Purpose of this document

There have been many reports of Chinese officials spreading hatred against, threatening, harassing, and assaulting Falun Gong practitioners in Canada; interfering with their peaceful, legitimate, and legal activities as Canadian citizens and residents; and pressuring officials, businesses, and communities to withdraw support or deny services or privileges to those who practise or support Falun Gong. These repeated incidents have become a deeply felt matter of personal security and national concern in Canada. This document provides a summary and partial list of these cases, presenting serious reason to believe that Chinese officials are stepping beyond their diplomatic duties to violate civil rights, laws, and sovereignty here in Canada. It is hoped that this information will serve to raise public awareness and alert Canadian authorities to stop these human rights abuses and protect Canada's sovereignty, values, and peaceful communities under the dignity of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Background

Falun Gong is a peaceful spiritual practice

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual practice. It consists of five gentle exercises, tranquil meditation, and moral teachings based on the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." Practitioners aspire to live by these values in their daily lives, attaining improved health and a state of inner peace over time. Falun Gong is practised by 100 million people in over 50 countries.
Widely practiced and praised in China after its introduction in 1992

Falun Gong was introduced in China by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992. Its benefits to public health and morals soon spread across the country, and it became widely awarded and supported by the government. Zhuan Falun, its main book, was a national bestseller in 1996. Parks and squares all over China, at every dawn and dusk, filled with people quietly practising the exercises in a serene atmosphere.
Outlawed by the dictatorship in 1999

Falun Gong practitioners numbered 70-100 million by 1998 in China, far exceeding the Communist Party membership. In July 1999, under the Chinese totalitarian regime, then-leader Jiang Zemin outlawed the practice and ordered a brutal nationwide suppression to eradicate it completely.
Brutal persecution and massive hate incitement affecting all corners of China and beyond

The persecution is based on a massive campaign of violence (torture), brainwashing, and hate propaganda. The malicious untruths and fabrications that incite hatred against Falun Gong, such as the staged self-immolation incident on Tiananmen Square in January 2001, not only lay the foundation to justify the suppression, they also deny and cover up the horrific tortures and killings taking place. It is estimated that the Chinese regime expends of China's financial resources to persecute Falun Gong. The persecution violates all 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has brought untold suffering to tens of millions of practitioners and their families in China and worldwide.
International support toward stopping the torture and killings

Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, is a four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and the practice itself has received numerous awards. Dozens of governments and human rights organizations have condemned the persecution, widely documenting its grave human rights abuses, and peaceful appeals have persevered worldwide. Attesting to the severity of this human crisis, currently over ten international lawsuits have been filed against Jiang and other leaders of the persecution for torture, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.
Chinese Officials' Violations of Civil Rights, Laws, and Sovereignty in Canada

1. Hate Propaganda and Hate Incitement in the Community and at the Chinese Embassy and Consulates

  • Chinese officials have held anti-Falun Gong events such as press conferences, video showings, and community meetings and forums at the Chinese embassy and consulates and in public locations.
  • On January 21, 2001, the Toronto Chinese consulate's Consul General was the primary speaker at a public hate rally held in Chinatown. Falun Gong practitioners' legal counsel said, "This incitement of hatred by the Chinese government to have Canadian-Chinese citizens condemn another group of Canadians from exercising their constitutional rights in Canada is not only contrary to international law, but contrary to the criminal laws of Canada and the Canadian Charter of Rights."
  • In 2001, at a Calgary City Hall photo exhibit entitled A Review of Chinese History in the Last Century, practitioners found defamatory materials from the Chinese consulate.
  • In May 2002, at a Falun Gong presentation to the City Council of North Vancouver, it was found that each councillor had a package of anti-Falun Gong materials in front of them.
  • Hate-inciting materials continue to be displayed and distributed at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa and at the Chinese consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.
  • Recent reports in 2003 suggest that the Chinese embassy and consulates have broadly distributed anti-Falun Gong materials to the media, universities, schools, libraries, and stores, etc. across Canada.

