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Chinese police detained Falun Gong practitioner Yuan Sheng, a veteran airline pilot at China Eastern Airlines based in Shanghai, on August 8, 2006 at Shanghai's Pudong Airport prior to his flight to the United States. It was because he told one of the security personnel about the persecution of Falun Gong. At the insistence of the flight crew, Yuan Sheng piloted the plane and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at noon on August 8. At present, Yuan Sheng is considering seeking political asylum in the United States.
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Yuan Sheng at a brief press conference in Los Angeles on August 9, 2006 |
Yuan Sheng said Wednesday that he sought asylum in the United States because he is a Falun Gong practitioner, and would be arrested and punished should he return to China.
Yuan Sheng said that prior to taking off in Shanghai, he talked about the persecution he and other Falun Gong practitioners have suffered to a security staff member at Shanghai Airport. Yuan Sheng said that the officer reported him to the police, and the police tried to arrest him.
But Eastern Airlines insisted that if Yuan Sheng could not take off with the flight, the flight would be greatly delayed. Therefore, the police agreed to wait until Yuan Sheng returns to Shanghai to investigate him.
According to an Epoch Times report on the same day, Yuan Sheng expressed that he has been practicing Falun Gong for eight years, and he takes it as his responsibility to expose the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong to help people learn about the CCP's evil nature. But, he also knew that should he return to China, he would suffer severe persecution. He had previously been thrown into one of the CCP's centers for forcibly brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners.
He said that some people in China have been sentenced to four years in prison simply because they were found in possession of copies of The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. As of today, nearly 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed to have been killed by the persecution in China, and that is only a small fraction of the persecution. Countless Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, tortured and physically and mentally abused. Some have had their organs extracted while they are still alive, and their murdered bodies were cremated to destroy the evidence.
In early July 2006, a practitioner from Glasgow, Scotland made use of an opportunity to visit Scotland’s Western Isles with her husband as a holiday to introduce Falun Gong to the people on these islands, and to expose the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners imposed upon them by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the past seven years.
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After discussing with other practitioners in Scotland, the practitioner from Glasgow contacted human rights groups and the media on the islands beforehand. She also invited some friends to go along with her. The first island on the list was Barra. During a phone call, the practitioner explained about the Chinese Communist Party regime’s persecution of Falun Gong to the landlady who was renting them a cottage. The landlady said that she would contact human rights activists on Barra and tell them of their arrival.
The next day, the practitioner received a phone call from a resident of Barra. Neil is a postman on the island and a human rights activist. The practitioner emailed him a report about the CCP organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. She also sent him a report about a Falun Gong practitioner who was tortured in China. After Neil read these reports, he told them to bring the petition so that he could put some in the local shops.
It was also through Neil that this practitioner contacted the main branch of the media on these islands. The newspaper published an article about organ harvesting in China and specifically mentioned Falun Gong. They also included the reason for coming to Barra, as well as the times and venues of the petitioning.
Barra
Barra is situated to the north of Scotland. The people on the island were very kind. The morning after they arrived they visited a few shops, and after the shopkeepers heard about the persecution of Falun Gong, they agreed to take some materials regarding organ harvesting. That afternoon, Neil came to visit. He asked a lot of questions about human rights in China and also told us that the practitioners should come before the summer holidays next time, as the school teachers wanted them to give a lesson about human rights in China.
Neil used his free time to show the group around the island. The practitioner took this opportunity to tell him the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong. He said, "The people living in China don’t even have basic human rights." His wife shook her head sadly when she found out about the situation, "This is awful! I can’t believe that things like this are still happening. Give me your petition. Our whole family will sign." She then asked the practitioner to send some information regarding China’s human rights violations to her so that she could pass it on to the school teachers on the island.
After a retired couple learned the truth and signed the petition, they said, "Everyone will support you. Everyone will sign your petition and wish you luck." The couple also gave the petition to their four friends and asked that they sign too. Before the group left Barra, they went to say goodbye to the older couple, whose eyes were red-rimmed. They embraced everyone and said, "God bless you and hope that this persecution will be over quickly."
Harris and Lewis
Harris and Lewis made up the biggest island of the Western Isles, with around 2,500 inhabitants combined. The main media on the island, the Stornaway Gazette, had already published an article about organ harvesting a week before the practitioner arrived on the island.
Tarbert is the main town on Harris. The practitioner distributed organ harvesting leaflets and told people the news in the gas station, hairdressers, gift shop, furniture shop, tourist information, newsagents and the police station. There aren’t very many people in Tarbert, so the practitioner was advised to go to Stornaway, the largest town on Lewis.
This practitioner asked for permission to set up a gazebo at the library near the area, where she intended to do the petitions. The staff there reassured her that the space was free for use and also said, "The whole town passes through here."
A young practitioner demonstrated the exercises in a bright costume, giving the other practitioners a chance to chat with people when pedestrians stopped to watch. Many people had already heard about the organ harvesting from living prisoners through a combination of media, newspapers and television broadcasts. They asked why the CCP was intent on destroying Falun Gong.
