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 12th, 2002.

I¡¯m Susan Mitchell.

 

Our top story this week:

¡¤        Beijing authorities expel 59 Falun Gong practitioners from many countries after they shout 'Falun Gong' is good in Tiananmen Square.

And some of our other stories:

¡¤        Photos and stories from the 59 people from countries other than China who were detained in Tiananmen Square

¡¤        How Chinese practitioners went to Tiananmen Square and returned home safely

¡¤        Human Rights Watch Report on Falun Gong Exposes China's Brutal 2.5-Year Terror Campaign. 117-Page Report Details China's Tactics of Violence and Slander

In this week's update from China:

¡¤         Luo Gan, in charge of the persecution against Falun Gong, is shocked to see Falun Dafa practitioners in Tiananmen Square on January 1st.

¡¤         Details of authorities committing theft against a 43-year-old

¡¤         Those who tortured others are suffering and dying

¡¤        Daqing Petroleum Research company severely persecutes employees who practice Falun Gong

and finally¡­

¡¤        Traffic police want to practice Falun Gong after seeing survivors of a traffic accident

 

According to a statement issued by Chinese authorities, everyone who was arrested in Tiananmen Square was treated humanely.

 

¡¤        Here's a photo of Los Angeles' practitioner Mark Gardner with his black eye after receiving 'humane' treatment by Beijing police. "I was trying to say 'Falun Gong is good,' but they kept hitting me over and over again," he said.

¡¤        24-year-old Court Pearman from Orlando, Florida arrived in Detroit  shoeless, dirty and bruised. There were no buttons left on his stained white shirt. Pearman was also left with a large scratch on his lower back after being tackled and beaten repeatedly by Chinese authorities.

¡¤        Many of the 25 who were flown to Detroit from Beijing were literally kicked onto the plane without luggage, money, passports or tickets for connecting flights. Said Keith Ware, of Washington, D.C., "It scared the other passengers. It was unnecessary."

¡¤        Ware continued, "We went to let the Chinese people know ... that Falun Gong is practiced openly in many countries. The Chinese government tells their citizens that it's persecuted around the world."

¡¤        Chinese officials insisted the tourists weren't prisoners but guests ¨C even though they were locked into filthy prison cells in police stations. Ware said, "We were hostages."

¡¤        Authorities offered food and water, but no one was allowed to call their Embassy. Personal items were also stolen by police. These included cell phones, cameras, pagers,Palm Pilots, and more than a thousand dollars cash.

 

Western Practitioners were caught and detained, but Chinese practitioners returned home safely

¡¤        Many journalists have asked practitioners why they would go to Tiananmen Square when they know they would be arrested. Most have replied that they didn't expect to be arrested, or didn't think about that aspect of their appeal. They said they wanted to go to let Chinese people know the truth: that the propaganda being spread by their government under Jiang Zemin's personal orders is false.

¡¤        There have been many reports of Chinese practitioners going to Tiananmen Square, unfurling banners and/or shouting out short messages, and returning safely to their homes.

¡¤        Minghui Net, the Chinese-language Web site that publishes personal stories of Falun Dafa practitioners, recently received this account.

¡¤        8 people from one city were not questioned either while travelling, while walking through the Square, or while shouting their messages: "Falun Dafa is Good! Restore the reputation of our righteous Teacher!" They all returned safely to their homes.

 

FGMtv interviewed two of the Toronto Falun Gong practitioners on their return from Beijing.

Adrian Sturdze thinks he suffered broken ribs after police stomped all over him. He now has difficulty breathing.

David Thomkinson was treated better because he did not resist arrest, even though he had done nothing wrong.

 

There are many talented people amongst Falun Dafa practitioners around the world.

On Chinese New Year, many beautiful performances were held. Here are some photos from an event in New Zealand.

 

Human Rights Watch Report on Falun Gong Exposes China's Brutal 2.5-Year Terror Campaign.

 

¡¤        In a press statement available on the Human Rights Watch Web site, Sidney Jones, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying, "The charge that Falun Gong threatens the stability of China does not hold up.... Its claim that belief in Falun Gong is a public health menace is equally bogus. The danger to health comes from the treatment its practitioners receive at the hands of the police and prison officials."

¡¤        Human Rights Watch also urged multinational corporations to avoid complicity in human rights abuses by preventing the dismissal of workers whom local cadres have accused of Falun Gong membership. It also urged the international community to speak out against China's human rights record, including its treatment of Falun Gong practitioners, through a resolution at the meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights beginning in Geneva March 16, 2002.