2. Hate Propaganda and Hate Incitement in the Media

  • In September 2000, the Calgary Chinese consulate placed an ad in the Chinese News Times newspaper in Edmonton reiterating the hate propaganda of the Chinese regime.
  • On September 20, 2001, Sing Tao Daily, a Canada-wide Chinese newspaper, published an article insinuating that Falun Gong practitioners were terrorists and describing Falun Gong as "anti-science, anti-society, anti-humanity" and "evil." The article was one in a series of at least 19 defamatory articles published in Sing Tao over a span of approximately one year, including an article submitted by the Toronto Chinese Consulate.
  • Les Presses Chinoises, a Chinese language newspaper in Montreal, has continued to publish defamatory advertisements and articles against Falun Gong.
  • In 2002, Ottawa Life Magazine published an article about China that quoted defamatory remarks against Falun Gong by Chinese Ambassador Mei Ping.
  • In May 2003, Pan Xinchun, Deputy Consul General of the Toronto Chinese consulate, defamed Falun Gong as a "sinister cult" in a letter to the editor of the Toronto Star.
  • In June 2003, Chinese embassy press officer Cai Wei wrote a letter to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper repeating anti-Falun Gong rhetoric.
  • The Chinese embassy's web site, www.chinaembassycanada.org, continues to post hate-inciting misinformation against Falun Gong.

3. Blacklisting, Phone Tapping, Threats, and Intimidation

  • A 60-year-old practitioner showed a Chinese man the Falun Gong exercises one day in Mississauga. The next day he called her and said, "Please be careful. You are on a Chinese government blacklist, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to such a nice lady."
  • In 2001, while a Calgary practitioner was on a trip to Vancouver to pursue a career opportunity, his associate was threatened and warned by a stranger not to hire him because he was on a Chinese spy agency blacklist. No one knew of his trip. The only explanation was that his phone was tapped.
  • After three practitioners attended a dinner in honour of Chinese Ambassador Mei Ping, at which they spoke to the host about Falun Gong, one of the practitioners received a threatening phone call from someone claiming to be a journalist of Xinhua, the official news agency of the Chinese government. He said, "I will report to the Chinese government about what you said and publish it in the newspaper... You think the Chinese government is wrong. I hope you take care of yourself."
  • Other threats that Falun Gong practitioners have received by phone include: "Do not publicize China's persecution of Falun Gong. Otherwise, you should consider your own personal situation," and "Watch yourself if you continue to practise Falun Gong."
  • Practitioners appealing in front of the Chinese embassy and consulates have reported being videotaped by Chinese officials.
  • In 2003, while at the Chinese embassy for some paperwork, a practitioner was told by a staff member that the embassy has a list of and knows the situation of all Falun Gong practitioners in Ottawa.

4. Harassment and Assault

  • In July 2000, when a practitioner was distributing newspapers about Falun Gong in Chinatown, she was harassed and threatened by several people.
  • On July 1, 2001, a 61-year-old practitioner was body-checked and manhandled by Chinese men in Chinatown as she walked by a parade wearing a Falun Gong T-shirt.
  • In August 2001, Chinese Appeals Office officials visited Toronto to set up an appeal office for Chinese Canadians, announcing that "No Falun Gong practitioners are allowed to appeal." When a practitioner asked for the reason, she was rushed by two men and dragged to the ground.
  • In the summer of 2001, Toronto Chinese consulate officials programmed their sprinklers to soak practitioners appealing against the persecution, claiming they could not reprogram the sprinklers.
  • In December 2001, the Chinese embassy hosted a New Year's party that was in fact an anti-Falun Gong exhibit, inviting over 300 Chinese community members. One of the guests, a Falun Gong practitioner, took a picture of the display and was forced into a room and beaten by embassy staff.

