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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 Zhen, Shan, Ren -
being true, good, and enduring, which is also translated as 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.
Our top story this week:
Government
officials issue 40 proclamations to celebrate Falun Dafa Week in Los Angeles
County, California
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Citizens
in the USA have always treasured spiritual freedom, and on the afternoon of
August 16, 2003 more than seventy of them crowded into the Los Angeles Public
Library to celebrate the fastest growing spiritual practice in the world today,
Falun Dafa.
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Mayor
Jeff Prang of West Hollywood was the keynote speaker. In praising the foundation
principles Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, he said if there were no such magnificent principles, our world
would have become ruthless and chaotic with no happiness or hope of living.
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In his address to the audience, Mayor
Prang said that voices of justice "shall be raised from every corner of
the world, including this city, to condemn the persecution against millions of
innocent people who follow these principles."
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He expressed his belief that this event
was held not only for Falun Gong but also for the freedom of human beings, and
said he hoped that one day, the bell of freedom would sound everywhere in the
world.
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He then called on Chinese authorities
to learn about and treat Falun Gong with an open and tolerant mind, because, he
said, the current persecution based on deception cannot be sustained and people
will eventually find out the truth.
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To support American Falun Gong
practitioner, Dr. Charles Li, who is currently illegally imprisoned by the
Chinese government, Mayor Prang signed a petition letter and accepted a special
interview with New Tang Dynasty TV station.
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A musical performance and demonstration
of the Falun Gong exercises were included in the program and some local
residents seized the opportunity to experience the great energy for themselves.
A Twisted Tale from a Chinese
Labor Camp
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The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China
has reached a new twisted "high" with Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in
Hebei Province being honored and given first place for torture.
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TV crews from the province's stations have often been
invited to the camp to conduct interviews with prison guards to learn of their barbaric
methods.
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Audiences are not allowed to see the guards in
action, but practitioners advise that as well as being kicked, and beaten with
high voltage electric batons for hours, their mouths have been stuffed with
recently soiled sanitary napkins and some on hunger strike have been force fed
with watered down human feces.
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The good news in this tale of atrocity is that a French criminal court has begun legal proceedings in a lawsuit
charging the former Vice-Prime Minister of China, Mr. Lanqing Li, with crimes
of torture.
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Lanqing Li was head of the 6-10 Office in China – a
Gestapo-like agency created by former president Jiang Zemin to enforce Jiang's
policies to "eradicate" Falun Gong in Gaoyang and across China.
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Judges hearing similar lawsuits in New York and San
Francisco against other Chinese authorities have ruled in favour of Falun Gong.
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And on the other side of the world, for the second
year, Falun Gong practitioners have won First Prize in the Community category
in Scotland's annual Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade.
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In last week's news, we showed you photographs of
practitioners playing waist drums in various parades around the world. Those
drummers were just part of the Falun Gong entry in Edinburgh. Spectators also enthusiastically
greeted traditional Chinese dancers and a colourful float.
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When accepting the silver cup prize, the practitioner
thanked "the people of Edinburgh and the
world who supported them during this event. Winning this prize for the second
year in a row truly shows Falun Gong's popularity in western society. This
heartfelt support creates a stark contrast to the campaign of genocide and
propaganda that Jiang Zemin has used to turn people against Falun Gong in
China, where people who practice are not rewarded but are tortured, raped,
beaten and murdered. We hope that through winning this award, we can allow more
people to learn the truth about Falun Gong and see through Jiang's wicked
lies."
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Many newspapers, including the
country's famous "The Scotsman" featured the award-winning parade
entry on their front pages.
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Moving
now to Geneva, where the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights met in early August.
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The
theme of the 55th session of this sub-commission was "Women and
Human Rights". Last on the program was a speech by a Falun Gong
practitioner who had been tortured in a Chinese labor camp for refusing to give
up her beliefs.
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Some
attendees who had been ready to leave as the speech began quietly resumed their
seats to listen with admiration and respect for her story. They crowded around
her afterwards asking for copies of the speech and expressed their support for
four years of worldwide peaceful and rational appeals in the face of brutal
persecution in China.
Building up
Endurance!
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Falun Gong's core principles are Zhen Shan Ren, which
translate as Truth, Goodness or Compassion, and Tolerance or Endurance.
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Practitioners in Boston recently tested their
capacity for endurance during the local Chinese community's Mid-Autumn
Festival, by continuing to do their exercises in the rain . . . outside the
Rainbow Restaurant!
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Members of Yale University's Falun Gong club did
their best to herald a real rainbow by chasing away the downpour with their
"Flying Colorful Clouds" dance. Their efforts were really appreciated
by an audience that stayed to watch and get wet, rather than miss the
opportunity to see such beauty in motion.
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Undeterred by the inclement weather, passers by
crowded round the Falun Gong booth to learn more about the practice and the
persecution.
Thanks for watching the FGMtv weekly news review.
I'm Susan Mitchell. See you next week!