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US Congress Bill supports Falun Gong

2010 UN Report Highlights Falun Gong Persecution in China
Letter from Chinese Labour Camp
REPORT INTO ALLEGATIONS OF ORGAN HARVESTING OF FALUN GONG PRACTITIONERS IN CHINA
Who Shot David Liang?

Tuesday, 31 March, 2009
Forget Not the Beijing Olympics' Victims
Rollcall of 10,000 arrested people released by Falun Gong

Ms. Gu Jianmin Died after 13 Days in Custody on March 13, 2008

Ms. Hu Yanrong Died Only 4 Days after Her Arrest on August 5, 2007

Mr. Sun Guanzhou Died within a Week of Arrest on March 6, 2008

It is now clear that the Beijing Olympics Games did not help to improve human rights in China. On the contrary, unknown thousands of innocent people have fallen victim to the Beijing Olympics. Knowing that it had the Olympics secured, the Chinese regime not only refused to honour the promise it made to improve human rights when it bid for the 2008 Olympic Games[1], but it used the Olympics' security as a pretext to apprehend, torture, and murder people who had already suffered prolonged human rights violations in China.

One group of victims that the Chinese regime particularly targeted in the year leading up to the Beijing Olympics is Falun Gong practitioners[2]. The Chinese regime has consistently denied persecution of other groups, but has publicly vowed to "eradicate" Falun Gong. In April 2007, a secret document of the Public Security Department listed Falun Gong among 11 groups that w ere to be monitored and prohibited from attending the Olympics[3]. In February 2008, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad issued an internal instruction to "strictly monitor and control Falun Gong." Following these instructions, Chinese authorities all over the country intensified the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

In the following pages, we document the names and details of the arrest of over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in the name of the Beijing Olympics' security. To fit within a reasonable space, we provide only a small number o f the descriptions of how these victims have been violently and even fatally abused in custody. Because of the Chinese regime's restrictions on the flow of information, the atrocities are feared to be much worse.

The report can be found at below site: http://www.falunhr.org/reports/PDFs/BeijingOlympicsPersecution.pdf

These people have committed no offense. The majority of them were abducted when the police broke into their homes. Many were taken from their work. Some middle school and high school students were arrested in their dormitories and classrooms. They could not possibly threaten the Olympics from where they were arrested; many were hundreds or thousands of miles away from the venue.

The incarceration of Falun Gong practitioners was not at all to keep them a way from the Olympics; it was to coerce them into renouncing Falun Gong. To that end, all of the arrested Falun Gong practitioners were severely tortured; some were beaten to death hours after their arrest. When their family members asked for their release, the authorities replied, "After the Olympics." However, large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners are still in custody, long past the Olympics.

It should be clear from this report how the Beijing Olympics was used by the Chinese regime to intensify its persecution of Falun Gong. The same Olympics tragedies have happened to others, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, and human rights lawyers and defenders.

In presenting this report, and the evidence that it contains to show the deterioration of human rights in China, we remind those who rationalized rewarding the Olympics to Beijing as an opportunity to help human rights in China that they have a responsibility to come to the rescue of those who suffered the consequences of their failed rationalization.

This failed Olympics rationalization is but the latest entry in the long list of similarly failed rationalizations of the U.S. and the West's policy o f economic engagement with Communist China[4]. There have been numerous so- called opportunities over the past twenty years to help China to improve it s human rights, yet with the passing of each opportunity, more victims have fallen to the Chinese regime's human rights violations. Meanwhile, the makers of the engagement policy have simply walked away from the victims and moved on to the next "opportunity."

Human rights improvement requires having a heart for the victims, a sense of responsibility, and the courage to stand up for what is right, rather than the excuse of so-called opportunities.

By repeating the same failure in China's human rights and continuing to profit from these "opportunities" for financial gain, the economic engagement policy has become modern democracy's worst example of hypocrisy. The complete lack of accountability also makes it modern democracy's worst example of irresponsible politics.