5. Pressuring Canadian Government Officials to Deny/Withdraw Support or Curb Activities

  • Many officials have received anti-Falun Gong materials. Recently it was reported that MPs and MPPs in Ontario have received a new round of such materials, in the form of a glossy magazine called Poppies of Modern Society: Stories of Falun Gong.
  • In February 2000, MP Mr. Rob Anders was assaulted for his support of Falun Gong. "Staff members of the People's Republic physically assaulted me in the House of Commons..." "There have been serious breaches in diplomatic protocol..."
  • After the city councils of Vancouver, Port Moody, and Coquitlam either sent a greeting letter or issued a proclamation for Falun Dafa Day, July 20, 2000, their mayors all received complaints, pressure, and defamatory materials from the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver.
  • In August 2000, the Chinese ambassador wrote to MPs and other government officials who issued letters congratulating or supporting Falun Gong, requesting them to "refrain from supporting Falun Gong's activities [in Canada]." MP Mr. Gordon Earle replied: "As Multiculturalism Spokesperson of the federal NDP I stand by my letter... Once again I am proud to extend greetings on behalf of the New Democratic Party of Canada to all who celebrate Falun Dafa Week."
  • On May 22, 2001, Mayor Andy Wells of St. John's, Newfoundland, received a letter from the Chinese Ambassador denouncing Falun Gong. Mayor Wells replied: "... I was pleased to receive representatives from Falun Gong in our chambers during the month of May. Your persecution of this innocent group exemplifies your government's moral and ethical bankruptcy..."
  • In September 2001, five women left Toronto on an SOS Walk to Ottawa to rescue Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China and to deliver over 95,000 Canadian signatures of support. The Chinese Consul General in Toronto wrote to the Mayor of Brighton to defame Falun Gong and to ask him not to support the practitioners' efforts. The Mayor was later quoted by the Independent as saying, "We want to believe we live in a free world but sometimes that's not the case."
  • One method of reprisal used by the Chinese embassy and consulates against officials who express support for Falun Gong is to deny their visa applications for travel to China.
  • Ottawa's city council has received pressure and hate-inciting materials from the Chinese embassy. In November 2001, Ottawa's Permit Office received a complaint that led them to ask practitioners to remove their banners from the fence across the street from the embassy due to a signage bylaw. They had been using the fence in the same manner since July 1999. At the appeal hearing in January 2002, Albert Tung, in the name of the "Federation of Ottawa-Carleton Chinese Communities," responded affirmatively when asked whether he would prefer that the practitioners not be issued a permit at all at that location. In the end the City granted a bylaw exemption to the practitioners.

6. Discrimination and Pressure on Canadian Media and Organizations to Deny Privileges or Services

  • After the persecution began in July 1999, most Chinese-Canadian newspapers no longer accepted articles from Falun Gong practitioners for publication.
  • In Toronto, pressure and involvement from the Chinese consulate have caused the cancellation of practitioners' participation in several community events.
  • In May 2000, the Mingbao Chinese newspaper in Toronto cancelled a signed contract to publish a May 13 World Falun Dafa Day advertisement. No explanation was given.
  • In August 2000, Montreal practitioners' application to hold an exhibit at Complexe Guy-Favreau was denied, even though similar Falun Dafa exhibits had been held there several times before. The reasons given included involvement from the Chinese embassy and diplomatic concerns with China.
  • In August and September 2000, Chinese embassy officials interfered with the plans of local Chinese newspaper Ottawa Weekend to host two cultural galas involving visiting performing arts groups from China. Ottawa Weekend had previously published articles about Falun Gong and the persecution.
  • The representatives of the CUPE, CAW, and TWU unions in Vancouver all received pressure and defamatory materials after issuing letters to support Falun Gong.
  • CKNW radio reporter Ms. Melanie Nagy received hate-inciting materials from the Vancouver Chinese consulate after requesting their comment on a segment she had done on Falun Gong.
  • In December 2001, the Ottawa Chinese Seniors Association cancelled the membership of a 70-year-old practitioner because she was a Falun Gong practitioner.
  • In August 2002 at the Ottawa School of Art, a Chinese artist recently arrived from China refused to participate in a two-artist exhibition with a long-time teacher at the school, who was a Falun Gong practitioner, because the Chinese artist had friends in the Chinese embassy and relatives in China.

