Commentary on Current Issues

---The Voice of America reported on June 14 that during Chinese President Jiang's visit to Iceland, the Icelandic people held large-scale demonstrations over three days to protest the Chinese government's trampling of human rights and the Icelandic government's reactions, prohibiting Falun Gong practitioners from entering Iceland during his visit. According to a well-known human rights attorney in Iceland, Adel Stanson, passengers who were barred from entering Iceland were still discussing whether to file a lawsuit against the Icelandic airline in Icelandic courts regarding the airline's refusal to carry them.

---A Swedish news agency reported on June 13 that a Falun Gong practitioner heading for Iceland was forced to stay in Stockholm because of Chinese President's visit of Iceland. There were two Swedish Falun Gong practitioners currently in Iceland and they expressed their surprise that the government of a democratic country like Iceland would obey the Chinese President's orders to violate the freedoms of assembly and speech.

---On June 14, several human rights organizations in New York gathered in front of the Icelandic mission to UN in Manhattan in the rain. They protested the Icelandic government's use of a blacklist to deny the entry of Falun Gong practitioners who held the normally appropriate documentation and tickets. A representative from the Falun Dafa Information Center was invited to give a speech.

News From China

Examples of Retribution and Reward in China

Editors' Note: In both Western and Chinese culture, the principle of karmic retribution, that is, being held ultimately accountable for one's own actions, is widely accepted. The fundamental teaching of Falun Gong is the characteristic of the universe, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The universe will reward actions that are in harmony with this principle, while actions such as beating, torturing and murdering people will incur karmic retribution. Stated another way, good deeds will be rewarded with good, while evildoings will meet due retribution. Articles such as this one are meant as a compassionateáreminder of this principle to those who would commit wrongdoing. While many of those who persecute Falun Gong are merely "following orders," the universal law requires that they, too, be held responsible for their actions, and that only by reversing their course of wrongdoing may they escape retribution.

---Doctor Zhang Dezhi at the Baiyun Mental Rehabilitation Center in Guangzhou City said to Falun Gong practitioners, "To kill a human being here is as easy as killing an ant. If I document the cause of death as "illness," no investigation could find the true cause!" Zhang has received retribution. He was punished for obstructing an eyewitness account and was sentenced to one year in prison, with two years probation.

---Liu Handong, Huludao City's Police Department chief in Liaoning Province persecuted Dafa practitioners. In May 2002, Liu was arrested in Huludao City's International Market. According to insiders, Liu has committed crimes such as patronizing houses of prostitution as well as using and selling illegal drugs.

---A villager in Huludao City was gravely ill in bed with cirrhosis of the liver and another ailments. On his deathbed, Dafa practitioners clarified the truth to him. After he read Zhuan Falun, he understood the true meaning of life and he quickly regained his health. He used his own experience to tell fellow villagers about the magnificence of Dafa, and several people obtained the Fa because of him.

---The police in Dalian City, Liaoning Province fabricated false evidence to frame Dafa practitioner, Yang Chuanjun. On May 24, they arrested Yang and illegally detained him at the Yaojia Detention Center for over a month. Yang's wife, Dai Zhijuan was also arrested. After the unlawful imprisonment in the Yaojia Detention Center, Dai was sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. But because the camp refused to take her in, she was sent back to her local police station and was later released.

---My son has been illegally imprisoned three times for his belief in Falun Dafa. He had been held in a forced labor camp for over 15 months. Now, after more than 40 days of unlawful detention, he has once again been sentenced to a year in a forced labor camp. From the persecution that my son has encountered, I clearly see through the real face of the government and I have become clear about who is truly evil and who is pushing good people to the brink of death.

---I obtained the Fa in 1999. Through my 3-years of cultivation in the Fa-rectification period, I have obtained many understandings: One is savable only when he has righteous faith and righteous enlightenment. It is not enough for one to only step out the door, one has to step out of humanness! Not being able to step out of humanness, one will leave loopholes for the old forces to exploit and therefore suffer long-term tribulations. The Buddha Fa is boundless. We must have righteous thoughts. We need to get rid of any mentality of "waiting for" or "depending on" others. We should also send forth righteous thoughts at passersby to help them wake up as soon as possible.

---In 1985, I caught a cold after giving birth. I suddenly became a living "corpse" and I was unable to care for myself at all. That physical and mental torture was really beyond words. After listening to Teacher's 8-day lecture, I was drawn back from the verge of death. I started recovering from my chronic and stubborn illnesses that I suffered over years. My still limbs became softened and the pains were relieved. The tumor in my stomach disappeared. It is our honorable Teacher who saved my life. It is Dafa that gives me this new life.

Send Forth Pure and Determined Righteous Thoughts

---Practitioners have assembled at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, Canada all day long for the past ten days to send righteous thoughts. During this time, the weather has been very unpredictable. However, practitioners have not been affected by it. They persisted in arriving early in the morning and leaving late at night. At the very beginning, there was a lot of interference. As practitioners kept studying the Fa and doing the exercises, the interference gradually dissipated. At the same time, practitioners also realized that they must rise to the occasion with all they have, and eliminate the evil until the end.

---Sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, England: We had yet to finish our 10-minute sending forth righteous thoughts when two British policemen walked toward us asking why the Chinese national flag was flying half mast. We looked up and saw that the Chinese national flag had dropped nearly 2 meters. A 67-year-old Western practitioner saw there were many beautiful flowers in other dimensions, so she said, "It may be that practitioners who had been tortured to death are celebrating there."