News and Events from Around the World

• Falun Gong Practitioners Announce Initiation of Criminal Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin in Sweden
• A Thousand Falun Gong Practitioners Rally in Manhattan, New York City, to Raise Awareness of the Persecution
• Los Angeles: Falun Gong Wins Three Prizes at Korea Town Festival
• The U.S. Department of State's Sixth Annual Report on International Religious Freedom Condemns the Violations of Citizen's Religious Liberty in ChinaFalun Gong Practitioners Expose the Persecution during the 59^th United Nations Summit

• Canada: Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan Writes to Falun Gong Practitioner Concerning the Persecution in China
• Korea's Cheonan City Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution to Urge Release of Falun Gong Practitioner Gao Chengnu
• Canada: Member of Parliament Libby Davis Writes to Prime Minster and Other Ministers Concerning the Violation of Human Rights in China and the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners
• Dutch Member of the PVDA Party Bert Koenders Expresses His Concern about the Safety of Dutch and Foreign Falun Gong Practitioners
• Canada: Member of Parliament Rahim Jaffer Writes to Falun Gong Practitioner Concerning the Drive-by Shooting of Falun Gong Practitioners in South Africa

• China: Twenty-Three Falun Gong Practitioners Verified Being Tortured to Death in August 2004
• The Persecution Methods I Experienced in Heizuizi Jail and Labor Camp, Jilin Province, China
• Huge Profits Made Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City, China
• Forced Labor Camp Intensify the Persecution during Jiang's Visit in Huludao City
• An Eyewitness Account of Slave Labor and Deplorable Conditions at Female Prison, Shandong Province, China

• France: Newspaper,"L'Union en Ligne," Reports on Falun Dafa: The Method of Relaxing Body and Mind from China
• Hornsby Advocate (Australia): For A Young Falun Gong Follower, A Trip To China Is Beyond Belief
• New York Times Reports on Falun Gong Practitioners' Activities in Manhattan
• The Eureka Reporter (California) Story on the Practice of Falun Gong [Excerpt]
• Spain Europa Press: Jia Qinglin Is Sued in Spain

• A Traditional Chinese Medical Doctor's Testimony: Falun Dafa Cured Illnesses That Had Tormented Me for Decades
• A Teenage Thanks Falun Gong for Saving Him from a Fatal Illness

• Anecdotes about Failed Anti-Falun Gong Signature Drives in China
• New Yorkers Speak Out Against the Persecution

On Tuesday the 21st of September 2004, Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden held a press conference to announce the initiation of a criminal lawsuit against former Chinese president Jiang Zemin for murder, torture and abduction during the persecution of Falun Gong. Swedish MP and Member of the Swedish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Helena Bargholtz joined the press conference and gave a speech in support of the legal action. Meanwhile, practitioners staged an anti-torture exhibition to expose the brutality of the persecution. The date coincides with the United Nations International Day of Peace.

During the press conference, Swedish practitioners and their lawyer Peter Bergquist announced that criminal charges are being prepared at present in Sweden against the former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, and other perpetrators in the persecution of Falun Gong, for murder, torture and abduction.

Peter Bergquist said in his speech, "China is a nation without an independent judicial system and the nation faces a moral downslide in which human rights are often violated or sacrificed. Falun Gong is not a political movement, but is regarded as a threat by Jiang because Falun Gong had quickly outnumbered members of Chinese communist party. An even bigger threat to Jiang seems to be the practitioners' goodness and their belief in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Legal actions are ongoing everywhere around the world against the main perpetrators in China and Sweden can also contribute. The perpetrators can and will be punished either in Sweden or elsewhere."

The Swedish MP and Member of the Swedish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Helena Bargholtz, who focuses especially on human rights issues in her work, gave a speech during the press conference. Ms Bargholtz concluded her speech with greetings and the following words, "I admire the courage of Falun Gong practitioners and especially the courage of those who are persecuted in China."

The anti-torture exhibition lasted the whole day and the press conference took place between 1pm and 2pm. Several members of the Swedish parliament had the opportunity to visit the anti-torture exhibition and many passers-by stopped to receive information about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. TV teams, newspaper reporters and a radio station were present during the press conference to cover the event and conduct interviews.

Several media came to interview practitioners, the lawyer and Ms. Bargholtz.

During last two months, practitioners have been continuously clarifying truth to all circles of Manhattan about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China. On September 22, while the 59^th UN conference opened at its headquarter in New York, nearly one thousand practitioners rallied at UN Plaza. After a large group practice and a press conference, practitioners formed a "Great Wall of Courage" on the 3^rd avenue of Manhattan to further call upon people support to end the persecution.

At 10:30, a press conference to "Rescue children victimized by the persecution of Falun Gong" started.

Since Jiang Zemin launched the persecution in 1999, at least 1049 practitioners have been persecuted to death for appealing for justice for Falun Gong. Countless people have been illegally sent to labor camps, sentenced to prison terms, etc. Tens of thousands have been severely tortured for exposing the severity of the persecution. According to incomplete statistics, from July 1999 to September 2004, on average 17 practitioners died as a result of torture and abuse every month with about 51% female and 48% male (As a result of information being blocked, the gender of the remaining 1% have not been identified.) The average age of the victims were 45 years old and many of them were parents of young children who have now been orphaned and living without support.

