harmony to my life and family. I abandoned bad habits, fear and dirty thoughts. Falun Gong brings peace and harmony to all people in society. The principle of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance makes me feel fulfilled. Falun Dafa is wonderful!"

 

China's information blockade, revealing propaganda, and bringing you the truth of Falun Gong.