Hello, and welcome to the weekly FGMtv news
review. I'm Susan Mitchell.
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Here at FGMtv we focus on programs and news that illuminate the truth of
Falun Gong, which is also known as Falun Dafa.
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Falun Dafa is a traditional Chinese spiritual
discipline that includes exercise and meditation. Its principles are based on
Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance.
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The practice began in China in 1992 and quickly
spread by word of mouth throughout the country.
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In 1998, a government survey concluded that the
number of practitioners exceeded membership in the communist party.
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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…
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654 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have died from
torture while in custody. Reliable sources inside China put the actual total
death count in the thousands.
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Torture reports in the last seven days have come in from 17
different provinces, and the cities of Changchun and Wuhan.
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Death reports received by the Falun Dafa Information
Center in the past week include:
- 6 deaths
of practitioners from mistreatment by Chinese authorities, and
- 2 deaths of Chinese authorities
who have persecuted practitioners. One died in a traffic accident and the other
from sudden onset of cancer. The head of one of the 610 offices in Henan
Province is in critical condition after suffering a stroke.
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800 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:
Falun Gong lawsuit charging Jiang Zemin with genocide gets underway in
Chicago.
And some of our other
stories:
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China's coverup of the SARS epidemic
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A motion condemning human rights abuses in China is passed
unanimously at the annual meeting of the International Human Rights Association
in Germany
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14 more deaths of practitioners confirmed by sources in
China
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Ms. Cuiying Zhang holds a successful painting exhibition in
Sofia, Bulgaria.
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First, our top story:
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In
October, 2002 Jiang Zemin was served with a subpoena from the U.S. Federal
Court in Chicago when he visited the United States.
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The
former Chinese dictator is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity by
persecuted Falun Gong practitioners and their relatives.
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On April 13, 2003,
the plaintiffs' had their first courtroom discussion about the agenda
for the next step in the U.S. District Court in Illinois.
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The Chinese government is currently using
diplomatic channels to tell the United States and other countries that
"Jiang Zemin is willing to pay any price to prevent this case from being
prosecuted."
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Recently, some Web sites inside China have
published an investigative report by a high level group in China that seems to
be actively seeking to overthrow Jiang. It details the Chinese dictator's
history from the time he joined the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, and reveals
that he played an important role in fabricating lies about some major events
and policies over the years. These include not only the Falun Gong persecution,
but also the June 4 Massacre in Tiananmen Square, some major economic crimes in
China and some incidents related to China's relationship with the United
States.
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Clear Wisdom and Minghui Web sites have been posting
reports about the persecution against Falun Gong since it began in July 1999. A
recent article stated that it is important to understand that the lawsuit
"is targeting the person whose hands are stained with the blood of
innocent people. The Chinese dictator absolutely does not represent China or
the Chinese people."… Jiang is "undermining the Chinese
civilization's morality and threatening the future and interests of the world's
people."
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The purpose of the lawsuit, they said, is to uphold justice
in the world.
News of 14
More Falun Gong Dead from Police Atrocities in China
SARS
Cover-up Indicator of "Much Larger Problem"
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The Falun Dafa Information Center in New York
issued a release this week saying that reports of the deaths of fourteen Falun
Gong practitioners have recently been confirmed.
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Many of these cases repeat a chilling pattern:
physical and psychological torture inflicted by corrupt police, followed by
"release" of the practitioners from custody just days or even hours
before they die from their injuries as the police attempt to shirk
responsibility for the deaths.
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"The Chinese regime's current cover-up of
the SARS outbreak is sadly an indicator of a much larger problem,"
comments Falun Dafa Information Center spokeswoman Ms. Gail Rachlin.
"Since 1999, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the U.S.
government and many other reputable sources have documented hundreds of deaths of
Falun Gong practitioners in China from torture and other abuse, yet to this
day, the Chinese regime maintains that not a single Falun Gong practitioner has
died in custody from police torture or abuse."
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Ms. Rachlin concludes, "In fact,
information on Falun Gong deaths is considered a 'state secret' and extremely
difficult to verify, so while the current total of confirmed Falun Gong deaths
now stands at 654, the true number is likely many times higher."
African American
Practitioners staged a 5-day sit-in in front of NY Senator Hilary Clinton's
offices.
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Senator Clinton's staff met with four practitioners who
told them about U.S. citizen Dr. Charles Li who was kidnapped and sentenced to
three years in a Chinese prison for being a Falun Gong practitioner. Senator
Clinton's staff promised to work with senators from California, Dr. Li's home
state, to have him returned safely to America as soon as possible.
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Chinese and western media came to cover this event. They
also interviewed family members of Falun Gong practitioners who are currently
suffering illegal detention in labour camps and other places in China.
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Quite a few passersby came over to ask for information and
signed the petition to rescue Dr. Li. Many of them expressed their surprise and
anger upon learning the facts of persecution.
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This appeal was initiated and carried
through successfully by Nine African American Falun Gong practitioners. They
included a 24-year-old man, six grandmothers and two people in their late
forties. They endured cold nights, a drizzling rain, and wind to bring
attention to Dr. Li's situation.
And further south in Washington, D.C., practitioners participated in
the annual Cherry Blossom Parade.
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Over 100 practitioners from DC, New York, New Jersey and
North Carolina formed one of 78 groups in the popular event.