The press conference called upon people to help rescue the children who are being fiercely persecuted in China either due to their parents or themselves practicing Falun Gong. Practitioner Jane Dai and her daugher Fadu shared their story: When Fadu was only 6 months old, her farther was killed as a result of torture for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, by authorities following Jiang's persecution policies. Since then, Fadu and her mother have traveled to 38 countries to expose the persecution. Practitioner Amy Lee was also persecuted in China and had been forced to separate from her daughter for two years. These true stories revealed how much suffering and damage the brutal persecution had brought to innocent practitioners.

Practitioner Xuefei Zhou, who was recently rescued to the U.S. from China, gave her personal testimony to the persecution that she had experienced in a labor camp. She also thanked Americans for rescuing her. Ms. Zhou's case and many others tell us that voices of justice indeed can help to restrain and eventually end the persecution.

Many reporters from various media asked the questions of why Jiang and his political followers view Falun Gong as a threat and why practitioners under persecution refuse to give up their belief.

Before the press conference ended, host Al Whitted emphasized again: Practitioners are neither against China nor the Chinese government, but only against this persecution.

A large-scale parade in celebration of the 31^st Korean Festival was held in Korea Town of Los Angeles on the afternoon of September 17, 2004. The Korean Festival is to promote harmony between ethnic groups and Korean culture. It encourages communication and exchange between ethnic groups, and improves mutual understanding of nearby communities. The theme of this year's celebration is multiculturalism and unity. One hundred thousand Korean Americans live in Los Angeles with most of them in Korea Town. There are also African American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islanders living close to Korea Town.

This is the first year that Falun Gong practitioners in Los Angeles have participated in the Korean Festival. A banner saying "Falun Dafa -- Ancient Practice for Mind and Body" headed the procession. Falun Gong practitioners' beautiful dance, traditional waist-drum playing, and elegantly decorated float won waves of warm applause. Falun Gong practitioners won first prize for the parade procession, the first prize for float, and the third prize for waist-drum playing.

This parade has given people in Korea Town a good chance to know the beauty of Falun Dafa. Parade spectators received truth-clarification materials and learned about Falun Dafa with great enthusiasm.

On Wednesday, September 15, the U.S. Department of State issued its sixth annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Country by country, this report documents the conditions of religious freedom around the world. Because of its persecution of Falun Gong and other religious groups, China is once again identified what the U.S. Department of States refers to as Countries of Particular Concern, governments that engage in or tolerate gross infringements of religious freedom. Besides China, four countries including Burma, Iran, North Korea and Sudan have been re-designated in a list for continuing to violate their citizens' religious liberty.

According to Radio Free Asia's report on September 15, the U.S. Department of State's Report on International Religious Freedom includes 192 individual countries and areas on the status of religious freedom. The China section of the report contains more than 40 pages.

The U.S. State Department's report pointed out that although the Chinese Constitution provides for freedom of religious belief and the freedom not to believe; however, the Government seeks to control the growth and scope of activities of religious groups. The Government's respect for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience remained poor, especially for many unregistered religious groups and spiritual movements such as the Falun Gong. Unregistered religious groups continued to experience varying degrees of official interference and harassment. Members of some unregistered religious groups were subjected to restrictions, including intimidation, harassment, and detention.

The report stated, "The Government continued its repression of groups that it categorized as 'cults' in general and of the Falun Gong in particular. The arrest, detention, and imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners continued. Practitioners who refuse to recant their beliefs are sometimes subjected to harsh treatment in prisons and reeducation-through-labor camps and there have been credible reports of deaths due to torture and abuse. Christian-based groups that the Government considered cults were subjected to increased government scrutiny during the period covered by this report."

The Report on International Religious Freedom stated that religious freedom is a universal value, and almost all of the world's nations have signed one or more international agreements committing them to respect individual freedom of thought, conscience and belief. The report pointed out that religious liberty is the first freedom of the human soul and we continue to strive, at home and abroad, to uphold religious freedom as the universal right that it is.

During the 59^th United Nations Summit from September 20 to 24, 2004, in order to allow leaders and representatives from different countries to learn about Falun Gong and the ongoing persecution in China, Falun Gong practitioners from across the world gathered in New York and peacefully explained the facts about Falun Gong to people.

A practitioner talked to a Christian and told him that many people in China were killed simply because they believed in Falun Gong. The practitioner hoped that he would convey the message to his fellow Christians in his church and asked them to help pray for Falun Gong practitioners and pray for an end to the persecution. He answered, "Thank you, I will."

The practitioner brought him over to a look at a group of posters and related the plight of Ms. Jane Dai's family, whose husband was tortured to death in China because of his belief. Upon listening to the story, the man's eyes were full of tears. He said, "I will definitely pray for you all."

