[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-1173496728790126875]

Screws tighten on persecuted sect
Mary-Anne Toy in Beijing for The Sydney Morning Herald
July 26, 2008

HELEN, a university graduate who speaks English and another European language fluently, lives in poverty in a rundown apartment block in a Chinese city we cannot identify to protect her.

The flats on either side of her are occupied by the mistresses of Chinese businessmen.

Helen, not her real name, also lives a secret life - one that is far more dangerous and less acceptable to China's Communist leaders than being or keeping a mistress.

She believes in Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist spiritual movement preaching "truth, forbearance and compassion" and teaches qi gong - ancient Chinese breathing exercises - to improve health and allegedly even cure illnesses and injuries.

Practising Falun Gong is punishable by jail, torture and even death in China. The Government says it is an evil cult that brainwashes its victims into refusing medical treatment and even committing suicide.

There have been at least 3000 documented deaths and 63,000 cases of torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Helen, who refuses to denounce Falun Gong, has survived two stints in labour camps but does not think she could survive a third, hence her life on the run.

The Olympic Games are less than two weeks away, and the country's vast security network has stepped up efforts to ensure an incident-free Games. This includes random sweeps of housing compounds to ensure that "undesirables" are picked up or scared away into someone else's jurisdiction, making life even more precarious for people like Helen.

The Herald interviewed several underground Falun Gong believers in China, including three new recruits, to see how the movement was faring after nine years of persecution and in the lead-up to the lympics.

Falun Gong was banned in July 1999 after the Government became alarmed by its sudden popularity and its ability to organise mass protests. The famous silent protest of April 1999, when 10,000 practitioners surrounded Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party leadership's compound in Beijing, was the final straw for the president at the time, Jiang Zemin, who ordered the movement eradicated.

Falun Gong was founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, a former soldier turned qi gong expert. It was the most popular of many qi gong groups then in vogue as people looked for meaning in a post-communist, quasi-capitalist but still one-party controlled China.

By the time Falun Gong was banned, the state-run media estimated it had 70 million followers in China, including government and party cadres.

A savage propaganda campaign involving every level of government and society followed, reminiscent of previous Communist purges such as the Cultural Revolution. It demonised Falun Gong as a doomsday cult that was undermining social stability.

Thousands of members were forced to recant or suffer torture and death in labour camps. Followers were sacked, expelled from universities, deprived of health care and pensions. Some spouses filed for divorce. The Government says several members set fire to themselves in Tiananmen Square, an incident that Falun Gong claims was fabricated.

Outside China, Falun Gong kept growing. Members in 70 countries, including Australia, wage a guerilla campaign against the Communist Party, claiming, among other things, that 6000 Falun Gong detainees were being harvested for their organs.

The Chinese Government denies this. It says Falun Gong could provoke serious social disorder and that it has acted lawfully in suppressing it. The US State Department and Congress, the United Nations and human rights groups such as Amnesty International say that persecution of Falun Gong in China is a
continuing abuse of human rights.

Since Helen was released from a labour camp in 2005 she has been living on the edges of society, frequently moving but still doing the one thing that the Government fears most: spreading the word about Falun Gong.

"More and more people are becoming practitioners," she says quietly. "Even under such persecution ? it is becoming a strong force that the CPC [Communist Party of China] will not be able to stop one day soon."

The Herald's security precautions for this visit include not involving any Chinese staff in our plans, leaving behind our mobile phone to prevent it being tracked and circuitous routing to disguise our destination.

"There is an enormous vacuum in every Chinese person's heart - no belief, no moral standards - and in this situation when they meet a Falun Gong person or read a Falun Gong book which teaches them how to be a good person and gives moral guidelines for living, they are really awakened and shaken," Helen says.

"Li" and "Wang", both just 17, plan to leave high school after learning Falun Gong through Helen. Another recruit, "Susan", is halfway through university. She intends to complete her course even though she doubts the value of the education she is receiving, because she is too timid, she says, to buck the system entirely.

Li's parents knew of Helen's past and her two stints in labour camps, but she was an old family friend and an English teacher who could possibly help their surly and sometimes suicidal teenager as a tutor, so they welcomed her into their home.

He had resisted learning English for years but when Helen began telling him about Falun Gong he was hooked. Li says it has given his life purpose. He now loves studying but plans to leave what he says is the soul-destroying rote-learning education system. He has found a job so he can move out and
practise in peace.

Li's parents were furious when they found out. A threat by his father to report Helen to the police was neutralised after his mother met Helen and listened to what she had to say. The mother then threatened to disgrace her husband by talking publicly about his mistress if he tried to turn in Helen and their son.

Susan, a top student with a quiet manner, becomes agitated as she describes how she knew nothing about the Cultural Revolution or the murder of student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989 until meeting Helen and learning about Falun Gong.

"I couldn't understand why the Government didn't allow us to know these things," Susan says. "It makes me wonder how can I still trust the textbooks." People in China are not encouraged to think independently, just to get good marks so they can make money, she says.

A few months ago she offended a roommate when she suggested that it was irrational to boycott the French supermarket chain Carrefour - as many Chinese nationalists have done - because of its alleged support for the Dalai Lama.

Li introduced his best friend, "Wang", to Helen when Wang became disillusioned with school and society. Formerly an enthusiastic class monitor, Wang had been punished by teachers for highlighting student welfare issues and passing on suggestions from other students.

"Chinese schools are only a place to cram Communist Party philosophy into students, not to give you knowledge," Wang says. "The authorities penalise teachers who want to be good teachers, so they are victims too."

Asked if she will protest at the Olympics, Helen says she was initially keen but has realised she has more important work.

"Many people like me have really risked our lives including in jail to try and let the world know what is happening, and that is enough in my opinion," Helen says. "We're not trying to push people. When I asked Li and Wang about going to Tiananmen Square they said, 'Of course we want to do that but there are so many people who need help here [to hear about Falun Gong]'."

John Deller, a spokesman for Falun Gong Australia, says the movement is indigenous to China and has the welfare of Chinese people at heart, and so does not want to upset the Olympics. Followers also fear the Government would use any protests to discredit Falun Gong. "The problem is that the powers that be are using the Games to persecute people," he says.

Helen's bare, concrete-floored flat - stifling in summer - is rented in a friend's name. She sneaks in and out of the housing compound early in the morning and late at night, when most people are asleep or not yet up. The gaps around the windows are stuffed with newspaper and the window coverings are
always kept closed to disguise the light and muffle sound.

She stays as quiet as possible, a habit that has given her a speaking voice so soft that you have to strain to hear her. She never answers the door unless she is expecting a friend, and they have a special code, frequently changed, to identify themselves. When she hears of a security sweep or if the housing committee is asking too many questions about her, Helen leaves, hiding out wherever she can until she thinks it is safe to return. She stays in touch with other practitioners and her family through the internet and occasional phone calls.

She still manages to meet people and, if she thinks they would be interested, shares Falun Gong with them. Every time she is risking her life, but trusting and hoping that the person in whom she has confided will keep her secret. So far, in three years on the run, they have.

"We're not trying to overthrow the Government," she says. "We're just trying to help people understand the CPC's evil nature and that they can break free.

"How can I overthrow the Government? I don't have a weapon and I have to be careful all the time."

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/07/25/1216492734168.html

Plus de 40 millions de Chinois auraient abandonné le Parti Communiste! Suite à la condamnation par Pékin du mouvement religieux Falun Gong, plus d'un millier de pratiquants seraient morts par suite de persécutions pendant ces cinq dernières années. En réaction, trois médias: un journal, une radio et une chaîne de TV par satellite, tous basés aux Etats-Unis, ont décidé de soutenir ce mouvement et de s'attaquer ouvertement au gouvernement. Une campagne originale pour encourager les citoyens chinois à se retirer du Parti communiste a débuté en automne 2004 par la publication du pamphlet des «9 commentaires». Récit d'une stratégie planétaire de propagande médiatique.

Le 28 juillet à 17 h 00, heure de Paris, exactement 40'711'377 personnes se seraient désinscrites du Parti communiste chinois ou de ses organisations affiliées. Lancée fin 2004 par le quotidien The Epoch Times (La Grande Epoque), cette initiative ferait boule de neige. Voici les neuf critiques qui auraient généré cette marée de démission: «qu'est-ce que le Parti communiste?, les débuts du Parti communiste chinois, la tyrannie du Parti communiste chinois, le Parti communiste est une force qui s'oppose à l'univers, la connivence de Jiang Zemin et du Parti communiste chinois dans la persécution du Falun Gong, comment le Parti communiste chinois a détruit la culture traditionnelle, l'histoire de tueries du Parti communiste chinois, en quoi le Parti communiste chinois est une secte perverse, sur la nature sans scrupule du Parti communiste chinois».