 

On February 7, 2002, to celebrate the first "Wuhan City Falun Dafa Day," Falun Dafa practitioners hung over 100 banners along the highway from Wuhan City to Gedian City as well as in small towns along the highway

Approximately 10,000 self-sticking messages were also posted along streets or roads in the three suburbs of Wuhan City. Some of the messages read, "Abolish the "610 Office" and "Bring Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan to Justice."

 

Luo Gan heads the 610 Office, which is the government agency responsible for carrying out the persecution against Falun Gong. The agency has been given power, by Jiang Zemin personally, over every legal and judiciary system in China.

¡¤        The police told a Falun Dafa practitioner at Miyun County Detention Center that Luo Gan, went to Tiananmen Square on the morning of January 1st, 2002. He was very shocked to see that practitioners were still holding banners in the Square after 2 ½ years of persecution.

 

Minghui Web site receives daily reports of theft and extortion from practitioners such as the following:

¡¤        Forty-three year old Ms. Jingyun Liu, lives in Nanqingtuo Village, Xiaozhanggezhuang Town, Fengrun County of Hebei Province.

¡¤        On June 27, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal and was detained for 40 days.

¡¤        Within a month, her house was ransacked and all of her valuable appliances and furniture were taken away. The person primarily responsible for the theft was Alcalde Dong.

¡¤        On December 24, 2001, her home was ransacked again, and  authorities stole personal possessions worth 5,800 Yuan. Her monthly salary is about 500 Yuan.

 

Many Chinese authorities who have inflicted tremendous suffering on Falun Gong practitioners are now suffering themselves. Some are dying suddenly ¡­

¡¤        Fifty-year-old  Mr. Guozhong Yang, secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee in Nanming District of Guiyang City in Guizhou Province, is in charge of illegal brainwashing classes there where practitioners are tortured.

¡¤        At the end of November, 2001 he paid a visit to each work unit and threatened, "Even if you only have one person practicing Falun Gong in your work unit, it does not matter how excellent your work performances are, you cannot pass the test."

¡¤        A few days later, Mr. Yang fell when he was playing basketball and died instantly.

 

Daqing Petroleum Research Company severely persecutes those employees who practice Falun Gong.

¡¤        Many work units across China are intimately involved in the persecution of Falun Gong.

¡¤        FGMtv recently received a report from an anonymous employee of the Petroleum Research Company of Daqing Oil Field that employs 200 people.

¡¤        He details how practitioners there have been demoted, fined many thousands of Yuan, forced to undergo re-training, sent to labour camps, and forced to pay airfare for themselves and others when being transported home from Beijing under illegal arrest.

¡¤        Although this is not good news, it is encouraging to know that more people are stepping forward to let the world know about illegal persecution in their own areas.

¡¤        The anonymous reporter also provided names and telephone numbers of the Party Secretary, Mr. Yubin Sun, and the factory director,  Mr. Gang Wang, who were responsible for the persecution. These numbers are on your screen if you wish to telephone and express your opinions about their illegal activities.

 

Why is the crackdown against Falun Gong illegal?

¡¤        Article 35 of the Constitution states: "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."

¡¤        Article 36 of the Constitution reads, "No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion."

¡¤        Article 37 of the PRC Constitution says "Unlawful detention or deprivation or restriction of citizens' freedom of the person by other means is prohibited, and unlawful search of the person of citizens is prohibited."

¡¤        President Jiang Zemin has personally overruled every single one of the aforementioned rights of Chinese citizens in his orders to eradicate Falun Gong.

 

and finally¡­ a short story

¡¤        A few months ago, my friend's entire family--five people in three generations--were driving from Shenzhen City to Guangzhou City for their vacation.

¡¤        Suddenly, one of the wheels came off while the car was moving at a very high speed on the highway. The car went out of control and eventually came to a stop.

¡¤        When police arrived to write up a report on the accident, they were really surprised that nobody had been hurt, even though the car was badly damaged.

¡¤        My friend told the police: "My wife practices Falun Gong. When one practices, everybody in the family benefits." The traffic police were shocked and said: "That's incredible! We want to practice Falun Gong, too."

 

Thanks for watching FGMtv, dedicated to breaking through China's information blockade, revealing propaganda, and bringing you the truth of Falun Gong.