Close to Wall Street, a female staff member from Chase Bank read practitioners' truth-clarifying posters. A practitioner went up and told her that in China, many practitioners of Falun Gong had been tortured to death. The woman was astonished and said, "How come I did not know that! How come all the official news out of China only talks about good things?" The practitioner told her that in order to attract foreign investments, a few people in the Chinese government always control the media, so that the outside world cannot learn about the true situation, especially the facts about the human rights violations against millions of Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioner went on to explain that many toys and other products were manufactured by Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned in China's forced labor camps, without pay. Those products are exported to other countries including the U.S.

After listening to the explanation, the woman clearly expressed her wish for the persecution to end. She also signed the petition prepared by practitioners calling for an end to the persecution.

After viewing the truth-clarifying posters and the live torture re-enactment, a man who works on Wall Street asked whether these were actually happening in today's China. A practitioner answered "yes," and told him that the persecution and these tortures are currently going on in China and that what was being demonstrated was only a tiny part of the true situation.

The gentleman said that many American companies invest in China. Why would they continue to invest after they learned about the truth? The practitioner said, "Because there are still many people not aware of the persecution in China, against those who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. We believe when people are all aware of the truth, they will then make the right judgment."

Upon learning about the truth, many New Yorkers wanted to donate some money to help. Some people asked what they could provide to help practitioners. Some asked, "You only asked us to tell the facts to our relatives, friends and to write letters to our Congressmen/Congresswomen, are these enough to help stop the persecution?" Practitioners said, "If one did something wrong, or if he killed another person, what he fears most was to let other people know about it. If people from all over the world are all aware that it was jiang Zemin who initiated the persecution, the persecution would be stopped." Hearing that, passers-by said, "Now I get it and I will tell my friends about this."

A passer-by said, "Falun Gong meditation is so peaceful. I don't understand why China (Jiang's faction) would treat you this way!" A practitioner told her that people practice Falun Gong to improve their health and become good people by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Many people felt good about the practice and wished to learn and practice Falun Gong, which was introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi. However, out of his jealousy, the then-Chinese leader, Jiang could not tolerate it. He then abused his power and started this brutal campaign to suppress Falun Gong. At least 1,000 practitioners have died from the persecution.

When a Westerner signed the petition, this reporter went up to ask him why he signed it. He said, "The persecution is wrong, because it is not right for people to suffer the torture simply because of their practice. That is absolutely wrong. I think Falun Gong is a kind of art." He said that people should be righteous and that people should live together in a harmonious way.

He felt the peaceful field when practitioners practiced the exercises. Then he and his friends followed along with the practitioners and learned the movements.

More and more New Yorkers are awakening. Under the situation that more and more evil factors are being cleared away, and there are fewer and fewer evil factors left, people's knowing sides are becoming more and more clear. A New Yorker picked up a flyer on the ground and read it while walking. The scene touched practitioners. Previously, it was practitioners who picked up flyers thrown on the ground, and now passers-by are doing so too. People are awakening and they are longing to learn about the facts.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada

Ottawa, Canada

September 02 2004

Thank you for your recent correspondence concerning Falun Gong practitioners in South Africa.

Canada remains deeply concerned about ongoing reports of the suppression of freedom of expression and spiritual practice in China, including Falun Gong. Canada consistently raises the human rights concerns of many Canadians during regular dialogues with Chinese leaders at all levels.

Canada registers its concerns about China's human rights record in annual public statements, including those made at the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The most recent Canadian statement, delivered in Geneva on March 25, 2004, made specific mentions of the persistent scale and scope of restrictions on freedom of expression, association, religion and spiritual beliefs, which reflects concerns about the treatment of both spiritual groups such as the Falun Gong and minority groups in Tibet and XinJiang.

Canada engages China on human rights issues through a dialogue process, including the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), where the Chinese government is urged to respect rights such as freedom of expression. At the seventh meeting of the JCHR in October 2003 in Ottawa, Canada raised a number of key human rights concerns, including the plight of Falun Gong practitioners, with Chinese authorities.

Please be assured that we will continue to make our views known to the Chinese authorities.

Thank you again for writing on this important issue.

Yours sincerely,

A. Anne McLellan

On September 13, 2004, the Cheonan City Senate unanimously passed a resolution to urge the Chinese authorities to unconditionally release Gao Chengnu, the wife of Korean citizen Guo Binghao, for a safe return to Korea. She is currently being held at the Jiamusi City Forced Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province.

Cheonan City senators said they completely understood the agony of Mr. Guo Binghao. The senate promised to take active measures to rescue Gao Chengnu on humanitarian grounds.

Cheonan City Senate planed, on September 14, 2004, to send the Chinese version of "Urge Release of Gao Chengnu Resolution" via priority mail to the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs for China, to the governor of Heilongjiang Province, the mayor of Jiamusi City and the head of the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp.

Concurrently, members of the "Rescue Gao Chengnu Committee" are actively collecting signatures to help ensure Gao Chengnu's release and safe return to Korea.

