(Clearwisdom.net)
This article summarizes the following stories from the recent nationwide Car Tour:
- City councilor in Wilmington Delaware: Falun Gong's tribulation is everyone's tribulation (Photos)
- "Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" arrives in Media, Pennsylvania, the mayor participates in the rally to show support (Photos)
- "Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" arrives in Baltimore, Maryland (Photos)
- "Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" Episode II: Righteous and kind media staff (Photos)
City Councilor in Wilmington Delaware: Falun Gong's tribulations is everyone's tribulations
After traveling for 28 days, the "Car Tour Around the US to Rescue
Charles Li" that set out from California arrived at Rodney Square in
Wilmington, Delaware at noon on September 10, 2003. Wilmington City Councilor
Theopalis Gregory hosted the press conference, calling for the rescue of
American citizen Charles Li who has been sentenced to three years of
imprisonment for practicing Falun Gong.
Wilmington City Councilor Theopalis Gregory hosts the
press conference
Wilmington TV station comes to cover the activity
Falun Gong practitioners practice the exercises
Two Falun Dafa banners are hung on the mast at Rodney
Square in Wilmington
Local people looking at Dafa truth-clarifying
materials
Mr. Chen Gang is being interviewed with a reporter
from TV station
Councilor Gregory said, "On the 40th anniversary of Washington's March that strove for the Black people's freedom, we support your efforts for freedom that have made tremendous changes to your current plight. We hope to help you walk out of the tribulations. Your tribulations are not only Falun Gong's tribulations, but everyone's tribulations. I believe that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Councilor Gregory went on to say that the focus of the American constitution is freedom and tolerance. To emphasize the freedom, the constitution has been amended for several times. The amendments further protect and strengthen people's freedom of speech, freedom of publication and the right to peacefully assembly to appeal to the government for redressing an injustice. There can be no brutal and inhuman punishment, no deprivation of life, freedom or property without going through due legal procedure.
Councilor Gregory also read the resolution from Wilmington City Council to support Falun Gong: "Chinese Falun Gong practitioners' human rights should be supported, the persecution should be stopped, and people who are illegally detained should be released."
The practitioners also read letters from Delaware State House of Representatives spokesman Terry Spence, and Newcastle City Council member Karen Venezky; State Senator David Sokola's letter to Secretary of the US State Department Colin Powell and American Ambassador Clasrk Randt to call for the release of American citizen Charles Li.
A local resident Shirley Blier who passed by said the thought of not being able to freely practice the exercises in China made her feel terrible.
One member of the Car Tour, 68-year-old Mr. Yangqing, left China in August 2001. Before leaving China, he was under surveillance. A police car stopped downstairs to monitor him, a bug was installed outside his door. His brother who is a police officer told him, "We don't have money for handling criminal cases, but we have special funds for Falun Gong cases."
Mr. Yangqing said, "My family is the biggest beneficiary of Falun Gong. My wife had a blood disease and she could die anytime. She could not find a cure to it for 15 years, but less than six months after she practiced Falun Gong, the symptoms completely disappeared. Beneficiaries like my family are more than hundreds and thousands of people in China."
Jiang was charged with eight crimes including genocide during his visit to Chicago last October. Mr. Yangqing said, "Suing Jiang is a delightful thing. More than 100 million people in China are subjected to the persecution, and he controls the media. People have no way to make their voice heard. Outside China, there is such an opportunity to sue him via legal means."
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The "Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" arrives in Media, the mayor of a neighboring city attends the rally to show support (Photos)
On September 10, 2003, one day prior to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the
"Car Tour Around the US to rescue Charles Li" arrived in Media, the
county seat of Delaware County in the suburb of Philadelphia, after holding
activities in Camden in South New Jersey, and Wilmington in Delaware. Together
with local Falun Gong practitioners, we held a rally and signature collection in
front of the County's Court Building, calling for rescuing American citizen
Charles Li who has been imprisoned in a Chinese jail for practicing Falun Gong
and spreading the truth about Falun Gong.
Journalist and freelance Mr. Matt Hasson from Delaware County Daily News
especially came to conduct interviews. Mr. Hasson once obtained the Canada's Molson Prize for Journalism in Sport and Leisure for reporting on Falun Gong. The report
has been translated in differentlanguages and published in the newspaper Metro International. Several local newspapers had leaned about the Car Tour would stop in
Media and showed great interests, they expressed that they would like to
republish Mr. Hasson's article.