Falun Gong est un mouvement spirituel mélangeant des éléments du bouddhisme, du taoïsme et du qi gong. Présenté dans un article du U.S. News and World Report de février 1999, son leader s'appelle Li Hongzhi. Menacé, il a quitté la Chine et vit aux Etats-Unis depuis 1995. Le mouvement réunirait plus de 60 millions de membres, effectif supérieur à celui du Parti communiste. En Chine, ce groupe est présenté comme un culte du démon et condamné par le gouvernement depuis 1992. Dans ce pays, les pratiquants de Falun Gong sont régulièrement persécutés, emprisonnés et exécutés comme terroristes.

Des médias accusés de soutien à Falun Gong

Trois médias du groupe Epoch Media, tous basés aux Etats-Unis et dont l'indépendance et l'impartialité sont contestées, se font les relais les plus agressifs envers la politique du gouvernement chinois. Le journal Epoch Times, basé à New York et à Mountain View en Californie, imprime un hebdomadaire gratuit en 10 langues avec environ 1,5 million de copies distribuées dans 28 pays. Il est également présent en 17 langues sur le Web. La chaîne de radio Sound of Hope (le son de l'espoir), basée à New York, diffuse des programmes radio en chinois, anglais, français, espagnol, vietnamien, coréen et des podcasts. La chaîne de TV par satellite NTD TV (New Tang Dynasty Television), basée à New York, est le troisième média. Son programme en chinois diffusé sur le territoire de la Chine par un satellite de la société européenne Eutelsat vient d'être censuré depuis le 16 juin 2008.

Selon le rapport du 11 août 2006 présenté au Congrès américain, ces trois médias sont considérés comme affiliés au mouvement du Falun Gong car ils ont été fondés et sont partiellement financés par ses membres. Par exemple, Levi Browde, porte-parole du Centre d'Information du Falun Dafa écrit des articles dans l'hebdomadaire Epoch Times. Néanmoins le rapport mentionne que les accusations faites de commercialisation des corps humains des membres de Falun Gong par la Chine ont été vérifiées dans un rapport officiel commandé par le gouvernement canadien.

De nouvelles manifestations de soutien dans le monde

Un rassemblement en faveur de l'initiative d'abandon du Parti communiste chinois a été annoncé par l'Epoch Times et une vingtaine d'autres organisations pour vendredi 18 juillet de 10 heures à midi sur Constitution Avenue au centre de Washington DC. Selon le Washington Times du 25 juillet, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, élue républicaine au Congrès américain et cheffe de la Commission des Affaires étrangères et présente au rassemblement, a réitéré l'avertissement maintenant commun envers Pékin: «nous vous surveillons».

Rapporté par l'agence ESPN, plus d'un million de signatures ont été récoltées dans le monde pendant six mois pour demander au régime chinois de stopper les persécutions envers les membres de Falun Gong avant les JO. Le 25 juillet, le suisse Erich Bachmann, membre de la CIPFG (Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China) a déposé 1'215'793 signatures au quartier général du CIO (Comité international olympique) à Lausanne.

Connue pour être relativement impassible aux critiques, la Chine a adopté une politique de communication plus dynamique depuis le début de l'organisation des JO. De leur côté, les opposants comptent aussi utiliser l'attention de la communauté internationale sur ce pays pour proclamer leurs doléances. Ouïgours, tibétains, membres du Falun Gong, organisations de soutiens au Darfour et au Myanmar et groupes d'activistes pour la liberté de religion et des droits de l'homme: tous comptent faire payer cher à la Chine d'avoir organisé les JO sans avoir tenu parole sur ses engagements d'ouverture.

Christian Brülhart, © 2008 - Tous droits réservés

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Sources:

The Epoch Times: http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/about-us.html

NTD TV: http://english.ntdtv.com

Sound of Hope Radio: http://soundofhope.org/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/25/olympian-pr-bout-under-way-in-washington/

Rally at the National Capital: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/07-16-2008/0004850556&EDATE=

China and Falun Gong, Congressional Report http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf

Les 9 commentaires http://news.epochtimes.com/9pingdownload/French/9ping_french_intro.pdf

San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/18/MNGGAG8MTA1.DTL&type=printable

Down With the Chinese Tyrants!: http://www.chicagoreader.com/hottype/2005/051014_1.html

Top 10 Things You Should Know about the Beijing Olympics and Falun Gong 
10 Jun 2008

China’s Olympic Committee President was found liable for torture

To prepare for the Olympics, Chinese security ordered a “strike hard” against Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners are being killed in custody faster and more frequently than before.

Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners around China have been arrested “in preparation” for the games.

Falun Gong practitioners are officially excluded from the Games because of religious belief, in clear violation of the Olympic Charter.

Falun Gong has never taken a position on an Olympic boycott.

A “clean up” of districts hosting Olympic venues has included the arrest of local residents who practice Falun Gong.

Despite ostensibly freer regulations for foreign journalists, Falun Gong remains taboo.

Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners will experience the Olympics from inside labor camps, where they are often tortured.

Most Chinese are unaware of any of the above because independent information about Falun Gong remains blocked inside China.

(1) China’s Olympic Committee President was found liable for torture
In 2004, a U.S. federal court found that Liu Qi, the man heading Beijing’s Olympic Organizing Committee, was responsible for the torture of Falun Gong adherents during his tenure as Beijing’s mayor from 1999 to 2002.

According to the Center for Investigative Reporting, which publicized the case in April 2008: “In an extensive legal opinion, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco determined in 2004 that Liu Qi was responsible for the illegal detention and torture of two Chinese nationals and a sexual assault against a French woman in China.”The plaintiffs, who were represented by the Center for Justice and Accountability, presented evidence that as mayor, Liu directed security forces to violently crush Falun Gong. In addition, police under his command subjected the plaintiffs and other Falun Gong adherents in Beijing to severe beatings, sexual abuse, and ‘electric shocks through needles placed in [the] body.’
For more information visit: http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/node/3625
For a summary of the case and relevant legal documents visit: http://www.cja.org/cases/liuqi.shtml

(2) To prepare for the Olympics, Chinese security ordered a “strike hard” against Falun Gong.
According to Amnesty International, in preparing for the Games, Former Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang issued the following order in the context of “successfully holding the 17th Communist Party Congress [in October 2007] and the Beijing Olympic Games”:

“We must strike hard at hostile forces at home and abroad, such as ethnic separatists… and ‘heretical organizations’

like the Falun Gong."See: http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA170522007?open&of=ENG-2S2

(3) Falun Gong practitioners are being killed in custody faster and more frequently than before.
Within the first three months of 2008, the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC) documented six cases of practitioner deaths occurring within merely 16 days of arrest and in some cases, within hours. By comparison, in 2007, it was over the course of the entire year that the same number died within such a short time in custody. In several of the recent cases, family members were able to view the body before its cremation and saw signs of torture, including strangulation marks or bruises from electric shock batons.

One of the most prominent victims was Mr. Yu Zhou, 42, a musician who was arrested with his wife Ms. Xu Na at the end of January on their way home from a performance by his band. Eleven days after their arrest, the authorities notified their family members to come to Qinghe Emergency Center, where they found Yu already dead. He had been in good health before his detention, but the hospital refused to conduct an autopsy. Ms. Xu, who was released in 2006 after serving five years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, remains in custody.

According to The London Times, which reported on Yu’s death: “[T]here has been lively discussion among music fans on Chinese websites over the fate of the singer Yu Zhou, 42.  “Another beautiful soul has left the world,” commented one distraught fan….Yu won a following among young Chinese for his mellow folk ballads. His group, Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley, released two successful CDs and appeared on the Phoenix television channel.For more information on the recent surge in deaths in custody, see:
http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9518
For The London Times’ coverage of Yu Zhou’s case, see:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article3779899.ece

(4) Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners around China have been arrested “in preparation” for the games.
Following orders such as Zhou Yongkang’s (see #2 above), Chinese security agencies have been conducting large-scale arrests of Falun Gong adherents throughout China in recent months as authorities step up efforts to “stamp out” the practice in advance of the Olympic Games in August.

Since January, the FDIC has been receiving regular reports from adherents and their families inside China of door-to-door searches and arrests. According to statistics compiled from these reports, there have been at least 2,000 arrests across 29 provinces, major cities, and autonomous regions. In Beijing alone, over 150 arrests are known to have taken place.

See: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9517
NOTE: A follow-up report with up-to-date statistics and details will be released shortly.

(5) Falun Gong practitioners are officially excluded from the Games because of religious belief, in clear violation of the Olympic Charter.
Throughout 2007, several statements by top officials, as well as an internal document, indicated that Falun Gong adherents from both inside and outside China will be excluded from participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as athletes, coaches, journalists or spectators. Such a policy that discriminates on the basis of religious belief contravenes both the Olympic charter as well as the code of ethics signed in Beijing in April 2007.

One official admission of the intent to exclude foreigners who practice Falun Gong from the games was provided by Li Zhanjun, director of the Beijing Olympics media center, in November 2007.

