Content

• Touching Scenes on Union Square in Manhattan
• German Newspaper Reports on Falun Gong Information Stall in Gifthorn
• Switzerland: Collecting Petition Signatures to Rescue a Practitioner who is Wrongly Imprisoned in China
• Czech Republic: Brno Activity Exposes the Persecution against Falun Gong
• New Zealand: Falun Gong at "Festival of Opportunities"
• The Scotsman Newspaper: China moves to tighten the net on web surfers
• Belfast Telegraph Newspaper: Show to focus on torture in China

Touching Scenes on Union Square in Manhattan

Falun Gong practitioners visiting New York from the Midwest have been clarifying the truth of Falun Gong for more than six months at Manhattan's Union Square. Each day they distribute flyers and hold an anti-torture exhibition. Many people have taken informational flyers and read the information on the poster boards. After learning the truth of Falun Gong and the persecution, many people sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution, and discuss Falun Gong with their friends and family members.

On February 5, 2005, a series of dramatic scenes took place at Union Square.

A Man of Obscure Background

As practitioners clarified the truth on Union Square, a man dressed in rags came to the area near the practitioners. He stood by the poster boards and yelled at the top of his lungs, saying that Falun Gong was deceptive and practitioners' efforts to reveal the true situation of the persecution was to fool people. He said that Falun Gong had accepted over one million dollars from the U.S. government. The practitioners remained calm and were not disturbed by his words. Some of them tried to clarify the truth to him and some continued to clarify the truth to other people. Yet the man yelled louder and louder, paying no attention to what practitioners said to him.

Several Young Men Step Forward and Ask People to Say "Falun Dafa is Good"

As the man continued yelling, several young western men asked the practitioners if they could shout out, "Falun Dafa is good" to override the man's voice. Practitioners said yes, they could. So the young men went to ask other people around the square to shout out with them, "Falun Dafa is good." A group of people who had learned the truth of Falun Gong called out together rhythmically, "Falun Dafa is good," "Falun Dafa is good!"

The man continued yelling, but as people also continued to call out together "Falun Dafa is good," his voice became softer and softer. In the end he went away, crestfallen.

Seeing that he left, people stopped calling out, "Falun Dafa is good." Those who initiated the action shook hands with practitioners and left in high spirits.

The dramatic scene moved practitioners. They knew that New Yorkers had changed. After learning the truth, people chose justice and conscience. They are now doing what they can to help and support Falun Gong.

However, the story does not the end here.

The Suspicious One Gets a Chance to Speak his Doubts

Union Square is a place where many people freely express their opinions. People who advocate freedom of speech go there to give lectures as well as to encourage others to express their views. When the group of people was calling out, "Falun Dafa is good," a member from a group to protect freedom of speech mistakenly thought that practitioners were trying to stop people from speaking up their opinions. Roman, the man from the group, decided to challenge practitioners on a loudspeaker, "Why didn't you allow others to speak up? Why are you coming to New York? You have been in New York for such a long time. What is your purpose? Where did you get the money?" His attitude was very unfriendly. Many people started to gather around to listen.

The practitioners realized that this was a good opportunity to clarify the truth, and that clarifying the truth was the key to everything. Only when more people come to know the truth can their doubts be dissolved and questions answered. After Roman was done asking his questions, Sen Yang, a practitioner from Chicago said, "Can we talk about ourselves?"

Roman said he would be happy to hear practitioners express their ideas, so he lent his microphone to the practitioners.

Mr. Yang told the crowd why he practiced Falun Gong. He said, "The constant hunger that had tortured me for years disappeared without any medical treatments after I started practicing Falun Gong. Now the Chinese Communist Party is ruthlessly persecuting Falun Gong. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners like me are now living a difficult life in China. All we are doing is raising awareness about the persecution in China. I call upon people to work together to stop the persecution. It's not that we don't allow people to express their opinions, but that man was simply repeating the Chinese Communist Party propaganda, slandering Falun Gong. It is exactly the deceitful propaganda that sustains the persecution. We expose the lies to stop them from poisoning people's minds. I ask you to learn more about Falun Gong before making any judgment.