Matt said to Falun Gong practitioners, "The article will be very
forceful. Last time when I reported on Falun Gong, I interviewed Chen Gang's
family in South New Jersey, at that time his family members were worried about
Chen Gang who were suffering persecution in China. Now, I can photograph Chen
Gang with a tie and standing in front of the banner for rescuing Charles Li,
this is very impressive."
During the press conference, one practitioner surprisingly found that the
mayor of another city of Delaware County arrived after driving for 30
minutes. He said that he usually arranged things one month ahead of schedule,
but today, he especially adjusted his busy schedule to come here, just wanted to
tell Falun Gong practitioners, "I support you."
Mayor Shay attentively listened to the press conference, and asked about the
latest progress of Falun Gong. He finally reminded us, "You must come to my
office, telling me the latest news about Falun Gong." Mayor Shay began to
get to know Falun Gong after listening to a resident and Falun Gong practitioner
in his precinct introducing about the persecution of Falun Gong in China at a
city council. After that, he once issued a proclamation to Falun Dafa before
going to have an operation. He paid special attention to reports about Falun
Dafa in the media, and once clipped the reports from the newspaper and mailed to
a practitioner. This time we saw Mayor Shay being very energetic and healthy,
quite different from we saw him last time. We were happy for him. People who
support Falun Dafa will be blessed.
"Car Tour Around the US to Rescue Charles Li" arrives in Baltimore
(Photos)
"Car Tour to rescue Charles Li" and "Car Tour to rescue Falun
Gong practitioners' families" arrived in Baltimore on September 12, 2003,
and held a press conference in front of Baltimore City Hall at 2:20 p.m.
Charles Li's fiancé áMiss Yeong-ching Foo told of the persecution of Charles
Li in jail: beatings, sleep deprivation, forced brainwashing, forcing to
renounce his belief in Falun Dafa, as well as the process of Charles Li's hunger
strike and force-feeding. Yeong-ching Foo called upon more people to help
Charles Li return to America soon.
The practitioners demonstrated the exercises during and after the press
conference in rain. Many passersby were surprised to hear that American citizen
and Falun Gong practitioner Charles Li is being imprisoned in China. Many people
signed their names to support our appeal. They were also glad to accept our Dafa
truth-clarifying flyers.
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"Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li" episode II: Righteous and kind
newspaper agency staff (Photo)
On September 10, the south branch of the "Car Tour to Rescue Charles
Li" arrived in front of the Government Plaza in Shreveport in north
Louisiana to hold a press conference. Two local TV stations KSLA CBS 12 and KTBS
ABC 3 came to cover the activity.
From officers working in the city government, we learned that the local
newspaper The Times published an article about the car tour that day,
introducing about American citizen Charles Li who is suffering physical and
mental torture in a Chinese jail for exposing Jiang regime's human rights
violation against Falun Gong practitioners. The article also foretold about the
signature collection activity in front fo the Government Plaza in Shreveport at
10:00 a.m. that day for helping rescue Charles Li. So many local people learned
about the news. A Western woman came out of the government building and signed
her name on the petition on her own initiative. Another Western man made a phone
call to express his support for the rescue of Charles Li.
In order to let the newspaper staff learn more about the persecution of Falun
Gong, we decided to visit editors of the newspaper.
At the front desk, a lady named Mattie received us. After learning our
purpose of visit and checking with the editors, she replied us that all editors
were busy, and no one could meet us. We asked her to pass the information
package we had prepared to the related editor, and we also showed her all the
materials one by one in the package. At the beginning, she politely said
"OK" while receiving each piece of material. But gradually we found
she became more and more serious, her eyebrow gradually frowned, and then she
turned about and walked inside to the editor's office. She went to find editors
for us. From her expression and action, I saw sympathy, righteousness and
conscience awakened in her heart.
She found a person in charge who arranged us to meet a related editor. Though
due to various reasons, we didn't meet that editor, from Ms Mattie's action, we
saw American people's kindness and righteousness, and also their sympathy and
support for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and their condemnation
of evil persecution.
To express our gratitude for Mattie's support and asked to have a photo take
with her. She was very happy. We left her email address, and mailed the photo to
her. (The second in the right in the photo is Mattie.)
Mayor Shay (in the center) has a photo taken
with local practitioners
Freelance Matt Hyson who won award for
reporting on Falun Gong interviews Chen Gang
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Category: Rallies & Protests