7. Blacklisting and Interference with Canadian Falun Gong Practitioners' Travel to Other Countries

  • In February 2000, a Vancouver practitioner was interrogated, followed, and threatened by Chinese officials during her business trip to China on a Sino-Canadian bilateral project. Her application to renew her passport was later denied in May 2000.
  • In August 2000, a Montreal practitioner was requested by a clerk at the Chinese embassy to denounce Falun Gong in order to renew his passport. When he refused, the clerk confiscated his passport, claiming that it was Chinese government property.
  • Several Canadian citizen Falun Gong practitioners have had their applications for visas to travel to China refused by the Chinese embassy and consulates with no legitimate reason given.
  • Three Montreal practitioners were detained during their separate trips to China. One was deported, and another was threatened that he would be sent to a labour camp and his relatives would all lose their jobs if he did not renounce Falun Gong.
  • In April 2001, the Chinese embassy cancelled a Montreal practitioner's passport. An embassy official told him, "The passport cannot be renewed because you practice Falun Gong. You have to submit a letter renouncing Falun Gong in order for your passport renewal request to be considered."
  • In May 2001, Hong Kong denied entry to a Canadian because she was a Falun Gong practitioner.
  • Canadian Prof. Kunlun Zhang was imprisoned and tortured in China between July 2000 and January 2001 for his practice of Falun Gong. He was released January 2001 due to international help. MP Mr. Irwin Cotler said, "What we are witnessing today in China is the criminalization of innocence."
  • Between May and June 2001, Canadian resident Ms. Ying Zhu was detained and mentally tortured for 30 days in China when she travelled there to visit her family.
  • Travelling to Iceland in June 2002 to take part in a peaceful appeal for Falun Gong during the visit of China's former leader Jiang Zemin, 25 practitioners from Canada found their names on a blacklist and had their carriage to Iceland denied at several international airports. Eleven who had earlier arrived in Iceland were detained for over 18 hours and required to sign a declaration as a condition of entry into Iceland. These practitioners were among over 200 from at least 10 countries affected by the blacklist. Icelandic media, citizens, and human and civil rights groups broadly denounced the blacklist, pointing out that the discrimination it bred violated Iceland's own constitution.

8. Theft and Damage to Property

  • In July 2001, an Ottawa practitioner held a 300-hour round-the-clock appeal in front of the Chinese embassy. His banners and signs were all torn down as he slept one night.
  • In July 2002, the house of a Montreal practitioner was broken into, and his briefcase and his wife's handbag were stolen. He is one of the petitioners in a lawsuit against Les Presses Chinoises, a Montreal Chinese newspaper that has been publishing anti-Falun Gong articles since 2001.
  • Early in 2002, a practitioner looking after collecting lawsuit fees from the petitioners of the Montreal lawsuit had her home broken into and the money stolen.

9. Internet Interference

  • In 1999, the server hosting the www.falundafa.ca web site experienced increasing problems with slowness and down time. The same situation occurred to a mirror site created to maintain availability. The source was traced to an IP address in China that was sending a flood of invalid requests to use up all system resources. An AP reporter discovered that the IP belonged to the Public Security Bureau in China. The attacks stopped after the AP story was widely publicized.
  • On April 11, 2000, all major Falun Dafa web sites in North America were brought down by an attack method called "Smurf."
  • On April 25, 2000, the e-mail accounts of some practitioners in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal were paralyzed by an e-mail storm, receiving several dozen messages per minute. For example, one practitioner received 2,463 messages from two Chinese addresses.
  • Falun Gong practitioners' email accounts frequently receive e-mails containing viruses. The sender is often shown to be another practitioner who did not in fact send the message.

Conclusion

This document presents only a partial list of Chinese officials' systematic activities in extending the persecution of Falun Gong into Canada. These activities not only violate the rights and freedoms of Falun Gong practitioners, but also incite hatred in our communities and pressure Canadians into also participating in the persecution, threatening the values and integrity of Canadian society and the rights of Canadian officials and citizens. Similar happenings in the U.S. have led to a U.S. Congress resolution in July 2002 that condemns the persecution of Falun Gong and calls for investigation into Chinese officials' illegal activities on U.S. soil.

The persecution of Falun Gong severely abuses innocent people as well as fundamental human principles, values as basic as truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Just as Canadian efforts have already freed ten practitioners with Canadian ties from illegal detention in China, an international coalition of lawyers has recently announced a coordinated effort to file more crimes against humanity lawsuits against former Chinese Chairman Jiang Zemin, the leading architect of the persecution.

This persecution and its spread of hate incitement and lawlessness have no place in Canada or elsewhere. In the hope that the good people of the world will intervene, we present this report to you, the good people of the world.

Prepared by Falun Gong practitioners in Canada

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Category: Perspectives