While rejecting allegations that the Chinese authorities intended to limit the entry of Bibles for personal religious use, Li singled out Falun Gong texts as an exception. As reported by the Associated Press: “We don't recognize it [Falun Gong]… So Falun Gong texts, Falun Gong activities in China are forbidden.”

For more information see: http://faluninfo.net/downloads/FDI_Press/FDI-FACTSHEET-OLEX.doc

See also: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/08/sports/AS-SPT-OLY-Beijing-Bibles.php

(6) Falun Gong has never taken a position on an Olympic boycott.
As a spiritual practice, Falun Gong in and of itself does not take a stance on issues such as whether or not to boycott the Olympics. Yet, individual adherents are entitled to take their own positions and make statements accordingly. Nevertheless, such views represent the opinion of that particular individual, rather than Falun Gong as a whole.

What the FDIC is concerned about is the escalation of abuses and extrajudicial killings of practitioners ahead of the games, and indeed, because of the games. There is ample evidence, including points presented in this document, that shows how China’s communist leaders are using the Olympic games as a reason to intensify the campaign to ‘eradicate’ Falun Gong.

(7) A “clean up” of districts hosting Olympic venues has included the arrests of local residents who practice Falun Gong.  Between December 2007 and March 2008, at least 16 Falun Gong adherents had been arrested from Chaoyang District alone, which is set to host the beach volleyball and tennis events, and 10 from Shunyi district, the site of the Olympic rowing and kayaking venues. In total, over 156 practitioners in Beijing and at least 1,878 nationwide have been rounded up during this time period.

According to reports received by the FDIC, many of the arrests have followed a common pattern. Officers from the local police station or Public Security Bureau (PSB) branch come to the adherent’s home or workplace, conduct a search for any Falun Gong-related materials, and take the individual into custody at the district detention center.

In some cases, family members or co-workers who do not practice Falun Gong have been taken into custody as well.

The systematic nature of the arrests suggests that authorities are using a previously compiled list of local adherents – a common practice of the PSB. According to former PSB agent Hao Fengjun, who currently resides in Australia, authorities in the city of Tianjin, where Hao formerly worked, had a database of 30,000 Falun Gong practitioners’ names.

For a list of 67 adherents detained in Beijing as of March 2008, including the above-mentioned 16, visit:

http://www.faluninfo.net/downloads/FDI_Press/Olympics%20arrests%20-%203-12-1.pdf

(8) Despite ostensibly freer regulations for foreign journalists, Falun Gong remains taboo.
The Chinese government issued temporary regulations for foreign journalists in January 2007. The directives, in place until October 2008, reduce travel restrictions and the need for pre-approval of interviews. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), however, in practice “the government continues to interfere with foreign reporters,” particularly regarding taboo topics like Tibet or Falun Gong.

The following is an excerpt from a recent CPJ report illustrating the official obstacles placed before reporters seeking to cover Falun Gong: Bracing for the 21,500 accredited and 5,000 to 10,000 unaccredited foreign journalists who will descend on Beijing for the Games, China’s Olympic planners have issued police an English phrasebook.  It gives some indication of the welcome that foreign journalists will receive. In a section titled, “How to Stop Illegal News Coverage,” the practice dialogue features a police officer confronting a reporter who tries to cover a story on the outlawed religious group Falun Gong.

“Excuse me, sir. Stop, please,” says the officer politely but firmly, before explaining in impressively advanced English: “It’s beyond the limit of your coverage and illegal. As a foreign reporter in China you should obey China law and do nothing against your status.” “Oh, I see. May I go now?” says the visiting reporter hopefully. “No. Come with us,” the officer is told to reply at this point. “What for?” “To clear up this matter.”

For the original report from which this excerpt is taken and a full discussion of press freedom violations ahead of the Olympic Games, see “Falling Short” at: http://cpj.org/Briefings/2007/Falling_Short/China/10_2.html

(9) Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners will experience the Olympics from inside labor camps, where they are often tortured.  Sentencing without trial to “re-education through labor” camps remains one of the most prevalent ways in which the Chinese authorities punish people for praticing Falun Gong. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2007 report on human rights in China: “Some foreign observers estimated that Falun Gong adherents constituted at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in reeducation-through-labor camps, while Falun Gong sources overseas placed the number even higher.”

Adherents are usually picked up by police from their home, workplace, or while attempting to distribute leaflets about the practice and the persecution against it. After being held in a detention center, they are sentenced to a labor camp. They are never brought before a judge and most are denied the right to employ a lawyer. According to Amnesty International:

“The decision to assign a person to RTL is taken by the police, without charge or trial. People can be detained for up to three years, which can be extended by a further year when necessary…[I]n the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing police have used abusive detention practices such as RTL to 'clean up' the city.”Once in a labor camp, Falun Gong adherents are beaten, deprived of sleep, and tortured, including with electric shock batons, in order to force them to recant their faith. In 2006, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture reported that Falun Gong practitioners accounted for 66 percent of victims of alleged torture in custody.
For two stories Falun Gong practitioners who had been detained in an RTL, see: Daily Mirror: “Annie Yang reveals Olympic torch guards place her into labour camp”: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/04/12/annie-yang-

reveals-olympic-torch-guards-place-her-into-labour-camp-89520-20380214/

For information about Bu Dongwei, a Falun Gong practitioner detained in a Beijing labor camp for whose release Amnesty International is campaigning, and to write an appeal letter on his behalf, see:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/052/2007/en/dom-ASA170522007en.html

(10) Most Chinese are unaware of any of the above because independent information about Falun Gong remains blocked inside China.  For the majority of Chinese people, their only source of information about Falun Gong is the state-run media or government sponsored websites, all of which have been used to vilify Falun Gong and deny rights abuses. Domestic journalists receive specific directives forbidding independent reporting on the topic.

On the internet, Falun Gong and related terms remain among the most highly filtered by the “Great Chinese Firewall.”

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists: “A Web search for “Falun Gong,” […] would not draw a blank, but it would yield carefully vetted sites that present the government-approved line.”

Websites such as the FDIC’s, that are run by overseas Falun Gong practitioners and include information about rights abuses, are inaccessible from inside China. So are the sites of independent rights organizations like Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch. Even discussion of the issue over Instant Messenger is prevented by filters built-in when Chinese IM software is downloaded (see below).

The only way to access independent information about Falun Gong from inside China is with a proxy server used to circumvent censorship, a technological luxury that remains out of the reach of most Chinese.

As a result, though they live in China, many Chinese remain oblivious to the nonviolent nature of Falun Gong adherents or to the brutality meted out against them.

For a brief explanation of online censorship in China, see:

http://cpj.org/Briefings/2007/Falling_Short/China/9_2.html

For a list of censored words integrated into downloadable IM software (20% of which relate to Falun Gong), see:

http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2004/08/the-words-you-never-see-in-chinese-cyberspace/
(6/10/2008 12:32)

Auf meinen Reisen durch das Internet habe ich viele interessante Links zum Thema Meditation gefunden. Im Folgenden ein paar davon aus der "normalen" und der meditierenden Welt. Viel Spaß beim Schmökern.

Meditation goes Mainstream - Links

Aus Forschung und Wissenschaft

** Die Fahrschule des Bewusstseins
Sehr gute Zusammenfassung wie Meditation das Gehirn beeinflusst, mit vielen Linkverweisen auf Studien

** Eine amerikanische Gehirnforscherin erzählt von ihrem Gehirnschlag
Ein Plädoyer für die rechte Gehirnhälfte

Meditation, praktiziert

** Glas für Glas
Da hat jemand 4300 Mal das selbe Glas immer wieder neu angesehen und gemalt, wenn das keine Meditationspraxis ist!

** Leute frieren minutenlang ein
In New York, am Grand Central Bahnhof, findet das Experiment statt. Ist lustig anzusehen.

** Und dann das Gleiche in London
Minutenlanges Still Stehen von ziemlich vielen Leuten am Trafalgar Square

** Falun Dafa - Chinesische Körperübungen
Ich hab sie mal ausprobiert, der Körper war ganz lebendig danach. Da ist für mich eine alte Weisheit zu spüren ...

Poetisches

** Über Haikus
Was ist ein Haiku? Unkompliziert und freundlich beschrieben

** Die Essenz des Zen in Haikus verfasst
Paradox und lustig, so wie Zen eben ist.

** 101 Zen Stories
Die Geschichten sind auf englisch, hat mir Spaß gemacht, ein wenig zu schmökern

** Meditation Room
Meditative Bilder zu Naturklängen und Musik, was zum Fühlen

Meister

** Die Suppe muss scharf sein - War Gurdjeff ein Zen-Meister?
Für mich ist die Frage irrelevant, doch der Artikel ist interessant

Was Lustiges

** Die Jubelforschung
Da kann man sein Foto reinsetzen und auf alle möglichen Arten jubeln, ich hab darüber gelacht!

Viel Spaß beim Meditieren
wünscht euch

Samarpan

PS: Mal was ganz Verrücktes und Lebendiges tun? Hier ist die Gelegenheit ...

