Hello, and welcome to the weekly 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 being good, true and enduring.

§ 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…

§ 727 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.

§ Torture reports in the last seven days have come in from 21 different provinces, and the cities of Chengdu, Beijing and Nanjing.

§ 526 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:

§ Letter from a Nanjing jail. Dr. Charles Li describes being tortured.

And some of our other stories:

§ 'Bring Jiang to Justice' news conference in Edmonton, Alberta

§ After one year, Burma releases 71-year-old, imprisoned for holding up a small banner with the words 'Truth-Compassion-Tolerance'

§ Hefei City police murder a 51-year-old woman for distributing Falun Gong flyers

§ Children in Taiwan telephone authorities in Mainland China, and

§ Paralysis cured: a Chinese farmer's story

First, our top story: Letter from a Nanjing Jail

§ Dr. Charles Li, a U.S. citizen and resident of Menlo, California, was arrested on arrival in China in January, 2003. He was imprisoned in a Nanjing jail after being ushered through a show trial in March, for allegedly preparing to tap into Chinese state-run TV, to broadcast programs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

§ This allowed Chinese authorities to claim that Dr. Li’s case is a criminal case that has nothing to do with his practice of Falun Gong.

§ On June 4, 2003 Dr. Charles Li’s fiancée received a 93-page document from the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai that Dr. Li had written while handcuffed for 5 consecutive days in a Nanjing jail.

§ At first, prison officials withheld eight pages of the document. Dr. Li then started a hunger strike to insist that the information reach its destination. After over a week on hunger strike and enduring forced feeding, Dr. Li remained determined to communicate with the outside world, and prison officials gave in.

He writes:

§ On January 22, 2003, I was beaten up at the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport

§ After my arrest on January 22, under the condition that I was on hunger strike, they didn’t allow me to sleep for 3 days and nights. A group of them took turns attacking me (in interrogation).

§ Since 9:15 pm on January 22, 2003, under the condition that I was on hunger strike, I was tortured with handcuffs for over 72 hours.

§ Most of the time, they handcuffed my hands behind my back and prevented me from moving. Especially from 8 pm to 12 am on January 23, 2003 when they moved me from Shanghai Pudong to Yangzhou City, they handcuffed me behind my back and intentionally tightened the handcuffs into my flesh. It was extremely painful. On Jan. 24, they grabbed my handcuffs and pulled them up from my back, which caused devastating pain. The scars are still visible on my wrist.

§ Falun Gong practitioners around the world have held hunger strikes in front of Chinese embassies and consulates, demanding the release of Dr. Li.

News Conference in Edmonton, Canada

§ On June 14, 2003 Falun Dafa practitioners held a news conference in front of the provincial Legislature Building in Edmonton, in western Canada, to support the global "Bring Jiang to Justice" and "Rescue Charles Li" campaigns.

§ Practitioners travelled from Calgary to participate. Display boards exposed evidence of the widespread persecution of Falun Gong. A TV played the latest updates on the lawsuit against Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

§ A western practitioner told how Falun Dafa has spread its benefits around the world to people everywhere. Another listed many cases of persecution that have occurred in the past four years. Details of the lawsuit against Jiang and his "6-10 Office" for genocide and crimes against humanity were also explained.

§ Two women from Mainland China talked about their experiences of being arrested, beaten, interrogated and detained for practicing Falun Gong. They called on kindhearted people to help stop the persecution.

§ A western practitioner shared his experience in dealing with Chinese Consulate officials, and asked more people to expose how Chinese Embassies and Consulates are extending the persecution to foreign countries. A reporter from the Edmonton Sun Newspaper covered the event.

§ After the news conference, practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises and passed out flyers. The weather was clear and there were many visitors who were interested in reading the display boards. Many asked for more details of the lawsuit.

71-year old Dafa practitioner released from Burmese jail

§ Last year, we reported that a 71-year-old gentleman from Hong Kong was arrested and jailed in Burma after unfurling a small banner saying 'Truth-Compassion-Tolerance' when former President Jiang Zemin was about to drive by during a state visit to the country.

§ Mr. Wing Yuen Chan was originally sentenced to 7 years in jail for his benevolent action, but due to efforts of practitioners and Amnesty International, who brought the case forward to the Burmese government, Mr. Chan has been set free and has returned to his family and home in Hong Kong.

Toronto Falun Gong Practitioner Honoured by the City

§ The City of Toronto has singled out Falun Gong practitioner John Zhang as an example of someone who has served Torontonians through his selfless volunteer work over the last few years.

§ John received his award in a ceremony at Toronto's City Hall earlier this month from Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski and Chinese community leader, Steve Aung.

51-year-old Woman Murdered by Hefei City Police in China

§ 51-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhonxia Zhu, who lived in Hefei City of Anhui Province was murdered by police at the Hefei Sanli Street Police Station on May 20th.

§ On April 2, 2003, police arrested her when she was telling people about the facts of the illegal persecution of Falun Gong and distributing flyers. After being detained for 15 days, she returned home, where police officers and her husband, who had been deceived by the Jiang regime propaganda, constantly beat and threatened her. They tried to make her reveal the source of the flyers she had distributed.

§ During the morning of May 20, several police arrested her and took her to the Sanli Street Police Station. When she refused to cooperate with them, they beat her and finally pushed her from the top of a five-story building at about 12 noon. Ms. Zhu died from the fall.