Chinese citizen Ms. Gao Chengnu, who is currently incarcerated in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was officially married in China to Mr. Guo Binghao, a resident of Cheonan City, Korea on May 18, 2003 under Chinese law.

In the process of applying for a passport and following her husband to Korea, Gao Chengnu was illegally arrested and detained by Chinese police for practicing Falun Gong. She is currently being held at the Jiamusi City Forced Labor Camp in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, where she is being tormented and mistreated under the persecution.

Her Korean husband, a kind-hearted young farmer named Guo Binghao petitioned the Cheonan City Senate for help.

The Cheonan City Senate filed a motion and conducted an investigation based on solely humanitarian grounds.

After an investigation, the Cheonan City Senate has reached the conclusion after that Gao Minghao's wife Gao Chengnu didn't commit any illegal acts and should not be detained.

Therefore, all members of the Cheonan City Senate have decided to strongly urge the Chinese authorities to unconditionally release Gao Chengnu based on humanitarian grounds and ensure her safe arrival in Korea.

September 13, 2004

Cheonan City Senate, Korea (seal)

Libby Davies, MP
Vancouver East

September 3, 2004

The Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minster

The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew
Minister of Foreign Affairs

The Honourable Judy Sgro
Minister of Citizenship & Immigration

Dear Prime Minister & Ministers,

I am writing on behalf of my constituent, Mr. Zhang Chunyu, whose mother and sister are being held by the Public Security Bureau of the People's Republic of China. (Please see attached email for background information).

Like many MPs, I continue to be very concerned about the violation of human rights in China and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

I have, along with other MPs, raised this issue with the Canadian government on many occasions, and urge you to express Canada's strong opposition to the violation of basic human rights in China.

You may recall the arrest and detention of two Canadians in China - Ying Zhu and Shenli Lin, both Falun Gong practitioners who were later released because of the strong intervention by human rights groups and government officials in Canada.

As a country that prides itself on its humanitarian record, I once again urge you to consider Mr. Chun-yu Zhang's call to help his mother Hui-zhen Yang and Chun-gang Zhang - to secure their release and safety.

Yours sincerely,

Libby Davies, MP
Vancouver East

I have read your letter with great interest and I have to say that I am truly shocked upon learning of what happened in South Africa. The Netherlands must do everything in his power to ensure the safety of Dutch and foreign Falun Gong practitioners at the coming top meeting. As a democratic country it should ensure everyone's rights.

We of the PVDA will watch closely to see if all of our national principles of our juridical system are being followed at all times. Any indication of the contrary will be a reason for us to investigate the issue and will in that event notify our cabinet at once.

In principle we rest assured that the AIVD and other relevant governmental organizations have made a just and realistic assessment of the possible risks prior and during the top meeting between the European Union and China. The AIVD claims to exclude any potential foreign involvement. So far safety has been ensured during the Dutch chairmanship in the European Union.

From a wider perspective PVDA is very concerned about the persistent violation of human rights in China. We have insisted numerous times to increase international pressure on China via international forums in an effort to enhance the human rights situation of practitioners of Falun Gong, as well as that of the Tibetan people. We think that the best way to achieve this effect is via orchestrated international sanctions and critique. It is a shame that many countries while clinging on to their economic interests fear to confront these inhumane situations. This has resulted that with regard to China's misbehavior, a clear international stance has yet to be concluded.

Now and in the future, we of the PVDA will not neglect our duty to help focus attention on the human rights situation in China and will insist the cabinet that it shall raise this issue in international meetings.

Sincerely yours,

Bert Koenders
Member of party of the PVDA

EDMONTON

September 17, 2004

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding recent reports of a drive-by shooting of Falun Gong practitioners in South Africa. Please forgive the delay in my response, but as you can appreciate the volume of mail received at my office does not always allow as prompt a response as I would wish.

Please be assured that your concerns are being strongly noted. The Conservative Party of Canada condemns human rights abuses under any regime as well as the continued violations of human rights that take place under the Chinese government.

I also appreciate the concerns you express regarding hate propaganda targeting Falun Gong by the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Canada. My colleagues and I in the Official Opposition continue to work hard on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners on issues such as this one. In the past I have written letters to our senior ministers as well as the Chinese government, identifying these abuses and calling for these violations to end. I have also taken the liberty of forwarding your concerns to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the government's consideration of your views.

Thank you again for your correspondence and please be assured that the Conservative Party of Canada will continue to speak out against human rights violations and strongly condemn all acts of terror.

Sincerely,

Rahim Jaffer, MP

Edmonton-Strathcona

In August 2004, it was verified that another twenty-three Falun Gong practitioner were tortured to death in China. These messages are from trustworthy people in the country. Thus, the total number of verified death by torture cases concerning Falun Gong practitioners has risen to 1,036.

The twenty-three death by torture cases were from ten provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, with five deaths in Liaoling Province, four in Sichuan Province, four in Tianjin City, three in Heilongjiang Province, two in Hebei Province, and one death each in Jiling, Shandong, Anhui, and Guizhou Provinces, and Xingjiang Autonomous Region.

