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 being good, true
and enduring.
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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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707 Falun Gong
practitioners are confirmed to have died from torture while in custody, with 17
new death reports received in the last 7 days. 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 13 different provinces, and the cities of
Changchun, Dalian and Shenyang.
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791 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:
1,000 Practitioners
work together in a Chinese town to expose the lies of the Jiang regime's
propaganda
And some of our other stories:
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A
brainwashing center in Hebei province is dismantled and abandoned
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Falun
Dafa at the 6th International Book Fair in Santo Domingo
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The
SARS epidemic in China changes the attitude of labor camp guards towards
practitioners
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Canadian
and Australian practitioners invite the world to celebrate the 11th
Anniversary of Falun Dafa, and
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A
90-year-old critically ill man recovers by quietly reciting "Falun Dafa is
Good!"
First, our top story:
One Thousand Practitioners Work Together in a
Chinese Town to expose the lies of the Jiang regime's propaganda
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Over the last ten days, MingHui and Clear Wisdom Web sites have
been inundated with reports and photographs of happy events that took place all
over the world to honour World Falun Dafa
Day on May 13th. Some events, like the Vancouver
Experience-Sharing Conference, were attended by thousands of people.
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Such large gatherings of Falun Gong practitioners are no longer
allowed in China. In fact, practitioners there are regularly thrown into labor
camps and tortured just for giving a Falun Gong flyer to someone.
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But there are some very courageous practitioners in mainland China
and we received a report that around thirty people managed to meet together to
hold an experience-sharing conference to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day.
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At the end of the meeting, they agreed to work together to
organize a large-scale activity.
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Over a thousand practitioners participated, and in the course of
one night, hundreds of large banners, truth-clarifying materials, VCDs and
stickers appeared everywhere in the streets and roads, on both sides of the
road, at the bus station, at the public square, and on walls, trees, and lamp
posts.
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The next morning, loud and clear above the town square, an
amplifier broadcast information about the true situation of the persecution of
Falun Dafa. Everyone walked out of their homes to listen to the truth, which
exposed the lies of the Jiang regime's propaganda.
§ Some police hid in the crowd, not daring to expose their identity.
§ Several days later, most of the banners and stickers are still there.
A Brainwashing Center in Hebei Province is
Dismantled and Abandoned
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"Zhuozhou City Education Transformation Camp," one of
the brainwashing centers established to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, was
promoted to the status of a so-called "Law Education Camp" because of
its efforts.
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Dafa practitioners from Baoding City and other counties were
detained and brutally tortured there with electric batons and force feeding.
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Retired schoolteacher Xiuqin Zhai from Beima Village of Zhuozhou
City was one practitioner who died from such torture.
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Despite such barbaric treatment, practitioners refused to
cooperate with the illegal persecution and strengthened their righteous
thoughts. They explained to the staff that the persecution is based on lies and
that the Chinese state media are not able to show the real truth, that people
in 60 countries around the world happily practice Falun Gong. They were able to
show staff VCD programs that had been made in the West.
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Gradually, diligent practitioners were able to walk out with their
dignity intact one after another, and in the end, this "Legal Education
Camp" disintegrated on April 20, 2003.
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All illegally detained Dafa practitioners there were released and
all the staff deserted the place and went away.
Falun Dafa at the Sixth
International Book Fair in Santo Domingo
We have
received the following report from practitioners in the Dominican Republic:
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During
the Sixth International Book Fair, celebrated in the city of Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic from the 24th of April to the 5th of
May, Falun Dafa practitioners hosted an exhibition booth and handed out a great
number of introductory flyers and newspapers.
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Many
people approached us to learn more about this practice. Many of the
visitors wished to learn the exercises.
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Unfortunately,
FGMTV didn't have a camera person there, but a practitioner reported the
following conversation with a visitor who asked, "What is this practice
about?"
The practitioner replied: "This is a practice based on
principles and exercises. The principles are: "Truthfulness -
Compassion - Tolerance." I explained to him that he was looking at the
symbol of a Falun.
Visitor: But you practice Taoism? I see
the symbols of Taiji.
Practitioner: I explained to him about the
principles that make up the Tao School as well as those of the Buddha School. I
added that we practice a system that integrates all three principles.
Visitor: So this is a microcosm of the
universe!
Practitioner: Yes, these principles truly
summarize the universe and its evolution.
Later we
showed the video "Return to our original true self", and one of the
visitors said, "Wow! How beautiful and harmonious these exercises
are!" When seeing the amount of people around the world and in China who
practice, and the many recognitions given to the practice, the visitor looked
towards the horizon and in a low voice said, "It's as if people had been
waiting for this!"