It may therefore be fitting that beyond the Beijing Olympics there is no opportunity in sight to "help" improve the human rights situation in China. Instead the U.S. and the West are supplicating China to help them financially in the current deep financial crisis, as evidenced by the recent pleading of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for China to continue buying U. S. debt. Going further than President Clinton's delinking of human rights from trade with China, Secretary Clinton has openly delinked human rights from all China policy, stating that "those issues" can't interfere with our m ore important goals, that "our economies are so intertwined," and that, "We are truly going to rise or fall together. We are in the same boat and thankfully we are rowing in the same direction."

Secretary Clinton is candid in openly admitting what human rights really means to the U.S.'s China policy, an inconvenient interference with other more important goals, yet it is sobering to see the top diplomat of the leader of the free world avow such a Faustian contract to rise or fall together with the most tyrannical regime of the world. Such a pledge is a betrayal no t only to human rights, but to the very core of American values. Had America's Founding Fathers cast aside "those issues" like unalienable rights, America would not have been conceived in liberty but remained intertwined with Great Britain. Had President Lincoln refused to let "those issues" like equality interfere with other "more important" goals such as avoiding a war and preserving a much more intertwined economy, the Union could just "rise o r fall together" with the South, and there would be no President Obama.

However, more is at stake. Few may have noted how closely the collapses of Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, AIG and others followed on the h eels of the Beijing Olympics to bring about the present financial crisis, and fewer may have considered that these scourges were not coincidental. Throughout history people with demonstrably higher moral standards have been m ore introspective in enlightening to the significance of tribulations. President Abraham Lincoln, in another mightier scourge, noted that the powerful interest of slavery was somehow the cause of the Civil War, and that both the North and the South at some point had contributed to the prolonging of that interest - "To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while t he Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it." Even when the Civil War came, most looked for "a result less fundamental and astounding." Lincoln, however, saw that "The Almighty has His own purposes," and that if God willed that the Civil War continue "until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years o f unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with t he lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are t rue and righteous altogether.'"

The U.S. and the West's economic engagement policy with China may be less overt than the old slavery but no less immoral, for behind the pretext of human rights improvement is the profit from outsourcing to China's modern slavery[5]. The Chinese regime not only entices the U.S. and the West to outsource to its modern slavery, but also bankrolls American consumers to buy China's cheap slave-labour products by lending money to the U.S. through bond purchases. If the profit extracted from America's old slavery had to be wiped out through the Civil War, could the financial gains extracted from China's modern slavery at the expense of the Chinese people's worsening rights be treated differently and written off by selling more bonds to China? If t he current financial crisis is a warning of our moral decline in profiting from China's modern slavery, what might be at stake in continuing down this wrong path? Needless to say, it is when a country is less inclined to believe in higher principles that its officials will consider to "rise or fall together" with a godless and criminal regime. But will the higher principle s be less true just because we believe in them less? Will God be less just merely because human beings become less spiritual and more material?

It may be expedient and even tempting to remain silent to the Chinese regime's human rights abuses in exchange for some financial gains, but, wittingly or unwittingly, those who place lining their pockets over values are themselves victims of the Chinese regime's crimes against conscience[6]. Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, and human rights lawyers and defenders have been victimized and lost their freedom because of their refusal to conform to the abusive regime, but those who choose to be in the same boat and rise and fall with such an abusive regime have lost their conscience.

In presenting this report and asking the free world not to forget these victims, we hope the free world may come to see its own falling victim to the Chinese regime's crimes against conscience. This report is also a tribute t o Falun Gong practitioners' courageous defence of human conscience. They are a beacon to us all. Many Falun Gong practitioners in China have risked al l to expose the violations they or fellow practitioners have suffered. Their reports must not be taken lightly, lest the values of hope, courage and human beings' most fundamental right to conscience be forsaken. It is our earnest hope that in helping them the free world will find its way back to the true spirit of humanity.