§ Sources close to the victim advised that the person directly responsible for Ms. Zhu's death is Mr. Hong Su, deputy chief of the Sanli Street Police Station. They reported that Mr. Su has also persecuted many other Dafa practitioners.

Different attitudes: different results!

§ Police Commander Mr. Wei Zhou of the Jiangjiaqiao Local Police Station in Qidong County of Hunan Province, followed Jiang Zemin's orders to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners, beating and even murdering them. At the end of 2002, he was in a car accident and died insantly.

§ Recently, a practitioner from Chonqing City in China told us about a policeman there who always treated Dafa practitioners kindly. Once, when his son was driving, the car went out of control, spun off the road and smashed into a tree. The car was badly damaged, yet miraculously, no one inside was injured.

Why talk about Dafa in China?

§ Many people question why Falun Gong practitioners in China would want to put themselves in danger by talking about, or doing the practice, because the government is cracking down so severely.

§ Someone suggested to a practitioner: "I know Falun Gong is good! But not spreading it any more would be in your interest."

§ They replied, "Someone told me about Falun Gong and I started practicing it and all my illness went away.

§ If I hadn't told you, would you know about it today? There are others who don't know! If everyone knows Falun Gong is good, then more people will benefit by practicing it."

Jiang Zemin's Worst Nightmare: a dramatic puppet show in New York's Times Square

§ Falun Gong practitioners in New York City held a dramatic performance in Times Square in mid-June. The program included a puppet show called "Chinese Dictator Jiang Zemin's Worst Nightmare," in which Jiang dreamed he was tried in the Court of Human Decency and Morality, and sentenced for his crimes against humanity.

§ The crowd learned about the truth while enjoying the show.

§ A young boy asks Jiang to release his father from prision in China, while the judge in the "Court of Human Decency and Morality" listens on.

§ They held up posters listing Jiang Zemin's crimes:

First, torture, rape and murder

Second, genocide, tearing apart thousands of families

Third, arbitrary arrest and illegal imprisonment

Fourth, fabricating lies, spreading hate, destroying morality

Fifth, violating basic freedom, endangering western democracy

and Sixth, blacklisting and persecuting foreign nationals..

§ Many people stopped to sign the public resolution. The signatures overflowed onto another board and several more sheets.

§ Western and Chinese practitioners explain the facts of the illegal persecution of Falun Gong to crowds and passersby.

§ The judge in the "Court of Human Decency and Morality" sentences Jiang for his crimes against humanity. Jiang is depicted as dreaming he is punished in a hot fire.

Children in Taiwan telephone authorities in Mainland China

§ In early June of 2003, at Minghui School in Taipei, in addition, to the regular curriculum, a special activity of making phone calls to authorities in mainland China was arranged for the young practitioners.

§ Their teacher wrote a brief script on the blackboard. It said, "Greetings, Uncle or Aunty, I want to tell you important news. The Chinese ex-president Jiang Zemin has been sued in the U.S. court. Please keep in mind: Falun Dafa is good. Truth, Compassion and Tolerance is good. The whole world knows Falun Dafa is good."

§ The teacher dialed the Mainland number for each child and said, "A little friend from Taiwan would like to say a few words from the bottom of his heart to you." Then she handed the phone to a young practitioner, who then read the script.

§ One young boy had called the Mainland once before. He had been scared by the other side's curses and had cried. But this time, he wasn't afraid or nervous and made the first call to lead the way for the others, encouraging them all.

MingHui Web site has received a thank-you note from a Chinese village!

§ When a practitioner who had been forced to leave home to avoid persecution later returned to his village, his neighbours excitedly told him: "Falun Gong practitioners from overseas telephoned almost all of the families in the village. Their attitudes are so very kind and polite!

§ They explained the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong, and clarified the "Tiananmen Self-Immolation" incident, as well as about how police torture practitioners. They also offered to play Falun Gong songs."

§ A young man said: "We heard you talking about Falun Gong being persecuted, but we didn't take it to heart.

§ The calls from overseas have truly astonished us. The persecution is so inhuman! Jiang's regime will receive retribution for persecuting kind people.

§ Falun Gong practitioners spent money to call us. What is their motivation? It is surely for our benefit that they let us know the truth. Could someone please send a message to them and thank them."

Paralysis Cured

§ A farmer in China wrote to say he had been paralyzed and had lain in bed for more than three years. Good doctors had not been able to help him.

§ In August of 1998, he started practicing Falun Gong. After five months, his condition profoundly improved and he no longer became dizzy or lost his balance.

§ Three years later, in December 2001, his health was fully restored, and he went to Beijing to appeal for an end for the persecution of Falun Dafa. He was arrested and detained for more than a month during which time, he was badly beaten and also forced to do hard labor.

§ He wrote, "Later, I clarified the truth to the Party Secretary to expose the wrongdoing and told him to treat people well. I told him the benevolence of Dafa, and how, from having been in bed for more than three years, I have become a very healthy person who is able to do farm work. Two days later, they informed me that I could go home, without taking even a single penny from me.

§ After getting home, I clarified to every family in my area the truth about the persecution of Dafa. Then I did farming work in the daytime and at night I posted flyers, hung banners and showed people truth-clarifying videos, spreading the truth to more people."

Thanks for watching the FGMtv weekly news review.

I'm Susan Mitchell. See you next week!