Among those twenty-three Falun Gong practitioners who were tortured to death, the oldest was Wang Qingzhou, 57, from Weihai City, Shandong Province. The youngest was Lian Ping, 29 years old, from Donggang City, Liaoning Province. Seven practitioners were older than 50 and represent 30 percent of the total death numbers. Ten were women, representing 43 percent of the total death by torture numbers.

Among the twenty-three cases, fifteen were tortured to death in 2004. Eighteen of them were tortured to death either at the detention center or died shortly after being taken home. Some of them had been extorted large sums of money before they died. Two were tortured to the point of metal before their death.

The following is the persecution I personally experienced and witnessed in Heizuizi Labor Camp and Heizuizi Jail of Jilin Province.

The guards there often strip Falun Gong practitioners naked and shock them with electric batons, and they also kick them with their boots. To force the imprisoned practitioners to renounce Falun Gong, they handcuff them in painful postures for a long time. Examples include putting the person in a metal chair, with their arms outstretched in handcuffs; handcuffing a person's wrists whereby one arm is extended around the body to the back and is joined with the other wrist that comes over the shoulder; compressing the whole body together in shackles so that the person cannot stretch out their back; and binding the person to a bed. Moreover, they put feces, urine, phlegm, and nasal mucus into practitioners' food, add spoonfuls of salt into the gruel, and stuff practitioners' mouths with the mop used to clean the floor. They do things that a normal person could not imagine.

In the labor camp, going to the bathroom is allowed only during limited times -- once in the morning and once in the afternoon. You must report to the warden if you need to go to the bathroom at any other time. Once, a practitioner named Wang Yuzhi had a stomachache and reported to the warden because she needed to go to the bathroom. It happened to be the wardens' dinnertime, and they cursed at her and drove her away.

If jailed practitioners were found practicing the Falun Gong exercises, they would incite the other inmates to force them into the lavatory and open all the windows to let in the winter cold. They poured water onto the ground where the practitioners were practicing the sitting meditation. They shocked the practitioners with electric batons and pricked them with super-heated needles. They would carry the practitioners who were on hunger strike to the dining hall and force them bend over the food with their legs straight.

The imprisoned practitioners never had a comfortable meal there. They had to line up and report their roll call numbers in front of the dining hall. Then they receive a bowl and food from the guards, wash the dishes after their meal and finally line up again to leave. The whole process is only allowed to take place within 10 minutes. If someone is a bit slow, the guards would start to curse at them.

The practitioners were forced to perform extended slave labor. Every day we were awakened at 4:00 a.m. and seldom stopped working by 10:00 p.m. More frequently, the work lasted until midnight or even 2:00 in the morning.

By a Changchun resident

The Chaoyang District Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City recently moved to an adjacent location. After the move, the old site was leased to a few underground factories that have no business license and pay no taxes. The labor camp forced detainees to work in these factories. The labor camp police have made huge profits from this arrangement.

These factories include a print shop, leather processing shop and a glass factory that makes bottles for salad oil. We heard that these factories are very likely owned by the forced labor camp police themselves or their friends.

The labor camp officials made deals with the factory owners. They often forced the labor camp detainees to fold paper in the print shop or work on miscellaneous jobs in the leather processing shop. Exploitation in the print shop is the most severe. We learned that these factories take advantage of this cheap labor and the labor camp police pocket big profits.

The detainees there have to work days and nights. They only rest for a few hours every day. Their meals are very meager and dirty. Occasionally, when the food supply improved, it was no more than a steamed bun. The vegetables were whatever was the cheapest. Sometimes they would serve the same type of vegetable for months.

The buns were extremely white and looked unusual. Many labor camp detainees developed a serious chronic illness after eating these buns. The symptom was similar to tuberculosis. Several people eventually died, and some survivors later went home. They had to spend a large amount of money on medical bills. Some died due to lack of treatment because they could not afford the medical fees.

The labor camp employed a so-called "merry-go-round," brainwashing newly detained Falun Gong practitioners non-stop. The camp police tried to force the practitioners to denounce their belief. They played video and audio tapes slandering Falun Gong and Master Li. They deprived Falun Gong practitioners of sleep and denied them toilet breaks. This torture would last one week if the practitioner refused to give up Falun Gong. The camp police used many other kinds of torture techniques on these practitioners. They invented many dreadful methods to harm the practitioners without leaving any evidence. One of the torture methods was to put several plastic bags over the person's head and tie it off at the neck. The victims would have difficulty breathing and eventually suffocate. This was a form of murder, and people killed this way showed no signs of physical abuse.

We appeal for an investigation of these crimes committed by those perpetrators at the Chaoyang Forced Labor Camp in Changchun. The governmental Business and Tax Administration should thoroughly investigate these factories.

Recently Jiang Zemin visited Huludao City. As a result, the authorities from Huludao City Forced Labor Camp intensified the persecution of Dafa practitioners who were on hunger strike. They prohibited Dafa practitioners from being released on a bail to seek hospital treatment, claiming that if they die, that's what they deserve.