The crowds listened attentively and quietly.

"I heard about the persecution, but I didn't really know what happened..."

After listening to Mr. Yang, Roman's attitude changed. His original toughness and discontent was gone. This time he expressed his doubts in a calm manner, "I heard about the persecution, but I didn't really know what happened. You are not only working against the persecution in this place. We can see that Falun Gong practitioners are calling for an end to the persecution all over Manhattan. I believe you are doing so elsewhere in the country. You have so much manpower, materials, and the props (in the anti-torture exhibition). All this takes a lot of resources. And you have been hanging on for so long. One cannot help wondering where you get the money. Is it from the U.S. government? Do you have any political agenda?"

Facing Roman and the surrounding crowd of people, Mr. Yang sincerely told everyone, "Some people may feel that money is important, but I don't think money is the most important. I have my belief. Innocent people who share this belief are being persecuted in China every minute. I cannot ignore that. I have a Doctoral degree and work as a researcher, developing high-end technology in a big company. Therefore, I have a decent income. I am using my pocket money to clarify the truth in New York. Not only New York, but I have also been to Washington D.C., California, Geneva, and Paris calling for an end to the persecution in China. To me, money is not that important. People have to live with dignity."

Mr. Yang continued, "You suspect that the U.S. government may have given us money. Indeed they haven't. Had there been any government willing to support justice and to support us in clarifying the truth of Falun Gong, we couldn't have been able to let more people know the truth. The fact is, we haven't taken a penny from any government. Then how can so many Falun Gong practitioners make it? How did they come here? Where did they get the money? We can ask them."

Mr. Yang then gave the microphone to a practitioner next to him and said, "Can you tell us why you are here?"

The practitioner said, "I drove for 16 hours this past Thursday night to get to Manhattan from the midwest. Tomorrow night, we are going to drive 16 hours back, just in time for work on Monday morning. All the expenses and the materials we are distributing here are paid for by our pocket money. Why do we go through so much trouble, spending so much time and money to do this? Because we know what's happening in China. If you know how severe the persecution is over there, and if you had friends and relatives there who are being cruelly persecuted, you would also be willing to do whatever you could to call for an end to the persecution. We are doing nothing else here but just letting people know the truth, so that through our joint efforts we can put an end to the persecution."

When the practitioners spoke, the many people listening were deeply moved. Some nodded, and some looked at the practitioners with approval and admiration.

Xu Zhiwei's Separation from His Mother for Eight Years Moves People

Xu Zhiwei, a 34-year-old software engineer working at Motorola took the microphone and pointed to an old lady standing next to him. He said, "This is my mother. She just arrived in the U.S. a couple of days ago. We haven't seen each other for eight years. After the persecution started, my mother was detained twice for attempting to appeal for Falun Gong. Her home was ransacked by the police and her passport confiscated. My fellow practitioners and I spent five years in our efforts to rescue her from China. And a few days ago, we succeeded. Please think about it. If your mother had a similar experience, are you going to attempt every possible way to rescue her, or are you going to do it only when people pay you? Without money, are you not going to help her? If your friends and relatives' lives are in danger in China, are you not going to rescue them unconditionally? Even if they are not your friends or relatives, when innocent Falun Gong practitioners are severely persecuted, shouldn't we do our best to help them? We didn't take any money from anyone, for money cannot buy one's conscience and responsibility."

Hearing that, many people nodded, and tears came to their eyes.

Due to the persecution imposed upon Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin's faction, Xu Zhiwei and his mother, Zhang Cui, had not been able to see each other for eight years. With the efforts of overseas practitioners and the help of U.S. congressmen and senators, mother and son was able to reunite on February 1, 2005. An article in the Chicago Daily Herald, on February 2, 2005 said, "She missed eight years of her son's life, and the 'first times' in the life of her three-year-old grandson, i.e. his first word, first smile, and first step. He missed his father's funeral and has been missing his mother all along."