Aktuellen Noseletter hier bestellen –->

Today is Falun Dafa Day celebrated around the world by people who practice Falun Gong/Falun Dafa. May 13 is the birthday of Mr. Li Hongzhi, who introduced Falun Dafa to the public.

The practice was first introduced in China in 1992 and spread to more than 80 countries around the world. People from all ages, all walks of life, all cultures cherish the Universal principles of Falun Dafa - Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance and improve themselves to become better and aspire to follow higher standards. Falun Dafa is a self-cultivation practice from the Buddha School.

The practice consists of 5 gentle exercises, which includes meditation. The book "Zhuan Falun" explains the principles of Falun Gong. www.falundafa.org has information about the practice.

Falun Dafa Day Celebration in New York City:

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-5-11/70555.html

NEWS - May 09, 2008 Falun Dafa Information Center [ http://faluninfo.net/ ]

NEW YORK - The Falun Dafa Information Center has learned of the death of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhou Huimin, based on reports from her son and corroborated by sources from within China. Ms. Zhou passed away at Qingyang District People's Hospital in Chengdu city, Sichuan province on March 15, 2008. She was 44 years old.

"Just a few days ago, I turned 15. [Also] just a few days ago, my kind and healthy mother was tortured to death," wrote Zhou Hanyang, the son of Zhou Huimin, in a letter received by the Information Center last month. "During the 198 days since my mother was arrested, we worried and feared for her day and night. With great sorrow, I remember the days I spent together with my mother and mourn her."

On the evening of September 26, 2007, police officers from the State Security Division in Chenghua district, Chengdu city broke into Zhou's home and arrested her, sources report. Zhou was first detained in the Xinjin Brainwashing Center, where she was physically abused. On February 1, 2008, she held a hunger strike to protest the unlawful persecution and four days later was taken to Qingyang District People's Hospital, where she became critically ill soon after her admission.

Zhou's whereabouts were made known only after a cousin sought her out on March 10, 2008. Family members were not notified by any of the relevant authorities prior to that date. The officers revealed that Zhou was near death and she had fallen into a coma. When Zhou's cousin requested her release, his demand was reportedly denied on the basis that the provincial State Security Bureau would not allow it. The authorities told Zhou's relative to instead prepare her funeral arrangements, saying, "Even if she's to die, she has to do it here."

"Afterwards, I heard that some police officers proposed releasing her, but the provincial State Security Bureau said that Falun Gong was a major target as the Olympics approached, and denied her release," writes Zhou's son. "With grief and indignation, I want to say that I love peace and hope that the CCP will honor the promises it made to improve human rights when competing to host the Olympic Games, including stopping the persecution of Falun Gong, and that it will not commit murder in the name of protecting the Olympic Games."

Zhou's death marks the eighth that has occurred at Chengdu City's Qingyang District Hospital as a result of torture. Previous cases present a pattern in which China's 610 Office, local police, and local detention centers have collaborated with the hospital to invert its normal functions. In several cases, the claimed cause of death has been "organ failure due to hunger strike."

Before her 2007 detention, Ms. Zhou had previously been arrested six times since 1999-the year Falun Gong was first banned in China-and held as a prisoner of conscience. She was imprisoned at Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp in Sichuan province on three of those occasions. During her illegal imprisonment, she was subjected to various forms of torture, according to sources close to Zhou. During one period, from September 7-19, 2002, she was tortured while also held at the Qingyang District People's Hospital. For 12 hours each day, she was reportedly hung on a bed frame by foot shackles and two handcuffs, one from her calf and one from her hand. Armed police and wardens from the detention center took shifts monitoring her.

Ms. Zhou went on hunger strike eight times in total, asking for her unconditional release. Her longest hunger strike lasted 89 days, from September 2, 2002, to November 29, 2002. Severe muscle and organ atrophy from the protest eventually won Zhou her release, but had lasting consequences on her health.

# # #

NEWS - May 09, 2008
Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

====================

thebrightpath's comment to this article:

This is a tragic story of persecution of 44 year old woman who died. Her son who is 15 years old, had lost his mother. Tomorrow is Mother's Day celebrated in the US. Unfortunately in China, several children are orphaned and have lost their parents, who were persecuted for their belief in Falun Gong.

The Chinese Communist party has been carrying out a severe and brutal persecution against the practice of Falun Gong since the year 1999. Several thousands of people have been subjected to torture, beatings, illegal imprisonment, physical abuse, forced labor, forced brainwashing, harrassment, fines and have been killed in China, for practicing Falun Gong and not giving up the practice. The Falun Dafa Information Center has documented more than 3000 verified death cases and thousands of persecution cases. Please check www.faluninfo.net for more details on the persecution of Falun Gong. Friends of Falun Gong (www.fofg.org) also has information and how to help.

I sincerely hope more people can see the persecution going on in China and raise their voices to end this persecution.

The tulips are late to bloom but controversy is in full bloom at the Canadian Tulip Festival. Organizers invited the Tian Guo Marching Band to play O Canada and The Maple Leaf Forever on the opening weekend of the annual event but abruptly asked the band to leave before a note was even played.

So what happened?

Festival organizers say the band mislead them about who they really were and did not tell them they had connections to Falun Dafa or Falun Gong.

Doug Little, festival marketing and finance director, told the Ottawa Sun, "They came from a protest on Parliament Hill and they came decked out in Falun Gong or Falun Dafa regalia. That's not who we thought was registered." Really? No one has access to Google these days?...

OK so let me get this straight. The International Tulip Festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world, selects a group to play O Canada and doesn't even research the group they choose to learn a little bit more about them? Someone is clearly asleep at the switch over there. It's not that the group used a fake name or anything -- the Tulip Festival clearly knew what the group was called and posted it all over the event's schedule of events!

The Tulip Festival asked the group to leave the event before anything happened. So in essence, the Tulip Festival kicked out a group they invited because they didn't do their own research and were affraid the group might -- MIGHT -- protest.

Oh what's this? The Chinese Embassy is a partner for the International Tulip Festival?

"We have a partnership with the Embassy of China and we felt this was not appropriate," said Little...

"We don't have anything to apologize to them for," Little said. "We are not about groups coming to hijack the Tulip Festival for their own agenda."

Really? Because it sure looks like the festival has been hijacked. Next time do a little research before you invite a group to perform at your world class event!  Regardless of what you think of Falun Gong or China, I think the lack of research and sloppiness at which the festival screens and invites performers seems pretty bizarre.

One has to wonder if they'd invite Amy Winehouse next year and then find out last minute that she might be a bad choice because, well, someone didn't think to Google her.

Selon un communiqué diffusé par l’Association du Falun Dafa [Falun Gong] du Canada (AFDC), au moins 1878 pratiquants de Falun Gong auraient été arrêtés en Chine depuis janvier 2008. Cette vague d’arrestations massives serait alimentée par un système de récompenses mis en place par le régime : les individus livrant de l’information sur les pratiquants de la discipline recevraient une somme d’argent allant jusqu’à 650 $.

Un de ces cas d’arrestation a été rapporté par le journal britannique Times. Le pratiquant de Falun Gong et populaire musicien folk Yu Zhou a été arrêté après un concert et torturé à mort en janvier dernier. Les autorités ont dit à sa famille qu’il était mort du diabète, alors qu’il n’avait pas cette maladie, et ont insisté pour incinérer sa dépouille rapidement.

Le prétexte olympique

Les Jeux olympiques ont été octroyés à la Chine en 2001, soit à un moment où la persécution contre le Falun Gong était à son paroxysme. Tandis que Pékin promettait l’amélioration des droits de l’homme, ses dirigeants maintenaient leur objectif d’éliminer la discipline spirituelle pour nettoyer le pays des «ennemis de l’État».

La campagne de propagande massive dont sont victimes les Tibétains et le Dalaï-lama dernièrement, visant à les marginaliser et à les diaboliser, est très semblable à ce que les pratiquants de Falun Gong subissent depuis 1999. «Des millions de pratiquants ont perdu leur emploi, leur domicile, leur éducation et leurs droits fondamentaux, on les a incarcérés et torturés pour les forcer à abandonner leur croyance. Aucun avocat n’a le droit de les représenter et ceux qui sont intervenus en leur faveur croupissent dans les goulags chinois», écrit l’AFDC dans son communiqué.

Malgré cette répression, «l’esprit humain ne peut être écrasé», estime le député libéral à Ottawa Borys Wrzesnewskyj. Dans son allocution prononcée lors du rassemblement, il a fait remarquer que les protecteurs actuels de la torche olympique, les paramilitaires chinois en vêtements bleus, sont de la même unité responsable du massacre sur la place Tiananmen en 1989. Le climat est donc malsain et imprégné de totalitarisme. M. Wrzesnewskyj espère que les Jeux seront un catalyseur pour la liberté en Chine.

