News and Activities from Around the World -- February 15, 2006

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Practitioners demonstrate exercises

Practitioners protest the CCP's persecution

The Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco was held on the evening of February 11, 2006. Due to pressure from the Chinese Communist regime, Falun Gong's application for participating in the parade was turned down by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

On the day of the parade, to protect the practitioners' right of freedom of speech, the San Francisco police provided a place on the parade route for the practitioners to express themselves. ABC, NBC, CBS and other TV networks, as well as the Associated Press, sent reporters to interview practitioners. Many people took pictures of the practitioners' exercise demonstration.

Reporter from ABC interviewing practitioner

Reporter from CBS interviewing practitioner

Reporter from NBC interviewing practitioner

KCBS reporter interviewing attorney representing the practitioners

At a little after 2:00 p.m., the practitioners went to their designated area. With golden exercise outfits on, the practitioners demonstrated the exercises and the waist drum performance periodically. Some women practitioners danced in colorful costumes, and young practitioners participated, as well. Practitioners put up all kinds of banners on the barricades to introduce Falun Gong, condemn the persecution by the Chinese Communist regime, and call for an end to the persecution that has been extended to outside of China.

Falun Gong spokeswoman Sherry Zhang pointed out that the organizer of the parade was directed by Rose Pak, who carried out the persecution against Falun Gong in San Francisco. The Falun Gong group has applied for participation in the Chinese New Year Parade since 2000 and was rejected in every year except for 2004. The application was approved in 2004, but only because the application was done under the name Falun Dafa instead of Falun Gong, and the review board didn't know that the two were synonymous. Ever since the persecution against the Falun Gong started in 1999, Rose Pak and other pro-communist persons have supported the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong in the Bay Area.

Sherry Zhang said that Rose Pak is a personal friend of Jiang Zemin, the main culprit of the persecution of Falun Gong. Personnel from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco have even pronounced her as a tool in the persecution of Falun Gong.

After the persecution started in 1999, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce held a conference against Falun Gong in San Francisco. Practitioners were beaten up by a group of thugs when they were doing the exercises and distributing truth-clarifying fliers at the corner of Chinatown Park in San Francisco in October 2000. A witness said that after police apprehended the perpetrators, Rose Pak intervened, and eventually the perpetrators were released.

According to a report from the Sing Tao Daily on November 23, 2001, Rose Pak was praised and rewarded by the Chairman of the CCP Jiang Zemin, for hindering the passage of a resolution to protect Falun Gong practitioners' human rights in San Francisco. When she visited China, she received a welcome and treatment befitting visiting heads of state.

In February 2002, former Mayor of Beijing Liu Qi and Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province Xia Deren were sued by practitioners in San Francisco for torture and crimes against humanity. According to court records, Rose Pak sent a letter in the name of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the judge on their behalf. In the end, the Federal Court found Liu Qi and Xia Deren responsible for the charges.

Sherry Zhang pointed out that Rose Pak spread rumors before the parade, saying that Falun Gong would "stir up trouble". After Falun Gong's application for the parade was rejected, the media in the Bay Area paid a great deal of attention to the issue and interviewed the practitioners.

Sherry said, "Ever since the Chinese Communist regime started to persecute Falun Gong, they have kept making up lies to try to maintain the persecution. But the truth cannot be hidden forever. Each time they assault Falun Gong with lies, it backfires. Today, all of these prominent media outlets came and saw the peace and beauty of Falun Gong. Didn't this counteract what they were trying to do?"

Many spectators came and complimented our performance, and expressed that we belonged in the parade.

A spectator named Donna watched the practitioners demonstrating the exercises and traditional Chinese dances from the other side of the street. She said that she came from Sacramento for the Chinese New Year Parade after two hours of driving, and after seeing the Falun Gong group and the beautiful dances, she wanted to know more about Falun Gong. She said, "This group can participate in any parade in San Francisco except for the Chinese New Year Parade. I'm shocked."

Shanna from San Jose expressed that she knew about the persecution against Falun Gong. She said, "I know why the Chinese Communist regime would persecute Falun Gong. I am here to watch the parade. I think every group should be allowed in the parade, and so should the Falun Gong group. I know that people don't have human rights under the Chinese Communist regime. Not allowing Falun Gong group in the parade is awful, and this is in the U.S."

Practitioner Zhang Hong expressed that the Lunar New Year is something all Chinese people celebrate. She said, "Even though we didn't walk in the parade, we demonstrated peacefully to people the exercises of Falun Gong and traditional Chinese culture. We displayed a practitioner's sense of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and shared our compassionate smile with everyone. We just want to let people know what Falun Gong really is. We simply practice "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance"."

Seeing practitioners distributing introductory materials, a local resident indicated that not allowing people who follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to participate is wrong. He also said that the practitioners' performances were very touching.