SARS Epidemic in China changes the attitude of
labor camp guards towards practitioners
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Falun Dafa practitioners in Beijing
have advised that at the Tuanhe Labor Camp, people are very busy trying to
prevent and treat SARS. The police have completely changed their attitude
towards Falun Dafa practitioners, and no longer mention
"transforming" those who have been detained for their spiritual
beliefs.
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Falun Dafa practitioners around the
world are using the facts about the SARS epidemic to expose the lies of the
Jiang regime.
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Information from outside China, such as
news about the lawsuits in seven
countries suing Jiang Zemin for genocide and crimes against humanity, and
The Founding Statement of the
World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, and
phone calls are flowing non-stop to officials, and to the police, especially to
those who have tortured Dafa disciples.
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Beijing practitioners say that because
of all this new information, people are no longer willing to cooperate with the
regime.
Canadian Practitioners Invite the World to Celebrate in Vancouver
and Victoria
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Almost 2,000 practitioners from around
the world met in Vancouver for the annual Canadian Falun Dafa
Experience-Sharing Conference on the weekend of May 19th.
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Teacher Li Hongzhi came and addressed
the conference for about one hour.
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However, Falun Dafa conferences are not
just about sitting in large venues. Practitioners took the opportunity to
practice the exercises together,
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to celebrate greetings from nearby
communities, like Port Moody
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and to share some of the beauty of
Chinese culture with a colorful parade and traditional dances, finishing with a
loud affirmation that "Falun Dafa is Good", or in Chinese,
"Falun Dafa Hao!"
Father & Son Die from torture
in Chinese labor camp
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Of
the 17 death reports of Falun Gong practitioners received last week, two were
members of the same family, a father and son.
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65-year-old
Mr. Zuanfu Zhang was beaten to death in a Chinese forced labour camp. His
38-year-old son Qifa Zhang died 16 days later from sustained torture in the
same camp.
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At
the time of his father's death, Qifa was also in critical condition. The skin
all over his body was discolored and covered with scars, boils and bruises. His
legs were so badly injured he could not walk. He also had difficulty breathing.
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The
deaths of Mr. Zhang and his son came after three years of detention, harassment
and torture.
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Their
crime? They travelled to Beijing to peacefully appeal to authorities to end the
persecution of Falun Gong.
Celebration in Melbourne,
Australia
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On Saturday May the 17th to mark the end
of the week-long world wide events for Falun Dafa's 11th
anniversary, practitioners in Melbourne Australia celebrated by the banks of
the Yarra River. They performed traditional Chinese Dances – on land and on the
river – and gave an exhibition of the Falun Dafa Exercises. The day was a huge
success, since many Melbournians were entertained while visiting the popular
Southbank venue.
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(Melbourne practitioner: "Today, we are here to
commemmorate all those who have lost their lives in the persecution. Unable to
crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive
life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda
campaign to turn public opinion against the practice, while quietly
imprisoning, torturing, and even murdering those who practice it.")
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As the sun was setting practitioners scattered
hundreds of white chrysanthemums onto the river's surface and watched in
silence as the flowers floated gently away. This was a symbolic gesture in
remembrance of the many who have died under the persecution of the
practice in China, for refusing to denounce their belief in Falun Dafa. Melbourne
practitioners said they will remember the courage and strength of those who
died, and will continue to raise awareness of the Persecution so the deaths
will not be in vain.
A Ninety-Year-Old Man Who Was
Critically Ill Recovers by Quietly Reciting "Falun Dafa is Good"
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A
practitioner from Toronto wrote to tell us that on the first day of the 2003
Chinese New Year, she called home to wish her father a happy ninetieth
birthday.
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As
it turned out, he had been sick and bed-ridden, had not had any food or water
for ten days, was drifting in and out of consciousness, and his life was being
sustained by intravenous injections. Everyone in the family was busy preparing
for his funeral.
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She
wrote, "At that time, I remembered Teacher [Li Hongzhi] had said that if a
person's mind is filled with Dafa, hell will not dare to accept this person.
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So I
told my family members to show a piece of paper with the writing of "Falun
Dafa is Good" to my father whenever he was conscious. They did what I told
them. Whenever my father gained consciousness, they showed him that piece of
paper while giving a thumbs-up.
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My
father understood and nodded. By then all the medical treatment had stopped. My
father, however, regained his spirit after only one day.
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Slowly
he was able to sit up, and then he was able to eat. After experiencing these
miraculous changes, day and night, my father started to quietly recite,
"Falun Dafa is good."
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A
few days later he had recovered completely, a rosy color returned to his face,
and he was eating more than a young person. He was very happy and said,
"Falun Dafa is wonderful! I can now live to be a hundred years old. From
now on, I will start to practice Falun Gong myself."
Thanks for watching the FGMtv weekly news review.
I'm Susan Mitchell. See you next week!