Hello, and welcome to the FGMtv news review. I'm Susan Mitchell.

§ Here at FGMtv we focus on programs and news that illuminate the truth of Falun Gong, which is also known as Falun Dafa.

§ Falun Dafa is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that includes exercise and meditation. Its principles are based on Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance.

§ The practice began in China in 1992 and quickly spread by word of mouth throughout the country.

§ In 1998, a government survey concluded that the number of practitioners exceeded membership in the communist party.

§ One year later, dictator Jiang Zemin began a brutal persecution that violates not only the Chinese constitution, but also international treaties signed by China.

In this week's update from China…

§ 636 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have died from torture while in custody, with 53 death reports received in the last three weeks. This is the largest number of confirmed deaths to be reported in a three-week time period since the persecution began in July 1999.

§ Reliable sources inside China put the actual total death count in the thousands.

§ 914 people declared as null and void, statements saying they will give up Falun Gong that were made while undergoing torture as they were the result of extreme coercion. They say they will continue practicing Falun Gong.

Our top story this week:

§ Human rights lawyers in many countries prepare to file charges against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin expecting that he will be jailed for life.

And some of our other stories:

§ Mingli Lin, brother of Canadian resident Shenli Lin is released from illegal detention in a Chinese labor camp

§ The British Home Office allows a pregnant Falun Gong practitioner to remain in England while her deportation order is appealed.

§ An update on those who tapped into State TV Cable programs in Baoding City of Hebei Province

§ A medical doctor in Texas reports on her mother's recovery from diabetes after practicing Falun Gong.

Human rights lawyers in many countries prepare to file charges of crimes against humanity against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

§ A Swiss-based international non-governmental organization, "Track Impunity Always," and the Swiss Falun Dafa Association held two media conferences in Geneva during the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

§ They announced that lawsuits will be filed against former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin in Switzerland and many other countries.

§ In actions similar to ones already underway in the United States and France, the former Chinese leader will be sued for torture, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.

§ International human rights lawyer Phillip Grant, counsel for the plaintiffs in the suit brought in Switzerland, stated that Jiang could face life-imprisonment, because he is no longer protected by the immunity granted to heads of state.

§ "What the victims of the Falun Gong repression endure," he said, "does not constitute a purely internal question. China, just like any other State, must pay respect to the rules of international law it has ratified, and to those regulations which are binding under international common law.

§ Like the British House of Lords spelled out in the famous [Chilean despot Augusto] Pinochet ruling, one's official capacity does not protect him against prosecution for the crime of torture committed while in office. This applies especially to former heads of State -- as it did with Augusto Pinochet -- whose international immunity vanishes once they step down."

§ Mr. Grant ended his statement by saying: "Finally, and this is important to underline, many docile or active participants in this gigantic machinery of repression must, as of today, know that their criminal acts not only violate Chinese laws, but also conventional and customary law. They are indeed breaking rules that the international community has set and has the duty to enforce. From the top to the bottom of the Chinese State or of the Communist Party, those who plan or execute the scheme of terror and mass human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners must know that they will be held accountable for their criminal behavior, including in front of numerous foreign courts. The culture of impunity that has corrupted China cannot anymore cover this simple fact: global justice is on the march, and will one day put behind bars one or more of those responsible for the Falun Gong persecution."

Mingli Lin is released from illegal detention in a Chinese labor camp

§ Efforts to gain release of illegally imprisoned relatives in China have once again been successful: Mingli Lin, brother of Canadian resident Shenli Lin, was set free on March 26^th and has returned to his home.

§ Mingli was kidnapped by police on April 23^rd, 2001 while he was paying his telephone bill.

§ He was sentenced to an illegal two-year term in a Shanghai forced labor camp because he refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong. While on a 20 day hunger strike to protest, he was subjected to forced feeding that caused his esophagus to burst, rendering him unable to eat.

§ Mingli is the 10^th Falun Dafa practitioner with ties to Canada that has been released in the last three years due to intense combined efforts of the Canadian government, and practitioners who have generated extensive media coverage for the rescue efforts.

MPs urge their Prime Ministers to initiate resolution condemning China at annual UNCHR meeting

§ David Barr, MP for Manly, New South Wales in Australia, and Libby Davies, Canadian MP for Vancouver East, have both urged their respective Prime Ministers to take a leading role at the annual UN Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva.

§ They are urging that a resolution be initiated to condemn China's human rights record in general and its treatment of the followers of Falun Gong in particular.

Lili Lin Released and Reunited with her Husband

§ A couple of weeks ago, we reported that the British Home Office had issued a deportation order and had detained a pregnant Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Lili Lin.

§ The Home Office for Immigration had mistakenly sent Ms. Lin's immigration rejection notice to her previous address, which resulted in Ms. Lin missing the appeal deadline.

§ Falun Gong practitioners around the world emailed, faxed and phoned British MPs and members of the House of Lords. They warned that if Ms. Lin were to be sent back to China, authorities would likely force her to have an abortion, and most probably send her to a labor camp where she would face certain torture and possible death.

