(Clearwisdom.net) March 18, 2003 news from Geneva: A "Forum on Rescuing Falun Gong Practitioners' Family Members" initiated by "CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation," an NGO with its headquarters in Geneva, was held at the UN Building. The organization hoped that through the forum, more countries and international organizations and people with a sense of justice would pay attention to the serious violation of Falun Gong practitioners' human rights and help rescue detained Falun Gong practitioners.

Attending the forum were the Committee for the Threatened Ethnic Groups, Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners in China, World Family Reunion and Women Association, and World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong.

Representatives of organizations attending the forum and Falun Gong practitioners

US Assistant Secretary of State Mr. Lorne Craner was especially invited to give a speech at the forum. He expressed that the US State Department and all other governmental departments as well as the Canadian government have been trying to help Falun Gong practitioners. He hoped that more governments and NGOs would stand up to help Falun Gong practitioners.

Three US representatives attending the forum

At the forum, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. He Haiying, representing the Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioner in China, introduced the severe situation of the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. He also pointed out that the Chinese regime has extended its persecution of Falun Gong abroad.

He said that, as of today, it has been verified that 630 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death because they refused to renounce the practice of Falun Gong. In order to resecue persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in China, Falun Gong practitioners overseas spontaneously established this association, and through various contacts with government at different levels and the judicial system in China, demands the related authorities to immediately and unconditionally release detained family members of Falun Gong practitioners. At present, Falun Gong practitioners from 16 countries around the world have joined in the association.

Ms. Beufler Afton, representative of World Family Reunion and Women Association said in her speech that she had heard about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners before, but hadn't thought that the persecution was so systematic, extensive and brutal. She expressed that their association would try harder to help rescue Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Jane Dai (Dai Zhizhen)

In addition, Falun Gong practitioners Zhao Ming, Dai Zhizhen and Zhang Tianxiao were also invited to attend the forum. They respectively talked about their personal experience or their family members' experiences of suffering persecution imposed upon them by Jiang's regime because they practiced Falun Gong. They appealed to all governments to extend a helping hand to offer more help to rescue persecuted Falun Gong practitioners.

In the end, the audience and the media raised many questions, to show their concerns for why the Chinese citizens could tolerate such systematic suppression. Falun Gong practitioners in attendance stated that the Jiang regime strictly controls the media, fabricating lies and slandering Falun Gong, and at the same time blocks accesses to the Internet so that the citizens have difficulty learning about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.