Ce député a récemment présenté un projet de loi privé ayant pour objectif de contrer le trafic d’organes. Un geste visant, entre autres, à assurer que les Canadiens ne puissent aller en Chine pour recevoir une transplantation d’organe, car des prisonniers y sont exécutés – y compris des pratiquants du Falun Gong – pour alimenter le marché.

Alex Neve, secrétaire général d’Amnesty International Canada, a tracé un sombre portrait de la situation des droits de l’homme en Chine depuis 2001 et, particulièrement, dernièrement. Selon lui, les «améliorations ont été minimales» et, «en général, c’est extrêmement inquiétant». Il note les violations qui ont lieu directement à cause des Olympiques, comme l’emprisonnement de militants des droits de la personne et des personnes déplacées brutalement pour la construction des installations. Il déplore également «les efforts très minimes de la communauté internationale» pour faire avancer les choses.

M. Neve met aussi en cause les responsables du Comité olympique canadien qui ont fermé toutes les portes à une discussion au sujet des droits de l’homme, se défendant que ce n’est pas leur tasse de thé. Puis les responsables du Comité international olympique se terrent dans la position que «les Olympiques ne devraient pas être mélangées à la politique.» Mais Alex Neve estime qu’il faut faire la différence entre droits de l’homme et politique et il rappelle que les principes de respect de la dignité humaine sont à la base du mouvement olympique et de sa Charte.

De Berlin 1936 à Pékin 2008

Différents analystes et politiciens ont souligné des similitudes entre les Olympiques de Berlin 1936 et ceux de Pékin 2008. Régimes totalitaires de propagande massive, persécutions internes de toutes sortes visant minorités ethniques, groupes religieux et dissidents, mouvement de militarisation effréné, etc.

Un député conservateur, Rob Anders, a fait la comparaison dernièrement et s’est fait vilipender par différents défenseurs du régime chinois et des relations commerciales que le Canada a avec lui.

Brian McAdam, un ex-diplomate canadien posté à Hong Kong ayant perdu son poste pour avoir dénoncer la corruption de la mission canadienne, juge la comparaison d’Anders «absolument exacte». Selon lui, l’attitude complaisante du Canada envers le régime chinois provient d’une «longue histoire de premiers ministres» tissant des liens avec le Parti communiste chinois (PCC) et de médias ne rapportant pas la vérité. Il souligne que Mao Zedong a tué beaucoup plus de gens que Hitler et Staline ensemble. L’ex-premier ministre Pierre Elliott Trudeau n’avait-il pas cette admiration pour Mao, ayant fraternisé avec lui durant ses années au pouvoir?

Selon le site de Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform, la «carrière de 30 années de M. McAdam aux Affaires étrangères s’est terminée brusquement en 1993 après qu’il a exposé la corruption au consulat canadien à Hong Kong et l’infiltration du crime organisé et des espions chinois au Canada.»

Pour Xun Li, président de l’AFDC, la persécution actuelle est une «violation de l’esprit olympique». Quant aux messages du PCC disant qu’un accent mis sur les droits de l’homme «politise les Jeux», M. Li dit qu’il faut «cesser d’être trompés par une telle propagande». Il a fait remarquer qu’en 1936, la communauté internationale s’est défendue en disant qu’elle ne savait pas ce qui se préparait en Allemagne nazie, tandis qu’aujourd’hui, on sait fort bien ce qui se passe en Chine mais on refuse d’agir. «Le Canada ne doit pas porter la honte d’échouer de voir à travers le mal», a-t-il déclaré en conférence de presse.

MM. Li et Neve croient que le Canada devrait prendre les devants dans ce dossier. «Pas un jour ne devrait passer sans que nous fassions pressions sur la Chine sur la question des droits de l’homme», suggère Alex Neve. Selon lui, il s’agit d’un geste politique que de demeurer silencieux sur la question.

Thursday May 29th, 6.30 for a 7pm start
The Irish Club, 175 Elizabeth St
($5 parking in Myer Centre with validation from 4pm onwards)

Speakers include
Helen Gordon – Amnesty International

John Dowie  – Representative of the Falun Dafa Association

Ashley Brown - Director of the Australia Tibet Council

Christine and Lee Rush - parents of a young Australian facing the death penalty

For more information, or to RSVP (catering purposes only) call Tina on 0423 709 445 or email:   justine.hampson@gmail.com

Écrit par un pratiquant de Hawaii

Le 26 octobre 2007, un atelier sur le Falun Gong a été tenu à l’Université de Hawaii à Manoa. L'atelier a duré une heure et demie. Cinq pratiquants de Falun Gong ont été invités à partager leurs expériences personnelles de cultivation et à discuter de la persécution du Falun Gong en Chine.

Mme Gwendall Cooper de Californie était une invitée spéciale à l'atelier. Elle est professeur honoraire et experte en études indigènes américaines à l'Université de Californie de San Diego. Mme Cooper a partagé son expérience de cultivation en suivant les principes du Falun Gong, « Authenticité-Bienveillance -Patience ». Mme Cooper, qui a presque quatre-vingts ans, a une santé excellente et est pleine de vitalité.

Tony Liang, un autre invité, a parlé de ses débuts dans la pratique du Falun Gong, il avait appris d'autres pratiques dans les écoles de Bouddha et du Dao. De sa propre compréhension, il a résumé les caractéristiques importantes du Falun Gong, qui sont différentes des autres écoles de  pratique. Il a dit, « Il n'y a que le Falun Gong pour enseigner aux gens comment vraiment cultiver et améliorer leur niveau »

Guo Ying, qui avait été candidat à la maîtrise du Conservatoire central de musique de Chine et qui habite maintenant à Hawaï, a décrit ses propres expériences de persécution en Chine et celles de sa famille pour leur pratique du Falun Gong. Il a dit que pendant ses études au conservatoire central de musique, on lui a conseillé d'arrêter l'école parce qu'il clarifiait les faits au sujet du Falun Gong .Sa cousine Li Dongmei a été envoyée dans un camp de travaux forcés à deux reprises pour sa pratique du Falun Gong.  Elle est encore emprisonnée dans un camp de travaux forcés. Une autre cousine Li Yamei est également emprisonnée dans un camp de travaux forcés tout simplement parce qu’elle pratique le Falun Gong .

John White un pratiquant de Hawaii a partagé son expérience sur la pratique du Falun Gong. Il a cessé de fumer après avoir commencé la pratique alors qu'il avait fumé durant 25 ans. Son expérience a eu un grand impact sur le public.

Jiang Hong, professeur à l’Université de Hawaii, a dit qu’elle avait lu bien des livres sur la religion, la philosophie et la psychologie. Aucun d’eux ne pouvait répondre à ses questions les plus fondamentales sur la vie de l’homme. Les profonds principes du Falun Gong on répondu à ses questions et l’ont menée à cultiver le Falun Dafa. Elle a également dit qu'une de ses parentes en Chine a été condamnée à une peine de sept ans en prison pour sa pratique du Falun Dafa. Cette parente est encore emprisonnée dans la prison pour femmes de Harbin.

Les membres de l'assistance ont été intéressés par les histoires des pratiquants et ont posé beaucoup de questions. Un étudiant a demandé, « Qu’ont fait les pratiquants de Falun Gong? Pourquoi sont-ils persécutés en Chine? » Les pratiquants ont expliqué que le Parti communiste chinois (PCC) persécute tous les individus et groupes ayant différents points de vue. Le PCC a peur de perdre son emprise et tente de détruire la culture chinoise traditionnelle, dont le Falun Gong fait partie. Beaucoup de gens dans le public étaient venus pour connaître la nature perverse du PCC et pour proposer des suggestions pour stopper la persécution.

L’atelier s’est terminé avec une présentation des exercices du Falun Gong par les pratiquants. A la fin de l’atelier certains membres de l’assistance sont restés pour discuter avec les pratiquants qui les ont encouragés à parler de la persécution par le PCC à plus de gens.

L'atelier fait partie d'une série d'activités à l'occasion de « La semaine des droits de l'homme en la Chine » à l'Université d'Hawaï. La série d'événements s'est déroulée sur une semaine, du 22 au 29 octobre. À part l’atelier sur le Falun Gong , d’autres activités incluaient le discours de professeur Jon Van Dyke, « Les droits de l'homme en Chine et les Jeux Olympiques de Pékin », le film « Révolution concrète » et une conférence sur la transplantation d'organes en Chine par David Matas, avocat des droits de l'homme et expert médical. Grâce aux événements qu ont duré une semaine, des informations sur la situation des droits de l'homme en Chine et la persécution contre le Falun Gong ont été propagées à beaucoup de gens à l’Université de Hawaii.

