August 2, 2007
(Clearwisdom.net)
The Falun Dafa Association of Canada has just released the following statement:
The Falun Dafa Association has learned that this morning around 5:30 am,
three Asian men attempted to destroy Falun Gong protest boards in front of the
Vancouver Chinese Consulate while practitioner Raymond Zhang was meditating.
Moments later Zhang had a gun pointed to his head and was beaten severely. Zhang
suffered head injuries and was quickly taken to the hospital. A police report
was filed soon after.
Zhang is one of 80 practitioners who go regularly to the Vancouver Chinese
Consulate site on Granville St. to protest the illegal persecution of Falun Gong
in China, what the United Nations has called "cruel and brutal."
Practitioners have been holding their peaceful appeal 24/7 outside the Consulate
for six years now. Zhang's mother and sister have both endured torture by the
communist regime. Daily vigils are also being held in front of Chinese Embassy
and Consulate in Ottawa and Toronto.
Ongoing Attacks Against Falun Gong Practitioners in Canada
Across Canada incidents of assault, intimidation and harassment toward Falun
Gong practitioners have been reported over the years. These incidents often
involve the Chinese Embassy and consulates directly, or involve persons in the
community directed by the Chinese officials, or caused by the hate propaganda
against Falun Gong by the Chinese missions. In March of this year Ms. Jiyan
Zhang, the wife of a Chinese diplomat in the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa defected
and exposed the existence of a political office inside the Embassy specifically
for spying on and attacking Falun Gong and dissidents in Canada.
In June, former First Secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Australia who defected
in 2005, visited Canada and also told of the #1 mission of all Chinese officials
in Canada and around the world is to protect the image of the Chinese communist
party and threatening and attacking Falun Gong overseas.
"The Chinese Communist Party has always relied on violence, lies, and
advocating atheism to maintain its power. They could not understand Falun Gong
practitioners' peaceful efforts to protect their freedom of belief. Now they
feel they can't let people know about what has been done to Falun Gong in
China."
Besides violent assaults, in the past eight years numerous Canadian
practitioners have suffered severe mental torment, such as blacklisting,
surveillance, threatening of personal safety, and threatening the safety of
relatives living in China. Reports filed at local police stations across the
country show barrages of harassing phone calls and email attacks originating
from China to homes of practitioners in Canada. Falun Gong practitioners have
also been deprived of their legal rights and benefits, such as refusal or delay
in issuing visas or renewing passports, and loss of membership in certain
overseas Chinese organizations.
The hate propaganda pumped into Canada by the Chinese Embassy and consulates
against Falun Gong practitioners has also caused severe harm and has damaged
Falun Gong practitioners' reputations and mental well being, forcing them to
face discrimination, physical attacks and isolation from other overseas Chinese.
Falun Gong is the #1 human rights violation in China today. China has not seen
an attack on its people of such force since the Cultural Revolution, where every
social, legal, and government apparatus is forced and manipulated to eliminate a
targeted group from society. In March 2006 The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
reported that 66% of the victims of alleged torture and ill-treatment in China
were Falun Gong practitioners. The report States: "The cruelty and
brutality of these alleged acts of torture defy description."
The Falun Dafa Association of Canada calls on the Canadian government and police
to investigate this latest assault and demand the Chinese communist regime
immediately stop harassing, distributing hatred and attacking Falun Gong
practitioners here in Canada or face expulsion. These officials must be taught
that this is Canada, not China and unlike China, they must adhere to respecting
human rights and will be held responsible if they break them.
Contact:
Sue Zhang
Falun Dafa Association B.C. Branch
More information: http://faluninfo.net
Category: Persecution Outside China
