In the afternoon of July 20, 2000, Falun Gong practitioners held a Falun Dafa press conference in Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, in commemoration of the persecution by Chinese government since July 20, 1999. Mr. Mark Palmer, the vice-chairman of Freedom House and Mr. T Kumar, Amnesty International gave their speeches in the press Conference.
Speech of Mr. Mark Palmer, Vice-chairman of Freedom House
I'm Mark Palmer. I'm a former American Ambassador, and I'm also Vice-chairman of Freedom House, which is one of America's oldest human rights organizations. I think each era since the second World War, each decade, has been defined, and is identified with a peaceful, nonviolent movement. The 40's and early 50's clearly were defined in a significant way by Gandhi's movement in India, and by the tactics of Gandhism which is very similar to what Falun Gong is doing, and which, of course, had ultimately, after a very long struggle, a wonderful outcome. And the world's largest democracy today - India - is the world's largest democracy because of Ghandhi's movement, the Salt March, and the technique of nonviolent resistance.
In this country in the late 50's and the 60's,the civil rights movement, the movement of Martin Luther King, also defined an era. Certainly for this country it defined our emergence, finally the beginning of real equality in this country. I was in that movement, I was a member of the student non-violent coordinating committee. I was a small soldier in the south. I was beaten and spit upon, and therefore I certainly feel very much what we've seen in this film, what I went through and what other members of the American Civil Rights movement went through was very minor, I think, in comparison to what the Falun Gong is going through. But, as somebody who has been through that process myself, I want to say that I have immense admiration and respect for this process. And there again, there was success ultimately. The American Civil Rights movement, of course, worked. We still have problems, but at least in a sense it led to a breakthrough in this country.
The next movement of a somewhat similar nature is of course Solidarity in Eastern Europe, specifically in Poland, another non-violent movement which emerged in the 70's and 80's, defined that era, and ultimately led to freedom for very many countries. I was in that period, in 1986 to 1990, the American ambassador in Hungary, and I witnessed the process of young Hungarians, East Germans, young Poles, young Russians, young Czechs, doing many of these same things - demonstrating peacefully in a nonviolent manner, and ultimately, through their spiritual strength and courage and vision, bringing about a revolution, a peaceful revolution, for 400 million people - a small number by comparison with China, but nonetheless a very significant democratic process - a bringing of tolerance and diversity to these countries and these cultures. I want to say in all seriousness that I believe your movement, the Falun Gong, is the movement which will define our time, at the beginning of the 21st century. I think that when people look back, they will say: "Oh yes, there was Gandhi, there was the American Civil Rights movement, there was Solidarity, and then there was the Falun Gong. There was a movement that came out China that defined its era, and ultimately it was successful."
My parents, my mother and father, were married in Shanghai. My sister was born in Qindao. I've always felt very close to China and the Chinese people. I grew up in a house full of Chinese things. I deeply believe that these thousands and thousands of years of tradition that Falun Gong represents is unshakable, and therefore I believe deeply that you will succeed. And I look forward to going over to the Chinese Embassy this afternoon and joining with all of you there. Thank you, and any help I can be, I want to be.
Speech of Mr. T. Kumar, Amnesty International
My name is T. Kumar from Amnesty International. First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting us to take part in this excellent documentary, as an educational material to the American public as well as the international community at large. As a human rights organization, we were appalled and taken aback when we got reliable information from China that people who practice Falun Gong exercises have been rounded up, tortured and imprisoned without any due process. As most of you are aware, we are not allowed to go into China to document abuses, so we were able to get some information from the members who left China and from other reliable sources to find out what happened. One thing that surprised us was why the Chinese government is so scared of this movement. This movement is not a political movement. This movement is not there to overthrow the government. As a matter of fact, Gail Rachlin even gave an open invitation to the Chinese government to have a dialogue with them to understand each other so they can move forward. This is primarily average citizens of China who are exercising their fundamental rights. As a human rights organization, we did not document even one single incident where a Falun Gong member has hurt even an average citizen in their practices. They've never done any harm to other people, so why do you round up these people and imprison them?
As the previous speakers mentioned, it's time the Chinese government opened up, take this as an issue that is fundamental to their country at large, and move forward with dignity. In that sense, as a human rights organization, we are demanding and urging the Chinese government to release all the prisoners who are imprisoned for the practice of Falun Gong. Already we have documented at least 20 Falun Gong members who were killed in custody. No independent inquiry has taken place for those killings. More tortures, more threats, more arrests are continuing even after today; that is almost a year now. So as a human rights organization, we are demanding that all these people be released, and we will stand by you all during these difficult times. Thank you very much.
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Category: Voices of Support Worldwide