[1] Liu Jingmin, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic Bid, said in April 2 001, "By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development o f human rights."
[2] United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China Annual Report 2008, Page 143
[3] http://chi nascope.org/main/content/view/339/148/
[4] "Enticement and Engagement? from Falun Gong, Humanity's Last Stand, Con science Foundation, 2006, Page. 21.
[5] "Enticement and Engagement" from Falun Gong, Humanity's Last Stand, Con science Foundation, 2006, Page. 23.
[6] http://www.falunhr.org/newsletter/AgainstConscience.pdf

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Who Shot David Liang?
Falun Gong Practitioner Shot During Visit from Chinese Officials Known to Be Responsible for the Murder of Falun Gong Practitioners in China

Chinese officials Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai were visiting South Africa when a Falun Gong practitioner was shot in an unusual attack that is drawing international attention. Zeng and Bo are known to be responsible for murder and torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China.


NEW YORK (FDI)
Who shot Falun Gong practitioner David Liang last week in South Africa is a question drawing international attention, and one casting light on the notorious records of two Chinese officials who were visiting South Africa at the time.

On June 28, nine Falun Gong practitioners from Australia, including David Liang, arrived in South Africa to assist locals in raising awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong, as well as the particular role of two visiting Chinese officials: Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai.

The practitioners intended to hold a press conference to expose the crimes of the two officials to the people and media of South Africa, and to have legal papers served against them.

While en route from the Johannesburg airport to Pretoria around 8:30 Monday evening, a white car with three occupants overtook them and fired at least five shots at their vehicle. The driver, Australian citizen David Liang, was hospitalized with bullet wounds and his car was disabled in the incident.

Who shot David Liang? How did the gunmen, who are still at large, identify their target? Why did they flee immediately after the shooting, without robbing them of anything? How did the shooters obtain their AK-47 rifle? Was it a coincidence that the two Chinese officials, Zeng and Bo, were visiting South Africa that week ¡V two officials responsible for the torture and murder of large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners in China?

The following analysis will shed light on these two officials, China's Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai, and explore how this shooting may fit into a larger pattern of harassment and violence conducted outside of China's borders as part of Jiang Zemin's campaign to eradicate Falun Gong throughout the world.

Top Human Rights Abusers Visit South Africa
Mr. Zeng Qinghong is considered to be one of the most powerful men in China. Zeng's nickname among his colleagues in the Communist Party can be translated as the black masked assassin. Born in 1939 as the son of the former Director of the Bureau of Internal Affairs in the Chinese-Soviet government in the early years, Zeng followed Jiang Zemin to Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, and became his right-hand man and personal consultant.

Zeng is known for employing electronics to monitor CCP members in their offices and at their homes. Numerous Chinese sources say he holds sensitive information he collects and uses to curry favors and control CCP members. Zeng has reportedly hired criminal gangs to attack democracy activists in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Recently three talk show hosts in Hong Kong well known for their pro-democracy stance have suddenly quit their posts due to death threats.

From 1999 to 2002, Zeng held, among other offices, the directorship of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party. In that role, he personally ordered all Communist Party members to take part in the persecution of Falun Gong and prove their loyalty to Jiang or else be stripped of their positions. He rewarded prisons, labor camps and individuals who persecuted Falun Gong most severely.

Zeng's nickname among his colleagues in the Communist Party can be translated as'the black masked assassin.'

Zeng is also one of the founders of the secret 610 Office, an extra-governmental body charged with eliminating Falun Gong. Under Zeng, the 610 Office (report) was given unrestricted jurisdiction to operate outside the scope of the Chinese constitution and to commandeer any local or national law enforcement resources.
On August 29, 2000, two Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China filed a lawsuit against Zeng (along with Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan) for crimes in the persecution of Falun Gong. Nine days later the two men were arrested and imprisoned.

In October 2002, citizens and residents from six countries jointly submitted a legal case against Zeng and two other top Chinese officials to three United Nations bodies. Chinese authorities then abducted one of the plaintiffs' family members in China, apparently in retaliation.

Accompanying Zeng to South Africa was Mr. Bo Xilai, the former mayor of alian City in Northeast China.

