The Guelph Mercury

By: VIK KIRSCH

Torontonian Nanan Qiu says she has Guelphites and other Canadians to thank for the early release of her father and brother from prison in the People's Republic of China.

The Falun Gong devotee briefly visited Guelph City Hall Monday with Canadian spokesperson Pei-Jong Hsieh and Guelph devotees Laura King and Colleen Senyshyn to thank local citizens and municipal officials. They spoke to a Mercury reporter about China's suppression of what adherents describe as the spiritual practise of meditation and exercise.

Qui said her father, Zhaojin Qui, and younger brother, Bai Qui, were arrested in late 2000 for practising in Tiananmen Square and sentenced to three years in a labour camp. It was the third arrest for the father and son, who lives an hour's flight from Beijing.

At least, she said, her relatives are now out of prison, which she attributed to the publicity gendered in Canada. After Ottawa asked China to soften its position, and the Falun Gong practitioners made public visits to Guelph and nine other Canadian cities six months ago appealing for help, she said, the Chinese government recently released five of 13 relatives of Canadians, including her father and brother.

"It was totally because of the strong support of the (Canadian) government and the public," said Qui. "That's why I'm personally here to say thank you."

Yet there are still hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong devotees behind bars, Pei-Jong Hsieh of Toronto said. That's why Falun Gong is keeping up the pressure.

Hsieh said the United Nations Commission on Human Rights convenes in Geneva later this month and Falun Gong is urging Canadians and the government in Ottawa to condemn China's human rights record.

Joel Chipkar, a Falun Gong spokesperson from Mississauga, said the practise now has 100 million devotees in China alone and is present in 60 countries. It's been active in Canada since 1996.