The practitioners kept doing the demonstration to show people the beauty of Falun Dafa till the end of the parade. Two patrol officers gave their thumbs-up to the practitioners when they passed by.

Regarding the discrimination by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, attorney Joseph Breall, who represents the practitioners, stated that a lawsuit against the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is expected to commence in April of this year.

Press Release - Feb. 13, 2006 European Falun Gong Information Centre

Dr. Peter Yuan Li hours after being beaten and bound in his Atlanta home by assailants who took only computers and documents, leaving other valuables untouched.

Brussels (EFGIC) - The Chinese Communist Party is in its death throes. Having played out all of its propaganda tricks, irrational and without focus, its overseas secret agents have lost their senses and act out gangster style mobbing in broad daylight.

At noon on February 8th, two armed men forced themselves into the home in Atlanta of Epoch Times Chief Technical Officer Mr. Yuan P. Li, beating him and stealing two of his laptops. After Mr. Li managed to free himself from the extension cord used to bind him, he was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

In the afternoon of February 9th, the home of Mrs Chen, staff member of New Tang Dynasty TV Company (NTDTV) in Paris, was ransacked and the income of the NTDTV New Year Gala ticket sales was stolen.

The Epoch Times, an international newspaper with a focus on human rights in China, and NTDTV a US-based Chinese community channel promoting Chinese culture, are considered a threat by the CCP for effectively breaking through the CCP's propaganda system inside China and abroad - particularly since the publication of an editorial called Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party by The Epoch Times which exposes the tyrannical reign of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the violent suppression of Falun Gong. This publication has led to over 8 million membership renunciations from the CCP and its affiliated groups.

Mrs. Chen's flat after it was ransacked.

When the mask drops: openly using violence in free countries

Both media channels announced their intentions not to be intimidated by these acts of violence which they believe were committed by the CCP's secret agents.

Mrs Chen stated: "This is an attempt of intimidation and seeks to sabotage a cultural event that promotes our TV station. NTDTV is the only station that broadcasts news into China which is not controlled by the Chinese government. This is why we are oftentimes threatened and put under all kinds of pressure by the Chinese authorities, in China or abroad, by special agents and collaborators from the Chinese Embassy."

Asked about the motive for the Atlanta attack, John Nania, the editor-in-chief of the English-language edition of The Epoch Times said, "The taking of Yuan's two laptops, while leaving behind other more valuable items, is the key to this attack. The thugs who did this were looking for information about The Epoch Times. That was one motive. The other was the obvious attempt to terrorize Yuan and by extension the staff of The Epoch Times. But that is not going to happen. We are all concerned for Yuan, but we all share with him the determination to report honestly on events in mainland China, no matter what efforts are made to deter us."

What happened to Peter Yuan and Mrs Chen, both Falun Gong practitioners, is part of a larger pattern of violence perpetrated against Falun Gong activists by Chinese agents in the West.

Speaking on behalf of the European Falun Gong Association, Mr Peter Jauhal said, "We call upon the French and US law enforcement to investigate this matter. It is an assault on Western citizens by agents of the Chinese regime. We also call upon the French and U.S. government to communicate to Chinese consular officials in clear and public terms that there will be zero tolerance for such illicit behavior here in the West."

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Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of the Buddha School, consisting of meditation and exercises, with teachings that emphasise living by three principles: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Originating in China, Falun Gong is now practised in over 70 countries countries. With Chinese government estimates of 100 million China practising Falun Gong in China, in July 1999 the Chinese Communist Party-state launched a nationwide, violent campaign to "eradicate" the practice. The European Falun Gong Information Centre has verified details of 2,804 deaths and over 44,000 cases of torture (Reports / Sources). Millions have been detained or sent to forced labour camps.

FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT THE EUROPEAN FALUN GONG INFORMATION CENTRE - Peter Jauhal + 44 (0) 7739 172 452 Nicolas Schols +32 47 98 75 734 Email: europe@falungonginfo.net

Falun Dafa practitioners held a peaceful protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Finland on Saturday February 11^th, 2006. They were at the embassy to condemn the beating of US Falun Gong practitioner Peter Yuan Li, who was beaten, bound and gagged at gunpoint by Chinese Communist Party agents who forced their way into his home in Atlanta.

One of the Finnish practitioners read a statement in Finnish, English and Chinese using a loudhailer. The statement was then delivered to the embassy, addressed to the Chinese Ambassador to Finland. While the protest took place, others practitioners were outside the central railway station distributing leaflets and talking to people about what happened in Atlanta as well as the bigger picture of the CCP's almost seven years of human rights violations against people who practice Falun Gong.