In an apparent attempt to curry favor with the then-Chinese leader, Bo enthusiastically carried out the orders of Jiang Zemin to persecute Falun Gong starting in 1999, resulting in at least 15 deaths of practitioners and hundreds of cases of torture during his tenure in Dalian. Jiang Zemin then personally promoted Bo to be governor of Liaoning province, which, under Bo, became one of the deadliest provinces for Falun Gong practitioners in China. (news)

In 2003, Liaoning Province reportedly invested five hundred million Yuan in Shenyang to construct China's first prison complex built solely to detain Falun Gong practitioners. The huge complex covers 1.3 square kilometers.
On March 9th, 2004, Friends of Falun Gong and The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) submitted a list of 102 key responsible persons in the persecution of Falun Gong to the U.S. government, and urged the U.S. government to prohibit these people from entering the U.S. (news) Bo Xilai's name is on this list.

On April 22, 2004, Bo was sued in a lawsuit charging him with genocide and torture while on a visit to Washington, D.C. (news) According to the process server, upon realizing he had been served with court papers, Bo threw the papers to the ground and his entourage immediately physically attacked the process server.

Bo Xilai is also among the defendants listed in a criminal lawsuit filed with the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Germany by forty Falun Gong practitioners.


Pattern of Violence Extends outside China
The attacks are carried out by individuals who are either known to have close ties with Chinese consulates or believed to be hired thugs for consulate officials ...

What is bringing international attention to last week's shooting in South Africa, however, is not merely Zeng and Bo's notorious record against Falun Gong in China, but the fact that the attack fits a disturbing pattern of violence targeting Falun Gong practitioners outside China.

Soon after Chinese leader Jiang Zemin initiated the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, incidents appeared of Chinese officials threatening, harassing and assaulting Falun Gong practitioners, as well as pressuring foreign officials, businesses, and free media around the world to adopt Jiang's stance against Falun Gong. (special report)

According to reliable sources inside China, as early as October 2000, Jiang had given the order to implement a policy to intensify the campaign [against Falun Gong] overseas, collect more information and prevent protests.
During the past several years, scores of cases of harassment or physical attacks against practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong have been documented ( report) in the United States, Canada, Australia, France and other nations.

The attacks are carried out by individuals who are either known to have close ties with Chinese consulates or believed to be hired thugs for consulate officials, fitting the pattern of crimes targeting Falun Gong practitioners outside of China.

A few examples:
In 2000, Canadian Member of Parliament Rob Anders was physically jostled and threatened while wearing a shirt with a slogan in support of Falun Gong to a function held in the Canadian House of Commons and hosted by the Chinese Embassy.

In 2002, a Chinese immigrant believed to be involved with local Chinese gangs was found guilty of battery for beating Falun Gong practitioners outside the Chinese consulate in Chicago (news).

In 2003, the head of a Chinese business association in New York City with direct and public ties to the Chinese consulate was arrested for leading a group assault against Falun Gong practitioners (news).

Targeted Shooting in South Africa
At least five bullets penetrated the car driven by David Liang in last week's shooting. South African police are investigating the case as an attempted murder.

Regarding last week's shooting, there are a couple of noteworthy points that stand out. In more typical shooting and robbery crimes, the gunmen would have approached the disabled car, but in this case they drove off immediately without taking anything. What was their motive, if not robbery?

The weapon used was described as an AK-47 rifle, not at all common to that region, and reportedly hard to come by. Where did the gunmen obtain the weapon? The driver and passengers had just arrived at the airport a few hours prior to the shooting with no previous ties to anyone in South Africa. How did the gunmen identify their victims?

Who would wish to terrorize and disable the vehicle of perfect strangers to South Africa?

Since the shooting, Jing Shizhong, a columnist specializing in China's affairs, commented on this incident, saying, Zeng Qinghong gets backfired in South Africa. Jing said that the gunmen who fired the shots in this incident and the gangs who were involved are very likely to be killed by Zeng in order to ensure this is a closed case.

If Zeng or Bo are implicated in this case, currently under investigation by the Johannesburg police, it will fit the pattern of growing global violence instigated by Chinese officials and those loyal to Jiang Zemin, and at the same time, mark a terrifying escalation in this violent initiative, commented Falun Dafa Information Center spokesman Mr. Erping Zhang.

Mr. Zhang adds: "We have a word for these kind of actions, hiring local gunman to carry out a drive-by shooting in order to silence Falun Gong practitioners: It's called terrorism.

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 992 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.



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