Traduit de l'anglais au Canada le 22 novembre 2007

Version chinoise disponible à : http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/11/17/166739.html

Version anglaise disponible à : http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/11/22/91545.html

http://www.vraiesagesse.net/ ]]> http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/ontario-canada-la-fanfare-de-la-terre-divine-joue-au-defile-du-pere-noel-a-kingston-photo/ Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:43:46 +0000 truthinchina http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/ontario-canada-la-fanfare-de-la-terre-divine-joue-au-defile-du-pere-noel-a-kingston-photo/

[Site Clartés et Sagesse]

Écrit par un pratiquant de Falun Dafa du Canada

Samedi, le 17 novembre 2007, il y a eu un défilé du Père Noël dans la ville de Kingston. C'est le plus grand événement annuel de la communauté et il a attiré beaucoup de familles, particulièrement celles avec des enfants. La Fanfare de la Terre divine a joué et a montré sa grâce lors du défilé.

La Fanfare de la Terre divine de Falun Dafa a jouée au défilé du Père Noël à Kingston

La Fanfare de la Terre divine de Falun Dafa est composée de pratiquants de Montréal, d'Ottawa, et de Kingston. Les battements de tambour et la musique ont impressionné les résidants de cette petite ville. Après avoir tout d’abord observé tranquillement, les spectateurs ont commencé à frapper des mains suivant le rythme et finalement ils ont applaudi chaleureusement la fanfare. Beaucoup ont dit : « Ils sont très bons ! » et « Excellente fanfare ! ».

Traduit de l’anglais au Canada le 25 novembre 2007
Version chinoise disponible à :

http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/11/21/166922.html
Version anglaise disponible à : http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/11/25/91597p.html

http://www.vraiesagesse.net/ ]]> http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/cbc-a-presente-le-documentaire-sur-le-falun-gong-mais-%c2%ab-dilue-%c2%bb-selon-le-realisateur/ Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:42:49 +0000 truthinchina http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/cbc-a-presente-le-documentaire-sur-le-falun-gong-mais-%c2%ab-dilue-%c2%bb-selon-le-realisateur/ Écrit par Jason Loftus et Joan Delaney, La Grande Époque 28-11-2007

Le cinéaste Peter Rowe pendant le tournage de son documentaire Beyond the Red Wall: The Persecution of Falun

Censure à la SRC

Le réseau de nouvelles de la chaîne anglaise de Radio-Canada, CBC Newsworld, a diffusé la semaine dernière un documentaire très attendu sur la persécution du Falun Gong, deux semaines après l’avoir retiré du programme et provoqué une tempête médiatique sur la controverse.

CBC a admis avoir retiré de sa grille horaire le film – Beyond the Red Wall: The Persecution of Falun Gong – cinq heures avant sa diffusion le 6 novembre dernier, après avoir été contacté par de hauts fonctionnaires de l’ambassade et du consulat chinois. Mais la société d’État a nié avoir été influencée par la pression des diplomates chinois.

Le documentaire expose la sévère persécution infligée aux pratiquants de Falun Gong, depuis huit ans, par les autorités chinoises.

Dans la version modifiée, certains segments du film ont été retirés concernant les rapports de prélèvements d’organes sur les pratiquants, de même que des déclarations chocs sur les Jeux olympiques de Pékin 2008. CBC détient les droits de diffusion des Jeux au Canada.

«Je suis content parce que l’histoire n’a jamais été relatée auparavant de cette façon devant un public à l’échelle nationale», a déclaré le réalisateur du film, Peter Rowe. «Cela mis à part, CBC a coupé 10 % du film (environ 5 minutes) au cours de la dernière semaine, soit en m’obligeant à le faire ou en le faisant eux-mêmes.»

M. Rowe dit trouver «offensant» que le radiodiffuseur public national fasse la promotion de l’émission The Lens de 22 h comme une plateforme pour des documentaires avec un point de vue indépendant, car son expérience lui montre que Beyond the Red Wall a été «dilué» en raison d’une «interférence dans la production par CBC».

Tandis que CBC était préoccupée par la «corroboration», mentionne Peter Rowe, les personnes qui sont montrées dans le film – comme l’ex-député fédéral David Kilgour et l’avocat spécialiste des droits de l’Homme David Matas – sont des personnes «intègres, ayant une crédibilité» et qui connaissent bien la Chine.

«Dans la recherche d’équilibre [journalistique], le temps accordé au responsable de l’ambassade chinoise a été prolongé, mais ils [CBC] ont coupé David Kilgour qui affirmait quelque chose d’intéressant et de provocateur et qui présentait une preuve valable de son rapport sur les prélèvements d’organes.»

M. Rowe a confié à La Grande Époque qu’un cadre de CBC Newsworld l’avait informé le 17 novembre que des journalistes de CBC, en poste à Pékin, avaient été «harcelés» par les autorités chinoises au sujet du documentaire.

Zhu Tao, un employé du bureau de CBC à Pékin, a été joint par téléphone le 20 novembre et il a confirmé que le gouvernement chinois avait récemment contacté le bureau au sujet d’un documentaire. Il a référé La Grande Époque au bureau de CBC à Toronto pour plus de détails.

Jeff Keay, porte-parole de CBC, affirme être au courant de cela, et que des responsables chinois ont également pris contact avec CBC au Canada.

«Nous recevons des appels d’eux d’une manière répétitive, mais nous n’avons pas discuté du documentaire avec eux.»

CBC a énergiquement nié avoir succombé aux pressions chinoises et s’est dit déçue de ne pas avoir été écoutée par la presse, qui avait en général émis de sévères critiques sur le retrait soudain de la version originale du documentaire.

La plupart des scènes coupées concernent les détails du rapport de 64 pages publié par Kilgour et Matas sur les prélèvements illégaux d’organes sur des milliers de pratiquants du Falun Gong dans le but d’alimenter le marché lucratif des transplantations en Chine.

Un des tableaux coupés montre la grande différence dans le temps d’attente moyen pour une greffe dans d’autres pays, en comparaison avec la Chine : au Canada, 2555 jours; au Royaume-Uni, 1095 jours; aux États-Unis, 1825 jours et en Chine, 15 jours.

L’avocat défenseur des droits de l’Homme Clive Ansley, qui est présent dans Red Wall, estime que même si l’impact du film a été «émoussé jusqu’à un certain point» en retirant ces séquences, il est demeuré «très percutant».

«C’est probablement la première fois que certaines personnes entendent parler de ce sujet et je crois que la plupart des Canadiens seront choqués et auront appris des choses qu’ils ne connaissaient pas.»

M. Ansley dit regretter que CBC «ait retiré des choses qui auraient amélioré le film», incluant sa citation qui compare les Olympiques de Pékin à ceux d’Hitler à Berlin en 1936.

«Cette citation particulière est vraiment inoffensive, excepté qu’elle est des plus dérangeantes pour Pékin parce qu’elle implique les Olympiques.»

Peter Rowe fait remarquer qu’une version «aseptisée de la Chine» avait déjà été présentée dans China Rising du documentariste de CBC, Mark Starowitz. M. Rowe estime qu’il s’agissait «essentiellement d’un récit de voyage racontant la beauté de la Chine, sans aucune mention de Falun Gong ni du Tibet. C’était davantage comme faire autrefois un film sur l’Afrique du Sud sans mentionner l’apartheid».

Une autre modification apportée au documentaire par CBC est d’avoir ajouté une note à l’écran disant qu'Amnesty international  (AI) n’a pas corroboré le rapport de Kilgour et Matas. Toutefois, M. Matas croit que cela peut être «trompeur».«Nous connaissons suffisamment la propagande chinoise pour deviner ce qu’ils [gens du régime chinois] disent à CBC derrière notre dos. La déclaration qu’AI n’a pas été en mesure de corroborer notre rapport est typique et typiquement trompeuse.»

David Matas affirme que la méthodologie d'Amnesty international – qui insiste qu’il y ait «deux témoins oculaires indépendants l’un de l’autre, les deux relatant le même événement – ne fonctionne pas lorsqu’il y a seulement des auteurs de crimes et des victimes, et que les victimes sont tuées et leur dépouille ensuite incinérée.»

«Le silence d’AI sur une violation des droits de l’Homme n’est pas une preuve ni même un indice que la violation n’a pas lieu. AI, elle-même, dirait cela», indique M. Matas.

La version originale du documentaire avait initialement été approuvée par les responsables du contenu télévisuel et les avocats de CBC et elle a déjà été présentée, en langue française, sur le Réseau de l’information (RDI) ainsi qu’en Nouvelle-Zélande et en Espagne.

