NEW YORK (FDI) – From San Antonio to Sydney, London to Tokyo, Falun Gong practitioners in approximately 50 cities around the world held activities celebrating twelve years since the practice was first made public in China by Mr. Li Hongzhi.

The celebrations included traditional dancing, singing and public demonstrations of the Falun Gong exercises.

Activities in most cities also carried a sobering message, as speeches and pictorial exhibitions revealed details of the violent persecution of Falun Gong on-going in China. In some cities, Falun Gong practitioners displayed live demonstrations of torture techniques used by police and forced-labor camp personnel throughout China as part of an illicit campaign to “transform” Falun Gong practitioners into renouncing their beliefs.

An exercise and meditation practice with roots in ancient Chinese culture, Falun Gong flourished in China during the mid-to-late 1990’s, with Chinese government estimates putting the number of practitioners at 70-100 million people by the end of 1998.

In July 1999, however, then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched a nation-wide campaign to “eradicate Falun Gong” out of fear that its widespread popularity was overshadowing his own legacy. China watchers believe Jiang also had other personal motives to attack the traditional Chinese practice (special report).

In more than a dozen countries around the world, both civil and criminal lawsuits have been filed against Jiang and several other senior Chinese officials known to be the primary instigators of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The lawsuits charge Jiang and his supporters with torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. (news / website)

Perhaps the most significant of the legal cases is a class-action lawsuit filed in Chicago in 2002, naming Jiang and the '6-10 Office' – a Gestapo-like agency established by Jiang specifically to “eradicate Falun Gong” – as defendants. Oral arguments for the class-action suit, which is now on appeal before the 7th Circuit Court, will be heard on May 27th in Chicago.

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NEWS - May 17, 2004

Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." Practiced in over 50 countries world-wide, Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's Communist leader Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report). Since that time, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 960 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER- Contacts: Gail Rachlin 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/