According to the Chicago Daily Herald, on Tuesday night at O'Hare International Airport, all the efforts of the past eight years melted into the tears and hugs between mother and son, who said that their separation was due to the persecution of their belief by the Chinese Communist Party.

Questions Answered by the Crowd

Hearing what the practitioners said, Roman became friendlier. Still, he had some doubts. He asked the practitioners, "The persecution is not right, but will you allow other people to speak up their minds when you gain the political power? Those in power are unwilling to hear any different voices." A practitioner said, "We have never been interested in political power..." Before he could finish, someone in the crowd said in a loud voice, "It has nothing to do with politics. There is only one purpose for all this, that is, to stop the persecution!"

Falun Gong practitioners smiled. It seems that people have started to understand the truth.

The Q & A via the loudspeaker continued for some time. Several practitioners shared their stories and answered frequently asked questions. Roman said that he was not against Falun Gong, and that he condemns the violence inflicted toward Falun Gong by China's regime. The practitioners thanked him for lending them the microphone so that they could clarify the truth to many people.

Someone in the crowd said to a practitioner, "You don't know how many people are truly happy to see you here clarifying the truth. If you didn't step out to tell people the severity and authenticity of the persecution, people would not have a chance to know it, and they would just listen to what the Chinese government said. Please hang on and do not let yourselves be affected by random negative voices. More and more people will learn the truth. There will be a day when the power of justice will display, and that immense power is beyond the imagination of people."

"Yes," said practitioners afterwards, "Every day similar stories take place at different sites in Manhattan where practitioners are clarifying the truth. The stories reflect how everyday people are changing after they gradually learn the truth and are able to tell good from bad. The power of justice behind such changes will put an end to the most evil persecution and lies in human history."

German Newspaper Reports on Falun Gong Information Stall in Gifthorn

The following report was published in "Aller Zeitung" on February 14th 2005.

Despite the evening rain, wind and cold weather, Falun Gong practitioners were at their stall on Sunday in Gifthorn's pedestrian zone. They were there to expose the brutal persecution happening in China, the land that this "cultivation practice" originated from, and to tell people about the suffering of their fellow practitioners in China.

These people are able to brave this adverse weather because they are practicing a unique meditation, which is a kind of qigong practice. They distribute flyers, CDs and Falun Gong newspapers free of charge from under a covered stall. Detlef Kosakowski explained, "We are all ordinary citizens. If time permits, we organize weekend information stalls such as this one in different city's pedestrian zones."

According to Luu Truyen, they inform the passersby not only about the torture and human rights violations in the far away People's Republic of China, but also about the Falun Gong exercise class, which is free of charge. The next group meeting will be in Braunschweig. For those who are interested, please check the German website www.falundafa.de for more information.

Switzerland: Collecting Petition Signatures to Rescue a Practitioner who is Wrongly Imprisoned in China

Swiss Falun Gong practitioners went to St. Gallen to let local people know about Falun Gong and the campaign of genocide that the Chinese Communist Party is waging against the practice. The persecution has lasted almost six years and has taken the lives of over 1,400 people.

This appeal actually had a special purpose. One of the local practitioners is a student at St. Gallen University. The student's mother is currently imprisoned in China because she practices Falun Gong. The practitioners collected petition signatures calling for this innocent lady to be released immediately and unconditionally.

The practitioners organized this event at the last minute and did not have much time to prepare their information stall. However, it was enough to have the sincere wish to help fellow practitioners in China, who are under threat of persecution, torture and even death for wanting to practice the Falun Gong exercises and improve their moral standards in accordance with the Falun Gong teachings of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance." The impact of the information stall was very positive and many people came to find out more. They took leaflets, read the posters in detail and learned how former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched this suppression that uses torture, violence and other forms of persecution in cruel attempts to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their beliefs.

Czech Republic: Brno Activity Exposes the Persecution against Falun Gong

On February 25, 2005, Czech practitioners met in the Moravian city of Brno to tell the local people about the persecution against Falun Gong in China, which has been happening for almost six years and has claimed over 1,400 innocent lives.