§ Fifteen days later, Ms. Lin was released and reunited with her anxious husband.

China Sentences US Citizen to 3 Years

§ After more than 50 days of isolated detention, American citizen Dr. Charles Li was hurried through a show trial by China’s "high court".

§ On March 21^st, the Intermediate People's Court in Yangzhou announced its anticipated "guilty" verdict sentencing Dr. Li to three years in prison.

§ Erping Zhang, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "This show trial of an American makes a mockery of the so-called ‘rule of law’ in China. In fact, it is, in essence, a trial for the Communist legal system in China, which can prosecute any innocent citizen including an American doctor for its political interests. We demand that Dr. Charles Li be released immediately."

§ Chinese authorities initially accused Dr. Li of "sabotaging TV and/or radio equipment," and threatened to sentence him to as many as 15 years in prison. In recent weeks, however, while Dr. Li’s case gained public awareness and support worldwide, the charge was diminished to "preparing" to sabotage.

§ Like many travellers, Dr. Li was carrying a walkman-like VCD player in his luggage. Chinese authorities said this was evidence that Li might have been able to interfere with a TV broadcast.

§ Dr. Li, who specializes in importing Chinese herbs, has no engineering background.

§ Throughout his detention and trial, he has maintained that the Chinese government is targeting him simply because he practices Falun Gong.

§ Practitioners across North America held media conferences and candlelight vigils demanding Dr. Li's immediate release.

Update on those who tapped into State TV Cable programs in Baoding City of Hebei Province

§ Throughout Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong, state television has continuously aired propaganda slandering and defaming Falun Gong, its founder, and its practitioners.

§ News about the practice being spread around the world, as well as positive benefits reported by practitioners has been strictly kept off of the airwaves.

§ To counter the negative representation of the practice and its practitioners, and the one-sided portrayal of the persecution, practitioners in China have tapped into state broadcasts. They air programs that allow the public to see internationally recognized facts regarding the practice and the persecution of Falun Gong.

§ During the night of August 27, 2002, eight Falun Dafa practitioners from Baoding City in Hebei province broadcast such Dafa truth-clarifying programs on TV.

§ They were later arrested by police and are now detained at the Xushui County Detention Center.

§ They are interrogated daily, beaten, and locked in solitary confinement, and are not allowed to wear clothes, even in winter.

§ They are: 58-year-old Ms. Shuling Fu, 32-year-old Mr. Junjie Niu, 14-year-old Mr. Zhi Cao, Mr. Tang, Mr. Wang, Mr. Liu, Mr. Xu and Mr. Li.

An 8 year-old tells his classmate why he knows that the self-immolation incident on Tiananmen Square was faked.

§ Like families the world over, Chinese parents encourage their children to join them in leisure activities, and as a result, many children love to do the Falun Dafa exercises.

§ Recently, one 8 year-old, who has been practicing since he was three, told his mother what happened at school when they were forced to watch government propaganda.

§ The "Tiananmen Self-immolation" has been one of the Jiang regime's most-used propaganda tools created to incite hatred against the practice. This youngster said he told his deskmate the same day, "Falun Gong is good. I am one of them. The Tiananmen self-immolation incident was faked. The plastic bottle on the lap of the guy in the self-immolation was still in perfect shape, not damaged at all. The girl's trachea was cut open, but she could still sing! Don't you think this is funny?! And we practitioners do not sit like that in meditation."

§ Then he showed his friend how he sits with his legs double-crossed in the lotus position and said, "The guy on the tape was not sitting like this. He was sitting like the soldiers sit, not like Falun Gong practitioners sit."

§ The 8-year-old child faced possible expulsion from school for sharing that information with his classmate.

Medical Doctor reports on her mother's recovery from diabetes after practicing Falun Gong

§ Dr. Gabriela Garcia is a practitioner of Falun Dafa who is currently studying renal diseases in the Department of Medicine-Nephrology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She published the following case report to validate the healing effects of Falun Dafa:

§ My mother, Amparo Espinosa, is a 61-year-old lady who has a past medical history of diabetes. Two of her sisters passed away due to late manifestations of this terrible disease. Five years ago she began to have symptoms of diabetes, and has been treated with diet and oral anti-diabetic drugs by an endocrinologist and an internist.

§ In May of 2002, my mother's diabetes became severely out of control. I decided to introduce my mother to Falun Gong. Three months later, the doctors had problems adjusting her anti-diabetic drug dose because my mother began to have hypoglycaemia.

§ The doctors decided to decrease her medication dosage. Finally, in October they decided to withdraw all the drugs and treat her with diet only.

§ Now my mother is very happy. Like many other patients, my mother does not like to take medicines, and most importantly she feels well and has more energy. Everybody at home is very happy with my mother's improvement, especially me, because as a nephrologist, I know how terrible this disease is.

§ I think it is worthwhile to mention that at the last American Society of Nephrology meeting, diabetic neuropathy, a late complication of diabetes, was described as a malignant disease and, indeed it is. My family is very grateful to Falun Gong.

Thanks for watching the FGMtv weekly news review.

See you next week!