Since late July, as the number of practitioners who went on hunger strike increased, the authorities took up the policy of "Three Changes and Four Stops." (Change Strategy, Change Attitude, Change Circumstance, Stop Visits, Stop Sleeping, Stop Outdoor Activities, Stop Outside Communication) Liu Guohua said that there were orders from the upper level officials, "Those who meet with an accident or die due to their hunger strike and self injury should be responsible for all the consequences and should be considered for criminal sentence." He also said, "What's the big deal with somebody dying? The Procuratorate wouldn't care. If the family members who are informed of their relatives' death don't claim the dead body, then two or three days later the dead body will be cremated and there will be only ashes left. Wasn't Liu Liyun cremated? Go wherever you want to appeal." Wang Yongming, Head of Division No. 6, is one of the people carrying out this persecution. He often beat up and physically punished practitioners on hunger strikes and claimed, "At worst, I would no longer be a policeman. If somebody goes on hunger strike, I will conduct force-feeding until he is disabled." Recently the police officers subjected Tao Shan, Du Jincai, and Shi Chunde to solitary confinement.

At 5:50 pm on August 16, 2004, the policemen entered the solitary confinement chambers to force the practitioners on hunger strike to do the "Sitting Board." [Every day, practitioners put their hands on top of their laps, with backs straight and sit on hard-wood benches 18 hours a day] Those practitioners who refused to do so because of their weakness from the hunger strike were dragged out to suffer electric shocks. Du Jincai and Shi Chunde were beat up. In the evening during the ward inspection, the policeman asked them to report their code number. The practitioners refused and were slapped in the face. Since then, the criminals in the labor camp have also aggravated the persecution of the practitioners. The criminals often punched and kick them or beat them up with a mop handle.

Shandong Female Prison is acclaimed as the "civilized prison" of the province. It is actually a living hell. Prisoners here spend most of their time processing clothes in an awful environment. I am in the 4^th Section. I have been working in the basement and have not seen sunlight for two years. We have over 300 people jammed together in this space. The air is foul. We cannot breathe well and we cough constantly. Moreover, we continuously work overtime. At times, we work through the night for several days without being allowed to bathe. The longest time was when we worked non-stop for 8 days and 8 nights in September during the hottest time of the year. Without washing for 8 days and nights, our bodies smelled very bad. We could hardly survive it. We lived like this through the whole year. When Labor Day on May 1^st and National Day on October 1^st approached, we were forced to work on making toys.

We worked overtime sewing toys until 1:00 am, then we went back to the ward and cut furs until 2-3:00 am. When a prison inspection team visited, prisoners were told to tell lies, saying that we worked until 8:00 p.m. every day and that we had the weekends off. None of us dared to say that we actually worked all through the night; otherwise our points would be deducted (which means our terms would be extended) and we would also be beaten. The supervisors and leaders are very good at torturing and verbally abusing people. I saw that several healthy people were beaten until they suffered mental collapse from the trauma. We can only take a bath every 2-3 months. Our bodies have various infections.

The food here is extremely bad. We are given cold meals regardless of the season. Every day we eat mashed winter melons, pumpkins, cabbage, and carrots. Prisoners are very likely to get sick. The evil here is beyond description. The brainwashing in the prison is actually forcing people to be selfish and to tell lies. The perpetrators from Jiang's faction have deformed the whole of society and the legal system.

The French newspaper L'Union en Ligne reported the following on September the 8th 2004:

Falun Dafa is attracting more and more disciples from all over the world and it will come to Reims soon. The method of relaxing body and mind from Mainland China, is now banned by the Chinese Government.

The method is suitable for all ages without any side effects. The five simple sets of exercises are practised with music and tens of millions of people in the world are practising Falun Dafa.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a method of sitting in meditation together with special exercises similar to Yoga and Tai Chi. It originates from Chinese traditional culture and was introduced to the general public in 1992. Deng Bo explains that Falun Gong is not a religion but a method of relaxing body and mind.

Deng Bo is twenty nine and a student whose major is electronics, electronic engineering and advanced automatic engineering in Reims Science and Technology Academy. The future engineer is a representative of the Falun Dafa Association in Reims. She volunteers to teach those who are interested in the method some sitting and standing exercises that are very easy to learn.

The bright smiling girl explained that Falun Gong is a method of meditation and has no political agenda or religious rituals. Everybody can learn it without membership or hierarchy. All classes are free of charge. All materials are available on the Internet for free. Deng Bo has lived in France for a year and half. Is she going back to China? She is not considering it at the moment.

The method of meditation was banned in her motherland in 1999. The success of the method among the people frightened the Chinese Government. "This method of relaxing the body and mind is non-political, neither do we seek money or fame." Tens of millions of Chinese people had been practising Falun Gong before it was banned. "Many people have been put into prison since it was banned and the situation of some other practitioners is even worse now due to the brutal persecution."

Mr. Li Hongzhi is the founder of Falun Gong. He now lives in the United States where there are a lot of practitioners.