After almost a week of unceasing snow, the clouds parted and the sun came out on the morning of the activity. Many people stopped to read the poster display boards, which detailed the methods of persecution and torture used in cruel attempts to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief. Several thousand leaflets were distributed and many people talked with practitioners and offered words of support. Around 200 petition signatures were collected calling for an end to the persecution.

Some people found it hard to comprehend the situation in China. They asked questions such as, "How can a government of such a huge country suppress a practice that is a precious root of its own culture and tradition?" and, "When people do these exercises, they get healthy don't they? So the government can only benefit from it. I can't understand why they persecute Falun Gong. That has to be evil!"

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200503/25229.html

New Zealand: Falun Gong at "Festival of Opportunities"

On February 26 and 27, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners from Nelson, Motueka and Auckland took part in the "Festival of Opportunities" held in the city of Nelson. This was an unofficial international event. Its major goal was to exhibit different ways to improve health and lifestyle. Many artists and musicians come to participate each year. This year marked the 14^th anniversary of the festival and it attracted numerous tourists from New Zealand and other countries.

During the event, Gina Shakespeare, a reporter from the local newspaper The Nelson Mail interviewed practitioners and published a large photo showing practitioners' meditating. Practitioners displayed posters and distributed flyers during the two-day festival to clarify the truth to visitors. The effect was quite good.

The Scotsman Newspaper: China moves to tighten the net on web surfers

THE liberalising influences of the internet have helped fan the flames of democracy across the world, but in the closed political system of China, strict censorship and control of the media extends to cyberspace.

For specialists in China's internet controls, the National People's Congress this weekend is a chance to measure the state of the art of web censorship.

The authorities set the tone last week, summoning the managers of the country's main internet service providers, major portals and internet cafe chains and warning them against allowing "subversive content" to appear online.

Such actions are in keeping with a trend aimed at assigning greater responsibility to internet providers to assist the government and its army of up to 50,000 internet police.

"If you say something the web administrator doesn't like, they'll simply block your account," said Bill Xia, a US-based expert in Chinese internet censorship, "and if you keep at it, you'll gradually face more and more difficulties and may land in real trouble."

According to Amnesty International, arrests for the dissemination of information or beliefs via the internet have been increasing rapidly in China, snaring students, political dissidents and practitioners of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, but also many writers, lawyers, teachers and ordinary workers.

In the last year or so, experts say the country has gone from so-called "dumb internet controls", which involve techniques like the outright blocking of foreign sites and the monitoring of specific e-mail addresses, to far more sophisticated measures.

Newer technologies allow the authorities to search e-mail messages in real time, trawling through the body of a message for sensitive material and instantaneously blocking delivery or pinpointing the offender.

Other technologies sometimes redirect internet searches from popular companies such as Google to copycat sites operated by the government, serving up sanitised search results.

But many experts said the sophistication and sheer number of Chinese users was also increasing rapidly, making it ever more difficult for the censors to prevail. China has 94 million users and usage, most of it broadband, is growing at double-digit rates every year.

Source http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=245422005

Belfast Telegraph Newspaper: Show to focus on torture in China

An open-air exhibition will be held in Belfast's Corn Market today and tomorrow to highlight persecution and torture in China.

Called "Persecution Meets Principle", the show has been organised by followers of Falun Gong, a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline.

The practice combines exercises, meditation to give greater wellbeing.

Advocates say former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin saw the popularity of the practice as a threat to his power and banned it in 1999, ordering systematic and brutal persecution.

They claim there have been more than 1,250 known deaths to date.

The exhibition of photos, props and actors are used to explain how torture is used to attempt to "transform" practitioners.

Techniques used by the torturers include force feeding, burning with cigarettes, electric shocks and confining people in small cages for months.

The exhibition has already been shown in more than 15 cities and will tour the UK.

One of the organisers Christina Jing Ha said: "We believe that the persecution of Falun Gong is a persecution of conscience, and of fundamental principles essential to our humanity."

Local people will be asked to sign a petition appealing to the United Nations Human Rights Commission to urge the Chinese government to stop.