Toronto Practitioners Hold Press Conference to Give Public Notice of Illegal Detention of a Canadian Falun Gong Practitioner in Beijing

At 1 p.m., January 24, Toronto Practitioners held a press conference in the Sheraton Center Hotel to urgently call on society to pay close attention to the condition of Canadian practitioner Connie Chipkar, who was detained by Chinese police in Tiananmen Square.

Nine media agencies, including CBC TV, CBC RADIO, GLOBL TV, CFTO, CTTV, TORONTO START, TORONTO SUN, FAIRCHILD Chinese Radio Station, Ming Bao Daily, attended the press conference and conducted interviews

Canadian practitioner Connie Chipkar went to China to express her deep concern about the increased persecution and murder of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners and to appeal to the hearts of Chinese citizens. Wearing an "SOS" Falun Gong sash, she sang a song and extended her arms. She was arrested almost immediately and whisked away in a police van.

Her son, Joel Chipkar held a press conference together with other Toronto practitioners to appeal for the safe return of his mother. They briefed the reporter on the facts they had just learned and answered reporters' questions. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the fact that Ms. Chipkar had been detained.

Toronto practitioner Zenon, who was one of the 36 Falun Dafa practitioners from ten different countries who also had gone to Tiananmen Square last November also appealed to society to insist that the Chinese Government release Ms. Chipkar and ensure her safe return.

Some reporters requested further information of the effort to clarify the truth by western practitioners who went to Tiananmen Square last November.

Some reporters were also concerned about the situation of another Falun Gong practitioner, Lin Shenli, Canadian citizen Li Jinyu's husband, who has been illegally detained for over 18 months. They gathered detailed information about his condition in detention.

In her statement before she went to Beijing, Ms.Chipkar wrote, "An elder from the Inuit Nation in northern Canada said, 'We are not on this earth for man to torture other men. It must be stopped. Let everyone know we Canadians support good, peaceful people.' I also know it is right to support and cherish peaceful, good people in this world. I join my fellow practitioners to stand up and protect "Zhen-Shan-Ren: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," not only for Falun Gong practitioners in China but for everyone in the whole wide world."