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EDGES MAGAZINE Issue
35 |
November
2003 |
Terence Shanahan updates EDGES on the continued persecution
of Falun Gong in China.
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Falun Gongs
heroic stand for civil rights and freedom of belief in
China
It is now more than 4 years
since the persecution of Falun Gong was implemented by the then Chinese
president Jiang Zemin. He claimed that Falun Gong would be wiped off the face
of the earth within 3 months. He also established a special office known as the
610 office, which had jurisdiction over the judiciary and all levels of
government, deal strictly with the suppression of Falun Gong.
During
these 4 years plus Jiangs directive to eradicate Falun Gong resulted in
systematic and widespread detainments, brainwashing, torture and killing of
Falun Gong practitioners in China-all with the intent to force practitioners to
renounce their faith. Those who renounce Falun Gong are often released, while
those who do not continue to be tortured and abused, or die in the process.
There has not been any recorded incident of retaliation by any Falun Gong
practitioner throughout Jiangs campaign of genocide.
Jiang also set in motion a world wide slanderous campaign defaming
Falun Gong and went to the terrible extreme of staging a self immolation
incident in Tinananmen Square, Beijing, claiming that the poor unfortunate
people who burned themselves were Falun Gong practitioners. Firm evidence has
been obtained and disclosed by independent observers revealing the whole affair
was rigged in order to demonise Falun Gong and turn the Chinese public against
it.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa is a practice of meditation
and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-
Compassion-Tolerance" and transcends cultural, social, economic and national
boundaries. Those who practise come from every walk of life and it is now
practiced by millions in over 50 countries. Falun Gongs founder, Mr Li Hongzhi
has received recognition and many awards throughout the world for encouraging
civic virtue and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000,2001,2002.
Wave of International Lawsuits Target Persecution of Falun Gong The
Belgian lawsuit is the latest in a string of international lawsuits against
high-ranking Chinese officials or government bodies for their roles in
persecuting Falun Gong.
In December 2002, a criminal lawsuit was filed
in France charging the former Vice Prime Minister of China, Mr Lanqing
Li, with crimes of torture. In July 2003,the French criminal court began legal
proceedings.
In the United States, five such lawsuits have been filed.
Two of these lawsuits have already seen judgments in favour of Falun Gong.
In June 2003, a U.S. magistrate Judge denied foreign sovereign immunity
to a Beijing Party Secretary and former Beijing Mayor Liu Qui. In a report the
judge submitted to the court, Liu Qi was found guilty of overseeing the torture
of Falun Gong practitioners.
In December 2001 the U.S. district Court
of the Southern District of New York ruled against Zhao Zhifei, chief of police
and second in command of the"6-10 office"in Hubi Province. In this
case, the judge ordered a default judgement against Zhao Zhifei and awarded
nominal damages to the plaintiffs, which could include the punitive and
declaratory damages sought by the plaintiffs.
In March 2003, a
Switzerland- based international non-governmental organisation, "Track Impunity
Always" announced plans to sue Jiang Zemin for his role in persecuting Falun
Gong.
Lawsuits have been filed in Indonesia and Hong Kong, while
citizens of Canada, the United States, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong and China
have submitted a case against Jiang Zemin to two United Nations bodies as well
as the International Criminal Court.
To
learn more about the situation in China, please visit
www.falundafa.org.uk |
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