Delivering the statement to the Chinese Embassy	Reading the statement in Chinese, English and Finnish

The Finnish practitioners, in spite of numbering only a few, will diligently strive forward to let as many people as possible know about the heinous crimes against humanity committed both in China and abroad by the totalitarian Chinese communist regime.

Statement read at the Finnish Embassy

On Thursday, February 9, a Falun Gong practitioner and Epoch Times information technology specialist Peter Yuan Li, who has been active in exposing the human rights violations of the Chinese Communist Party, was severely beaten by CCP agents in his home in Atlanta, USA.

Through this statement, we emphatically condemn the shameful atrocities of the Chinese regime in the lawless persecution of Falun Gong during the last seven years. It is not enough that the CCP is terrorizing its own citizens in China - it is trying to expand the persecution overseas.

Around noon on Thursday an Asian man, feigning a water delivery, appeared on Li's doorstep. Before Mr. Li knew it, two men had forced their way in, pulled out a gun and knife, and wrapped him up in a blanket, attempting to suffocate him. They then used duct tape to cover his mouth, eyes and ears, and an extension cord to tie up his arms and legs. The men beat him severely about the head and face, probably with the butt of a gun. He bled profusely.

Moments later he heard one to two other men enter his home; one of them spoke Mandarin Chinese. Half an hour later they left. They had overturned his filing cabinets and stolen two laptop computers and potentially other important documents, but no valuables. The wounds on Li's face required 15 stitches.

If the Chinese agents do not immediately stop their harassment of people who merely wish to expose crimes against humanity committed by the Communist Party of China, there will be no hope for their future. We urge all Chinese embassies and consulates around the world to respect the sovereignty of both individuals and foreign nations, and unequivocally condemn such aggravated crimes against residents of foreign countries. We also demand all Chinese officials, abroad and inside China, to renounce the massive human rights violations, torture, intimidation, brainwashing and state-approved murders in China's notorious labor camps and detention centers.

Originally published in Finnish a http://fi.clearharmony.net/articles/200602/3797.html

13th February 2006

The following speech was made by a representative of European Friends of Falun Gong at a press conference opposite the Chinese Embassy in London. The press conference was called to highlight the recent assault at gunpoint of a Falun Gong practitioner in his own home in the United States, carried out by agents of the Chinese communist regime. For more details on this assault, please see http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200602/31446.html. European Friends of Falun Gong is a non-governmental organization of people who don't practice Falun Gong but support freedom of belief for practitioners.

We wish to bring to your attention the recent act of violence and burglary carried out against Falun Gong practitioner Dr Peter Li Yuan. This event appears to be part of a worldwide campaign by the Chinese authorities to intimidate and undermine the Falun Gong movement, the exportation of their own brand of persecution abroad, a persecution which has so far caused the deaths in custody of nearly 3,000 practitioners in China, while many more thousands languish in prisons and labor camps with little hope of release.

Today's press conference outside the Chinese embassy in London has been called to publicize this event and to launch a relay hunger strike by Falun Gong practitioners with the intention of bringing the Chinese government's activities to the attention of a worldwide audience.

The attack on Dr Li occurred on Wednesday February 8th in Atlanta, Georgia, when according to the Fulton County Police Department, Asian men stormed the house of the Princeton-educated information technology technician, bound, gagged and beat him, before fleeing with two laptop computers, Li's wallet and as yet unknown material from his files.

Dr Li has been a key figure in Falun Gong's attempts to undermine the Chinese Communist Party, having worked for The Epoch Times during and since the period when it published the highly critical series of essays 'The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party', and the Chinese authorities clearly see him as a major player in the campaign to persuade members of the CCP to renounce their party affiliation on specially designed Web sites.

It is no coincidence that this attack has taken place at the same time as the foremost business magazine in the US, Forbes, reveals the extent to which Falun Gong practitioners have penetrated the Chinese government's information barriers, allowing people in China access to Web sites which the Chinese government has tried to block.

This event was an isolated incident of course. There have been several other cases of violence in the last few months involving attacks by Chinese government officials on Falun Gong practitioners around the world. But it represents a serious escalation in China's campaign against freedom of belief and expression, and provides proof of the devastating lack of compassion shown by the Chinese government over the last six and a half years of persecution.

We of course condemn these crimes unreservedly, and hope that the perpetrators will be found and dealt with in accordance with the law. We are sure that all right-minded people everywhere will join in this condemnation. The Chinese government seemingly has embarked upon a very serious and dangerous crusade against Falun Gong practitioners outside its own borders and jurisdiction. The West must stand united against them and must not allow them to carry on unchecked in this manner. We appeal to you to do all in your power to halt them in their tracks, and to help bring their illegal activities to the forefront of world attention. We will certainly not rest until the perpetrators have been brought to justice and the persecution, both inside and outside China, has come to an end.

European Friends of Falun Gong
13th February 2006

Source:http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200602/31454.html