Principaux départements responsables :
Poste de police de Chengdu
Section 1 du Sous-bureau de la Sécurité publique de Jinniu : 86-28-87656434
Poste de police de Fuqin : 86-28-87784291

Principale personne responsable : Qin, chef de la Division d'Investigation criminelle
Policiers responsables : Pan and Bei

Version chinoise disponible à :
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/10/22/165031.html

Version anglaise disponible à :
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/11/15/91361.html

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Email editors: editor@fr.clearharmony.net ]]> http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/peinture-enfants-portant-une-fleur-de-lotus/ Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:39:39 +0000 truthinchina http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/peinture-enfants-portant-une-fleur-de-lotus/ Par Zhang Cuiying, pratiquante de Falun Gong et artiste professionnelle

Il est connu que les fleurs de lotus poussent hors de la boue et demeurent pures et immaculées. Des poèmes sur les fleurs de lotus ont commencé à apparaître en Chine il y a trois ou quatre mille ans. La légende veut que le Paradis de l'ouest de l'ultime béatitude ( un paradis céleste dit être le paradis de Bouddha Amitabha )est rempli de fleurs de lotus dont la beauté majestueuse ne peut être décrite avec des mots. Nous pouvons voir ici un groupe d'enfants qui jouent en portant une immense fleur de lotus.
Pour voir d'autres exemples de l'oeuvre de Zhang Cuiying veuillez visiter : www.zhangcuiying.org

Version anglaise disponible à :
http://en.clearharmony.net/articles/200711/41943.html

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Email editors: editor@fr.clearharmony.net ]]> http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/lagence-de-presse-tcheque/ Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:37:59 +0000 truthinchina http://glint.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/lagence-de-presse-tcheque/ L'Agence de presse tchèque rapportait le 19 novembre que plus de 80 pratiquants de Falun Gong de la Fanfare céleste européenne avaient joué le 17 novembre dans la vieille ville de Prague. Après le concert ils avaient défilé, protestant contre la persécution du Falun Gong.

Le concert donné dans la vieille ville de Prague par la Fanfre céleste

Les organisateurs ont dit avoir fait correspondre leurs activités avec le jour anniversaire du renversement du régime communiste en 1989 Le Falun Gong a été transmis publiquement en 1992, il a des millions de gens pratiquants les principes vérité, bienveillance, tolérance ainsi que les exercices. Le régime communiste la lancé la persécution du Falun Gong en 1999. Depuis lors, des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont été arrêtées. Les organes de pratiquants de Falun Gong ont été prélevés pour le commerce des greffes d'organes. Les pratiquants de Falun Gong espéraient attirer l'attention des gens. Une information expliquait que la Fanfare céleste européenne a été crée à la fin de l'année dernière, et est composée de 160 pratiquants de Falun Gong. La moitié des membres ont joué à Prague.

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http://fr.clearharmony.net/articles/200711/36360.html

Dear Friend:

Below is a self-explanatory letter to the International Olympic Committee listing major concerns affecting the international community and arising out of appalling policies of the Beijing government, which are only now garnering international attention. Please consider co-signing this letter to indicate your solidarity with those who are determined “never again” to stand idly by and turn its eyes away from genocide as the world did from 1931 to 1945. Your support in advancing the cause of human dignity is invaluable at this crucial time and it is greatly appreciated.

Clive Ansley
US-CANADA Chair, Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
China Country Monitor for Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada

-----------------------------------

Mr. Jacques Rogge, President
Members of the International Olympic Committee
Chateau De Vidy, Case Postale 356
1007 Lausanne, Switzerland
Fax: +41-21-621-6216
jacques.rogge@ioc.olympic.org

Dear Mr. Rogge and members of the IOC:

On November 8, 2007, Li Zhanjun, News Director of the Beijing Olympics media center, responded to western criticism of religious restrictions previously announced by Beijing, saying that the Chinese Communist government would now allow athletes and tourists to bring religious objects for personal use during the Olympics. However, this policy will not apply to Falun Gong practitioners: “Falun Gong texts, Falun Gong activities in China are forbidden,” and “Foreigners who come to China must respect and abide by the laws of China.” (AP)

We are distressed at this policy which is in direct violation of article 5 of the Olympic Charter, which states that: “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.” As well, Article 36 of China’s own constitution declares that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief,” and that, “No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion.”

The persecution of Chinese citizens who practise Falun Gong constitutes a violation of China’s constitution by the Beijing government. That persecution of Chinese citizens is well known. However, the host country for the 2008 Olympic Games has now extended its discriminatory religious policies to the entire international community through these recent declarations. Beijing, as host country is saying that while participating foreign athletes who are Christians will be allowed to bring bibles into the Olympic Village and to practise their faith while residing there, foreign athletes who are Falun Gong practitioners will not be allowed to bring Falun Gong materials or to practise their Falun Gong exercises. In fact, foreign athletes who are adherents of Falun Gong may not be allowed to participate in the Games at all. This is eerily reminiscent of the situation which obtained before and during the Nazi Olympics of 1936 in Berlin. Within Germany, Hitler barred Jewish citizens from competing for places on the German Olympic team. Unlike his contemporary counterparts in Beijing with respect to Falun Gong, Hitler did not go so far as to impose restrictions on Jewish competitors from other countries. Nevertheless, his discriminatory racial and religious policies within Germany itself provoked a widespread call in the United States for a boycott of the Nazi Olympics and many Jewish athletes refused to participate.

Not only does this latest order further demonstrate the Chinese regime’s unwillingness to fulfil its 2001 promise to the IOC to improve human rights in China, but also it is clear proof that any hope of improving Chinese human rights through the Olympics is futile because of Beijing’s total and demonstrable insincerity. You may recall that in April 2007, Beijing’s Ministry of Public Service issued a black list barring ‘antagonistic elements’ from attending the Games including adherents of Falun Gong, “religious infiltrators” and others. Although this was a clear violation of the Olympic Charter, we are unaware of any declaration by the International Olympic Committee that it will enforce that Charter or that the IOC is at all concerned about the fact that Beijing has trampled upon the Charter.

Li Zhanjun’s response clearly demonstrates that the Chinese government’s policy of persecuting Falun Gong and its practitioners continues unabated. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has overtly extended the regime’s persecution of Falun Gong to the Olympics - a most noble institution that is respected worldwide. Such abuse and discrimination against the followers of a peaceful spiritual teaching not only trash the Olympic Spirit, but also constitute a spurning of fundamental morality and ethics in the international society. Having called upon the world not to politicize the Olympics, Beijing’s leaders have persistently, continuously and consistently turned their hosting of the Games into a totally political propaganda extravaganza designed to glorify, whitewash, and strengthen their single party dictatorship. They have from the outset exploited the opportunity afforded them by the IOC in precisely the same way as Goebbels and Hitler before them.

Therefore, we call on the IOC:

* to require Beijing to rescind its policy of barring Falun Gong from the Olympics which constitutes a severe breach of the Olympic Charter;
* to re-consider the eligibility of the Communist regime to stage the Olympic Games, given the steadily worsening human rights situation in China today;
* to discuss the possibility of holding the Olympics in another nation.

We also urge the international community and athletes from around the world to condemn Beijing’s trashing of the Olympic spirit and its scorn for the Olympic Charter.

The whole world is about to learn what religious repression “made in China” means. Beijing’s characterization of Falun Gong as “illegal” is a clumsy attempt to justify a pogrom of government sanc-tioned violence and persecution. There is no basis in the Chinese Constitution or in any other Chinese law for Beijing’s claim that Falun Gong is illegal in China. It is “illegal” only because the top leadership declared it to be “illegal”, and no Chinese court has the authority to interpret the Constitution and overturn the fiats of the top leaders. No judicial process was ever involved in rendering Falun Gong “illegal”.

It is clear that the Chinese regime must stop using the Olympics as a cover for launching a crackdown on peaceful people of faith both in China and abroad and to halt the persecution of Falun Gong and all Chinese citizens.

Hence, we, the undersigned, believe that the IOC has the moral obligation to bring the true Olympic spirit to the Chinese people as set forth in the Olympic Charter. It’s not too late for the IOC to renegotiate the location of the Olympics and bring some well-deserved sobriety and human dignity into this situation for the sake of the Chinese people and our proud athletes.

Previous Olympics devolved into propaganda bonanzas for dictatorial hosts, such as the Nazis in 1936 and the Soviets in 1980, rather than promoting the universal celebration of peaceful competition and sport for people of all colours and creeds in accordance with the Olympic ideal. Beijing cannot possibly expect to freely continue with rampant political oppression, mass executions, forced abortions, illicit organ harvesting, religious persecution and a slew of other human rights abuses, while attempting to present a civilized face to the world as host of the Summer Games in 2008.

Sincerely,
Clive Ansley
US-CANADA Chair, Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
China Country Monitor for Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada

Crimes against humanity and the Olympics cannot coexist in China
http://humanrightstorch.org http://cipfg.org

Am 8. Dezember 2007 hatten Falun Gong-Praktizierende aus Frankreich und Belgien eine Aktivität in der nördlichen Industriestadt Lille in Frankreich organisiert, um auf Falun Gong und die Verfolgung in China aufmerksam zu machen. Lille ist die Hauptstadt von Frankreichs nördlicher Provinz. Ihre Bevölkerung übersteigt eine Million, und sie ist das wichtigste Industrie- und Handelszentrum und Transportknotenpunkt.

