(Clearwisdom.net) On September 27 the Falun Dafa Association in Washington, D.C., wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, seeking to deny the Chinese Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng's entry into the U.S. They also sought to prevent Sun from getting a U.S. visa. Back in late August the Association wrote to Rice to seek denial of entry of Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai. Bo eventually didn't enter the U.S. to accompany Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Practitioners call for barring entry of the Chinese Minister of Culture

Ms. Laura Hattan gives a speech

Practitioners in D.C. held a press conference in front of the Chinese Embassy on September 27 to condemn the critical role that Sun has played in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong and to urge the American government to bar Sun's entry to the U.S. According to media sources, Sun planned to come to the U.S. for the Chinese Culture Festival in October.

Practitioner Ms. Laura Hattan read the practitioners' letter to Secretary of State Rice at the press conference. The letter stated that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Code, Item 212(a)(2)(G), stipulates that foreign government officials involved in violating freedoms of religion during the previous two years are not allowed to enter the United States.

Sun Jiazheng, as Minister of Culture, has been a major accomplice in the genocidal persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin's regime. Following the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) order to suppress Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Sun ordered all cultural entities and audio video administration departments to seize all Falun Gong books and audiovisual materials four days later. On July 28, the first round of the destruction of Falun Gong books on a national scale began. In addition, Sun established a large "Web Culture Engineering Program" to monitor, block and censor any truth about Falun Gong on the Internet. Many practitioners were illegally arrested, sentenced or tortured to death just because they used the Internet to access Falun Gong materials.

The Falun Dafa Association in D.C. called for the American government to implement the law by denying Sun an application for a U.S. visa.

Ms. Laura Hattan, a practitioner in D.C., said, "As an American citizen and Falun Gong practitioner, I don't want to see Sun Jiazheng visit the United States. Everyone who knows Falun Gong knows it is a cultivation practice of mind, body and spirit following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. It is the heart of Chinese traditional culture. The American people love Chinese culture. However, as Culture Minister, Sun Jiazheng used every means possible to eliminate Falun Gong. He has not only harmed Falun Gong practitioners, but also all the people in China and around the world who deserve the opportunity to truly understand Falun Gong."

Falun Gong practitioners show evidence of persecution

Just arrived in the U.S. from Shenyang, China, a few days ago, practitioner Ms. Li Weixun said, "Beginning on July 20, 1999, the whole state propaganda machine in China, including TV and radio stations, newspapers and propaganda departments in all government entities, started an overwhelming campaign to slander Falun Gong with fabricated lies. All departments and entities started collecting and destroying Falun Gong books and audiovisual materials. The Chinese people have been misled by the CCP's lies, especially the staged 'Self-Immolation on Tiananmen Square,' and they have no way to learn the facts of Falun Gong because all materials have been destroyed. My neighbors started hating Falun Gong. I feel so sad for them because there is no way for them to find out the true story under the monopoly of national propaganda. To hold hatred against Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is most harmful to life and most detrimental to the soul. As Minister of Culture, Sun Jiazheng is guilty of following Jiang's orders."

Ms. Li Weixun was tortured by the CCP police in January 2002 just because she wouldn't give up practicing Falun Gong. She was tortured until she couldn't move her arms or legs and couldn't speak or eat. When she was on the brink of death, her family and friends rescued her and finally helped her escape to another country. She obtained U.N. refugee status. With assistance and support from the Friends of Falun Gong Organization in the U.S., the U.N. Refugee Agency, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Congress, and several NGOs, she received approval from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to stay in the U.S., where she safely arrived this month.

The Falun Dafa Association letter also stated that at least 2,740 Falun Gong practitioners have died from the persecution. Two hundred thousand to one million have been sent to forced labor camps without trials. More than 500 have been sentenced to terms longer than 18 years in prison.

A lawsuit was filed against Sun Jiazheng when he visited France on January 28, 2004. Senior Attorney Emmanuelle Hauser-Phelizon, representing four Falun Gong practitioners, charged him for crimes of torture. The complaint said that Sun Jiazheng, who is the China Culture Minister and co-chairman of the Web Culture Engineering Organizing Committee, instigated public criticism and incited hatred of Falun Gong in order to eradicate Falun Gong through the use of newspapers, the Internet, and cultural exhibits. He is an accomplice to crimes of torture and is guilty of "incitement of massacre and persecution."

In July 2004, the Examining Magistrate in charge of this case sent a Commission Rogatoire Internationale (CRI) to China's counterpart department, requesting related Chinese authorities to cooperate in the corresponding investigation. It is believed that this is the first CRI sent to China in French judicial history and it is perhaps also the first in European judicial history.

When Sun participated in the Asian Culture Cooperation Forum 2004 in Hong Kong on November 14, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong peacefully protested along the route of his motorcade and at the front door of the Government House.

The Falun Dafa Association has requested that the U.S. Government bar Sun's entry into the U.S. due to his major role in the persecution, and in the serious violation of Falun Gong practitioners' human rights.

Following Bo Xilai, Sun Jiazheng became the second Chinese official at the ministerial level that Falun Gong has requested be denied entry. Bo's name eventually disappeared from the list of officials during Hu's visit to the U.S. Practitioners sued Bo for the crime of torture in New York on September 8. In addition, a court session was opened last week for the case in which practitioners sued former Wuhan TV Station Director Zhao Zhizheng. Zhao Zhizhen was sued for making propaganda films that incite hatred, violence and genocide against Falun Gong practitioners. According to plaintiffs' attorney Dr. Terri Marsh, Zhao is responsible for raising a cry to eliminate Falun Gong with his TV program on a national station and on the Internet.