Practitioners explained that Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion- Tolerance was the opposite of the Chinese government’s ideology. Very quickly people understood the real motive of the CCP. The practitioners then took the opportunity to explain about the content of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and the wave of renunciations from the CCP after its publication. Some people told the practitioners that the CCP will not last much longer. The Soviet Union collapsed and so will the CCP.
Around midday a young western student passed by when he saw the posters. He approached the table and spoke to one of the practitioners in fluent Chinese. When she told him about organ harvesting, the student told her that he had read the news in the local newspaper. He helped the practitioners hang up the last of the banners and had his picture taken beside an organ harvesting banner. As the student was about to leave, he said, "I really admire you and hope that you have success!" The next day he presented the practitioners with a box of apricots as a gift.
A local lady named Mrs. Morrison took one of the organ harvesting leaflets. A while later she came back with tears in her eyes and said, "I’ve just read the leaflet you handed me. This is awful! We have to stop this! What can I do to help?" The practitioner encouraged Mrs. Morrison to contact her MP about the organ harvesting.
Just before the practitioners were about to pack up, a deaf lady came up to our gazebo and warmly embraced everyone before placing her hands over her heart. The lady’s husband told us that it meant she felt for us.
It happened that there was a small marathon on Harris. Around a hundred runners from all over the UK arrived for the event. This was a very good opportunity to spread the news about organ harvesting from living prisoners. A practitioner asked for permission to place a small table in the hall where the participants would be registering. On the table she placed leaflets concerning the organ harvesting situation along with the petition. When the participants arrived, they thought that the table was where they were supposed to register, and they flocked around it. When they heard about the organ harvesting many of them signed the petition.
The final destination for the marathon was the local school. A gentleman offered to give some materials to the school once it opens. He said that the pupils should know about the persecution so that they will appreciate their peaceful environment.
Skye
Two practitioners from Edinburgh traveled to Skye especially for the event there. They set up a table in the center of Portree, the largest town on Skye. The weather was particularly temperamental with alternating showers and sunshine.
Later in the afternoon, the two practitioners who had returned from Harris joined them. The group then split up, with two practitioners going around to the shops and tourist information centers distributing Falun Gong leaflets and information about organ harvesting. The remaining practitioners stayed and looked after the table. One of these practitioners started demonstrating the exercises. Soon a large group of teenagers arrived and began to make fun of the practitioner. After learning about the organ harvesting, however, they all signed the petition and watched the practitioner with respect and interest.
Just before the practitioners were ready to pack up, a large white van carrying a dozen or so Chinese tourists stopped right in front of the table. The practitioners went up to hand out leaflets, copies of the Nine Commentaries, and CDs. Most of the Chinese tourists accepted the leaflets and even inquired about Falun Gong. There was no negativity at all. To the practitioner’s surprise, even the courier who was supposed to prevent his group from taking leaflets or any materials took the information. He stood in front of the posters detailing the persecution and read them intently.
Falun Gong practitioners had toured four of the Western Isles, explaining the truth about organ harvesting in China. They were deeply moved by the encouragement and support that greeted them wherever they went. Even though the practitioners had left, the petitioning was still ongoing. The human rights activist, Neil, had placed the petitions in the local shops and many people had signed, including the local priest as well as the only MP for the Western Isles, which shows that he is supportive of the action to have an independent investigation into the organ harvesting in China. Also, a social worker on Harris took a few petition sheets and put them in her office. The news of the organ harvesting from living prisoners will be spread from person to person until the whole of the Western Isles knows about it.
Local Falun Gong practitioners came to the Singapore Agency in Houston at 11:30 a.m. on August 8, 2006 to deliver a letter from the Houston Falun Dafa Association. They requested the Singapore authorities to withdraw the charges against local Falun Gong practitioners, respect human rights and freedom of belief, and not to join the Chinese Communist Party in the persecution of Falun Gong and thereby damage Singapore’s reputation in the international community.
A staff member in the Singapore Agency listened to the Falun Gong practitioners’ introduction and accepted the letter from the practitioners. As it is an agency, the staff member expressed that they will fax the letter to the Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C., who will relay it to the Singapore government.
The Houston Falun Dafa Association expressed their protest in the letter against the Singapore government’s unfair treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. The Singapore authorities have wrongfully brought charges against nine local practitioners who spread the truth about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong in a peaceful manner. The charge was "assembly without permit." The local media were also instructed to carry articles to attack and slander Falun Gong, in cooperation with its lawsuit against Falun Gong practitioners. Houston Falun Gong practitioners hoped that the Singapore government will see the situation clearly, position itself correctly, not follow the CCP, and immediately withdraw the unreasonable charges against Falun Gong practitioners for their righteous acts.
Background of the incident:
On May 28, 2006, following the Singapore media’s announcement that former CCP deputy premier and head of the 610 Office Li Lanqing will come to Singapore at the invitation of Lee Kuan Yew to receive an honorary degree from the National University of Singapore, a series of incidents ensued in Singapore, such as an attempt to deport a Falun Gong practitioner to China and banning Falun Gong practitioners’ truth clarification activities. On July 14, 2006, the Singapore government charged nine Falun Gong practitioners who peacefully distributed flyers in the downtown area last October with "assembly without permit." On July 20, it arrested and charged three more Falun Gong practitioners who held a hunger strike protest across from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore against the CCP’s persecution.