Diese Aktivität war die Erste ihrer Art in dieser Stadt

Praktizierende unterhalten sich mit Passanten über Falun Gong

Praktizierende unterhalten sich mit Passanten über Falun Gong

Es gibt nur einen Praktizierende in der Region von Lille. Daher waren Praktizierende aus Paris und Belgien zur Unterstützung der Aktivität angereist. Unter ihnen war der Jüngste gerade sieben Jahre alt. Die Aktivität dauerte von 14:30 bis 18:30 Uhr. Neben der Darstellung von Bannern und vielen Bildern, die die Verfolgung in China zeigen, führten die Praktizierenden auch die Falun Gong-Übungen vor. Einer von ihnen spielte Flöte. Dies zog die Aufmerksamkeit vieler Leute an, die stehen blieben, um von den Praktizierenden Flyer anzunehmen. Obwohl es an diesem Tag sehr kalt war und unaufhörlich regnete, schätzten die Praktizierenden diese Gelegenheit und erklärten trotz des heftigen Regens die wahren Umstände über die Verfolgung.

Dieser Artikel auf
Englisch: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200712/42539.html
Veröffentlicht in de.clearharmony.net am: Samstag, 22. Dezember 2007

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The slanderous letter relied on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s usual tactics to defame Falun Gong. It pressured the assemblyman with "Chinese and American relations" to force him not to support Holiday Wonders or the Chinese New Year Spectacular shows in any way.

New York Assemblyman Michael Benjamin

As part of the 2006 Women’s History Month, Ms. Vina Lee was awarded by the New York State Assembly the honor of “Outstanding Woman Leader” in recognition of her leadership and commitment to humanity.Photograph shows Benjamin (right) and his wife (middle), and Vina Lee (left).

The Offensive Letter from the Chinese Consulate General

The Chinese Consulate General in New York wrote to the New York Assemblyman on December 18, pressuring him with "Chinese and American relations" to force him not to support Holiday Wonders or the Chinese New Year Spectacular shows in any way.

The Chinese Consulate is pressuring a New York Assemblyman not to attend a show on Broadway that they feel is "humiliating" for the Chinese Communist regime back in the Mainland. The assemblyman, Michael Benjamin of the Bronx, has said he's not buying into the Communist agenda and plans on attending the show in question, Holiday Wonders, now playing at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan.

"I believe that the Chinese Consulate is again seeking to discourage participation by elected officials in the Holiday Wonders show," said Assemblyman Benjamin in an e-mail statement to The Epoch Times earlier.

"The CCP insists to the world that there is only one China. They seek to drown out alternative voices. They fear that the world will learn the truth of their 'Animal Farm' regime," he added.

Benjamin received an unusual letter last week from the Chinese Consulate General in New York. The letter, sent via fax and received one week before the theatrical production, Holiday Wonders, opened, is addressed to Assemblyman Michael Benjamin.

The letter focuses on Holiday Wonders and its producer, New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), telling Assemblyman Benjamin "not to support in any way the Holiday Wonders and the Chinese New Year Spectacular." Both shows are produced by NTDTV, an independent Chinese language television station that has faced repeated attacks by the CCP.

Assemblyman Benjamin has been honored by community members in the past for recognition of his work to promote diversity and freedom of belief.

Holiday Wonders is a colorful presentation of traditional, ancient Chinese culture with modern twists in some of the acts. At least one performance depicts the persecution of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, which the CCP has been brutally persecuting since 1999.

Westchester resident and Falun Gong practitioner Jeanne Mitchell has stayed in contact with Assemblyman Benjamin's office since 2005 to inform him about the ongoing persecution. She was contacted by a staff member of the office who alerted her of the letter received.

"They begin the letter by offering holiday greetings and promoting an economic business relationship," said Mitchell. "But what they really want is to defame Falun Gong. They talk about trade to keep people from really speaking out about what terrible human rights violations going on in China," she added.

Ms. Benjamin: "I wanted to see this show because of the letter."

Assemblyman Benjamin's wife, Ms. Kennedy Benjamin, said that originally she only planned to go to the reception, but she decided to make time to watch the show because of the slanderous letter.

Assemblyman Benjamin saw NTDTV's show two years ago. He called it "wonderful" and an embodiment of "traditional Chinese culture and values."

NTDTV: "The CCP's Defamation can only help promotion."NTDTV spokesperson Carrie Hong said that the CCP's letter is full of slander and defamatory remarks because NTDTV promotes culture and art that negate the Party's own culture. The CCP is fearful of NTDTV's mission.

Ms. Hong said that based on previous experience, each time the CCP has attempted to interfere with an NTDTV event, the event was actually promoted instead, including the annual New Year's show and the International Chinese Classical Dance Competition. Many people attended after they heard about the events from the CCP's efforts to defame them.

She pointed out that before NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular show in Canberra, Australia last year, the Chinese Embassy wrote to members of Parliament and asked them not to see the show. Not surprisingly, all the members of Parliament went to see the show. One of them said humorously, "We can hold a session before the show."

Ms. Hong predicted a similar effect on the shows in North America.

Posting date: 12/21/2007
Original article date: 12/21/2007
Category: News & Media Reports
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/12/20/168740.html

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The nine were arrested when they attended a Falun Gong experience sharing conference in Beilu Village on August 1st, 2007. Also arrested was another practitioner, Hu Yanrong. He has already died as a result of torture. The Lingyuan City Public Security Bureau accepted no responsibility for his death. Mr. Liu Jincheng of Wanyuandian, Lingyuan City, was arrested at his home on August 10th, 2007. Authorities claimed he installed a satellite TV receiver for others. Ms. Dong Xiuqin, a teacher at Chaoyang Street Primary School, suffered severe torture at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. As a result, she experienced a mental breakdown requiring an extended recovery period after her release from the camp.

Lingyuan City court held a secret hearing for these nine practitioners without notifying their families. Some of the families found out about the hearings and applied for admission, but were turned away. Many staff of the public security bureau, the Procuratorate and the court and educational system were given admission to the proceedings. On the day of the hearing, the nine practitioners were handcuffed behind their backs as the police escorted them into the courtroom. They wore prisoners' uniforms, and the men's heads were shaved. Lingyuan City court maintained high security both inside and outside the courtroom and doors were locked. Vehicles were not allowed near the building and staff had to obtain signatures from anyone entering the courtroom, even from two police chiefs. Some practitioners' family members tried to gain admission to the court, but were denied entrance. Ms. Guo Fengxian's 80-year-old mother wanted to see her daughter, but was expelled.

Lingyuan City law enforcement agency staff who participated in the persecution and trial of these practitioners acted as if they were being threatened by an army. They took strict precautions against any claims that they may have caused the death of practitioner Hu Yanrong. They threatened to quickly cremate his body, fearing that his family might take this chance to "cause trouble."

Some of the tried practitioners hired lawyers, but not all of the lawyers attended the proceedings. Ms. Li Jingfang's lawyer received threats that his licence to practise law would be revoked if he appeared in court. He did not dare appear in court. Ms. Guo Fengxian's family received a call from someone claiming to be a staff person at the detention centre and they were told to hire a lawyer. The lawyer they retained was secretly controlled by the judicial bureau and politics and law committee. The authorities would not allow the lawyer to represent Ms. Guo, claiming he was not legally licensed to practise law.

The lawyer for Mr. Liu Jincheng appeared in court, but cooperated with the court. Mr. Ma Yanhua's attorney entered a plea of innocence for him and requested his release, however, the court still handed him over to the public security bureau and informed him he must wait three more days for a decision.

Lingyuan City Public Security Bureau:
Director General Zhang Lin: 86-421- 6883101 (Office), 86-421-2690000 (Home),
86-13304910001 (Mobile)
Deputy Director General Yang Minghui: 86-421-6883103, 86-421-6824813,
86-13904213390

Lingyuan National Protection Brigade:
Chief Wang Guilin: 86-421-6891665, 86-421-6851687, 86-13704917349
Deputy Chief Chen Zhi: 86-13842156895

Lingyuan City Court: 86-421-2316706, 86-421-2306708, 86-421-2316709
Chief Liu Wenxing: 86-421-2316701, 86-13504213089
Vice-Chief Bi Guoyi: 86-421-2316758, 86-421-6825882, 86-13704917494
Vice-Chief Qi Haishen: 86-421-2316768, 86-421-6891292, 86-13842109566

Lingyuan City No. 1 Detention Centre manager Liu Haijun: 86-421-6883215,
86-13500417589
Lingyuan City No. 2 Detention Centre manager Li Dongchun: 86-421-6901835,
86-13942176005

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/12/4/167705.html

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