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This was the fifth time that Falun Gong was invited to join
the parade, and they led the others with a colorful display of traditional
Chinese dancing, walkers in exercise suits a float with an exhibition of the
exercises and a group of children from Minghui School with a pink and white
rainbow of balloons.
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Organizers from the festival said that their organizing
committee had received several telephone calls from the Chinese Embassy about
the invitation to the Falun Gong group. But democracy prevailed and a 30-year
resident of the city told a practitioner, "I am very proud to see that a
Chinese group led the parade in Washington DC. This is the first time that I
have seen such a scene."
Yuzhi Wang Speaks at
the Annual Meeting of the International Human Rights Association in Frankfurt:
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Ms. Yuzhi Wang was a guest speaker at the 31st annual
meeting of the International Human rights Association held in Frankfurt,
Germany on April 5 and 6, 2003.
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The topic for this year was "Eliminating Cruel
Punishment" and China and its persecution of Falun Gong was included.
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The International Human Rights Association was established
in 1972, with headquarters in Frankfurt. There are 25 branches around the
world, and it is devoted to improving the human rights situation of every
country. The association also holds an observer seat in the European
Parliament.
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During a discussion about China, attendees talked about the
Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong, and how it has had negative affects on
Hong Kong's democracy and freedom.
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Ms. Yuzhi Wang, a practitioner from Canada, talked about her
own plight of being persecuted for practicing Falun Gong in China. She was sent
to a labor camp three times, and was beaten and tortured in the Wanjia Labor
Camp during her 100-day detention there.
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On the morning of April 6th, a resolution
condemning general human rights abuses and the persecution of Falun Gong in
China was adopted by a unanimous vote. The resolution asked the German
government to raise a motion condemning the human rights situation in China to
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. This resolution will be formally
handed over by the German government to the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights.
Police in Jilin Province of China Return Money Extorted from Falun Gong
Practitioners:
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A practitioner from Jilin province in China
has written to Minghui Web site to advise that after the genocide lawsuit
against Jiang Zemin was publicized on the Internet, police have reacted in a
very positive way.
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Part of the evidence against the Chinese
dictator was provided by Jilin practitioners and it included names of police
from one particular station that extorted a lot of money from practitioners.
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In an unprecedented move, upon learning their
crimes had been exposed, the police have started to return the extorted money
to the practitioners.
Xinle
Police forced practitioners to lie in the snow:
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An elderly woman practitioner from Hebei Province was
kidnapped in wintertime in 2000 and taken to Xinle County Police Department.
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After being beaten and then handcuffed to a tree and left
there to freeze, she was sent to a detention centre where the brutality was
increased.
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She was stripped down to her underwear and shirt, and forced
to lie on her stomach on a pile of snow. Police then piled ice on top of her,
followed by cold water from head to toe and left her in the sub-zero
temperature to freeze.
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This woman lived to tell her story, and to provide the Falun
Dafa Information Center with names and phone numbers so that the wrongdoers can
eventually be brought to justice.
Cuiying Zhang Painting Exhibition in Bulgaria:
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Ms. Cuiying Zhang, an Australian Falun Gong
artist and a survivor of the Jiang regime's torture in a Chinese labor camp
recently held a very successful exhibition of her paintings in the Bulgarian
capital of Sofia.
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Media were very interested in the event and not only covered
the opening ceremony and talk by Ms. Zhang, but also invited her to participate
in a special feature program on Falun Gong.
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After interviewing the artist, one TV reporter passionately
responded by saying that "The world needs truthfulness, compassion and
forbearance" – the universal qualities that are the foundation for the
practice of Falun Gong.
Living
Without Illness, after almost dying from it!
Following is an excerpt from a report written by a Falun
Dafa practitioner from the United States:
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I was losing an eight year battle with a chronic
illness which was later compounded by complications from a reaction to a
medication. Consequently, I had to move to my parent’s home, since I could no
longer eat, sleep, or stand.
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A miracle was truly in order as there were no
other options for getting better. I had already explored the best therapies and
alternative healing that Chinese and Western medicine had to offer, but to no
avail. Each new modality or practitioner would bring some relief and then I
would spiral down again.
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A friend e-mailed me about the Falun Dafa web
site. She was doing the Falun Gong exercises and feeling better and maybe it
could do the same for me.
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I started by learning the exercises and
practicing twice a week at the local park with other practitioners. A month or
so later, I began to read Master Li's book Zhuan Falun. I then
read all of his books and lecture papers that are on the Internet and took
special note about the topics of illness.
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But, I also found many other new concepts that
became my point of reference to examine myself from, such as identifying
attachments, intentions, and old notions. I immediately started applying my new
found understandings in my daily life.
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Four months later, I was off all medications,
herbs, and supplements, and I knew my improving health was from one source
only, Falun Gong. I was on the road to recovery and I had found something very
special.
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In addition, I have had severe allergies all my
life and was shocked to discover six months after starting the practice that I
was totally allergy free. Today, I no longer have the chronic back pain that
has plagued me for 20 years. I am most blessed to be without any type of pain
in my body or fatigue, and I sleep soundly every night.
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My relationships and how I look at the world are
changing for the better. My deepest appreciation and thanks go to Master Li!
Thanks for watching the FGMtv weekly news
review.
I'm Susan Mitchell. See you next week!