Falun Gong is the method of self-meditation refining the body and mind. Many people can be seen practising Falun Gong in the Jardin du Luxembourg and Parc des Butte Chaumont in Paris. Numerous Falun Dafa practitioners are practising together. The exercises, including sitting meditation, are easy to learn and they can make you feel relaxed and increase your energy levels. The main Dafa books introduce in steps how to learn the practice. (You can download the book from the Internet at www.falundafa.org)

Deng Bo is not thinking of settling down in France." I hope that I will go back to my motherland one day because the truth can not be covered up forever."

Hornsby Advocate (Australia): For A Young Falun Gong Follower, A Trip To China Is Beyond Belief

The report said, "A Hornsby mother and her 15-years-old daughter have been unable to renew their Chinese passports and return to China."

The family say the passports have been denied because they practice Falun Gong, a belief system based on principles of "truthfulness, compassion and forbearance".

Lydia Zhao said her daughter, ManYing Yan, was desperate to return to China to visit the grandparents she had not seen for more than five years.

"Everyone who is a Chinese citizen has a right to a passport," Ms Zhao said. "I just feel very sad about my daughter."

ManYing, who is a St Ives High School student, said that without a passport she was stripped of a nationality.

"It is like you don't belong anywhere, " she said.

More than two years ago, Ms Zhao and her daughter went to the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne to renew their passports.

The two are both permanent residents in Australia, having moved from China with Ms Zhao's husband and ManYing's father, Brain Yan in 1995.

Ms Zhao said the consulate questioned her about Falun Gong -- the practice was banned in 1999 by former Chinese Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin.

"I told them I only do exercise in Hornsby Park every morning," she said. "I didn't do anything wrong.."

The mother and daughter did not receive their passports and have since written six letters to the consulate on the matter.

"We haven't heard a single word since that day," ManYing said.

The Advocate made several attempts to contact the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. There was no response.

Practitioners say Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

It is practiced in more than 60 countries and has attracted some 100 million followers.

Another practitioner and Hornsby resident, Lilian Peng, has called on Hornsby Council to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong followers.

Ms Peng said the council should support its residents' right to "participate in the spiritual practices of their choice."

The article stated:

"There they are in front of the United Nations. There they are near Bloomingdale's and in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There they are near Zabar's and the American Museum of Natural History. There they are in Times Square, Bryant Park and Chinatown.

"Why are the Falun Gong protesters still here? And why are they seemingly everywhere?

"When a dozen or so Falun Gong practitioners were asked those questions this week, they laughed good-naturedly. The group had gathered in a Midtown apartment building at the request of The New York Times.

" 'Falun Gong wants as many people as possible to know about the group's plight and that is only possible in the world's media capital,' said Gail Rachlin, a Falun Gong practitioner and a former public relations consultant."

The report continued, "Falun Gong has protested in the city, on a smaller scale, for years. But in the last few months the group has increased its activities. Every day, 100 or more Falun Gong practitioners fan out to as many as 10 heavily traveled sites. They plan to do this as long as they can.

"Yesterday, for example, about a dozen practitioners in their signature yellow T-shirts were on the sidewalk outside City Hall. Some sat cross-legged, others quietly walked around, handing out literature. Large photographs of burned and beaten prisoners were propped up against the fence of City Hall Park.

"A black banner read, 'This is what is happening in China.' A practitioner with red paint on her wrists was roped to a miniature gallows, as another practitioner, dressed as a policeman in dark glasses, waved a truncheon.

"'You can't not notice them; they're everywhere,' said William Kane, 17, of Brooklyn, who delivers food for a nearby restaurant. 'They're very effective. They got my attention.'"

Eric Martin, left, Lisa Escobedo, Andy Ellsmore, sitting, Amy Rooker and William Timm share a Falun Gong session. (By the Eureka Reporter/Wendy Butler)

Positioning one's mind is as arduous a task as positioning one's body in Falun Gong, a physical art rooted in traditional Chinese culture.

The practice, also referred to as Falun Dafa, is guided by universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

According to a news release written by Falun Gong practitioner Amy Rooker, of Eureka, it was popularized in China during the 1990s after having been passed down privately for generations.

The popular practice, which Rooker said stimulates physical and mental health, was banned in 1999 by Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin.

Rooker and four other local residents meet regularly to practice Falun Gong.

One member of the group, Andy Ellsmore, of McKinleyville, traveled to China in 2002, where he stood in Tiananmen Square and for about one minute held up a banner touting Falun Gong, before he was arrested and escorted by armed policemen to the airport.

Falun Gong is a testament to the effectiveness of certain types of thinking on the physical body, Rooker said.

She said last year she sprained her neck severely while lifting a heavy object. She couldn't move her neck or bend. She was in constant pain and muscle relaxants didn't help.

[...]

She began studying an introductory book about Falun Gong, as well as on the Web site www.falundafa.org, and learned its exercises with the help of practitioner William Timm, of Eureka.

Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) is guided by three principles and the key, and challenge, is to incorporate the meaty concepts into your daily life, using five different sets of exercises to do it, said Eric Marin, of Eureka.

Rooker said Falun Gong cured her of her pain and gave her body back its mobility.

"By doing the exercises, I feel ... real centered in myself," Ellsmore said. "You focus on emptying your mind completely of all these random thoughts. ... You're focused. ...

That's where truthfulness, compassion and tolerance (come in)."

Martin said when he first started the exercises, he had no idea how he would incorporate the principles into his life.

Lisa Escobedo, of McKinleyville, said people find many different meanings in each of the three principles.

[...]

During the interview, this led to a discussion about what truth, compassion and tolerance mean.

Truth, Martin said, "is being able to notice and admit your own shortcomings (and) not always putting the blame on other people. ... Look inside."

"Tolerance is endurance ... of different situations," Rooker said. "Sometimes doing these exercises can be difficult."

"The only real way to know for yourself what these principles are about is to read the book," Ellsmore said.

Falun Gong filed a lawsuit against a Chinese official during his visit to Spain. The People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman of China, Jia Qinglin, has been sued for genocide and torture.

On the 2nd of September, at the Spanish National Court in Madrid, Falun Gong practitioners filed a lawsuit against the People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman of China Jia Qinglin. Jia arrived in Spain on September the 3rd on an official four-day visit. He has been indicted for crimes of genocide and torture of Falun Gong practitioners while he was the Communist Party Secretary General of Beijing between 1999 and 2002.

Yesterday, Jia Qinglin had a short meeting with the vice-chairman of the Senate, Isedre Molas, and the vice-chairman of House of Representatives, Manuel Marin. According to the lawyer representing Falun Gong, Carlos Iglesias, they both had already received Jia's crime list. In the afternoon, Jia also had a meeting with people from the business and financial world.

The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China may be the biggest genocide case in the world after the Second World War. Indeed, if we look from the number of people suffering under this persecution and the cruelty of the methods of persecution, we could also say that this is the biggest genocide ever in human's history.

This genocide has been hidden by the Chinese Community Party as they control all the media throughout the whole country. During these five years, this brutal persecution of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners has caused over a thousand people to be persecuted to death, including women, children and the elderly. "However, the international community still has not taken any effective steps to stop it."

The persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP started in July, 1999. Falun Gong is an ancient way of cultivation; it was first introduced to the public by Master Li Hongzhi. Since then, in as short as six or seven years, Falun Gong became popular with people from all walks of life, it spread all over China, and nearly one hundred million people were practicing it.

During the first seven years, the Chinese government had a supportive attitude towards Falun Gong. Falun Gong also won many prizes due to its huge contribution towards people's health and moral quality.

Nevertheless, quick growth of Falun Gong created panic in former chairman of China, Jiang Zemin. "In China, nearly one in twelve people practiced Falun Gong. Every morning, before going to work, they gathered together in local parks to practice Falun Gong. The number of people practicing Falun Gong exceeded the membership of the Communist Party members and many practitioners are Communist Party members."
In these circumstances, with no regards to the Chinese Constitution which protects freedom of belief, Jiang banned Falun Gong and began this large-scale persecution. He ordered the formation of the "

610 Office" (the organization was named after the date it was established, 10th June, 1999), which is similar to the Nazi Gestapo. Its only purpose is to destroy Falun Gong completely. During a Politics Bureau meeting, Jiang set down the policy for those Falun Gong practitioners who do not want to give up their belief: "Defame their reputation, bankrupt them economically, and destroy them physicall."

According to statistics, by now one thousand and fifty people have been tortured and persecuted to death. However, the real number of people dead could exceed five thousand. Lawyer Carlos Iglesias says, "Because the Chinese authorities cremate the corpse so rapidly in order to destroy the evidence, it is very hard for us to find out the real number of people who have been persecuted to death."

Additionally, there are over fifty thousand practitioners detained in labor camps. There, they suffered all kinds of torture, such as electric shocks on sensitive parts of body, force feeding, being burned with red-hot iron rods, injection with drugs, etc. There are even cases of prison guards stripping female Falun Gong practitioners' clothes off and throwing them into male cells.. Many practitioners have lost their lives under this extremely brutal torture.

This savage trampling has received strong condemnation by the UN Human Rights Committee. Besides, the parliaments of Europe, Canada, USA and Australia, as well as many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also gave strong responses to this issue, they requested the immediate end of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Lawyer Carlos Iglesias said, "The persecution of Falun Gong has gone far beyond Chinese national boundaries. What we are facing now is an genocide case that has no regard for districts, races and nationalities, which aims at completely rooting out Falun Gong."

For example, in Spain, there are many cases of the Chinese consulate refusing to renew Falun Gong practitioners' passports without any written explanations. "The Chinese consulate did not give any written explanations, they only said that the reason for not renewing their passport was because the bearer practices Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners have been put on their black list." "The Chinese consulate's motive is to deprive their rights to join any Falun Gong or demonstration activities abroad."

Fifteen accusers of different nationalities are accusing Jia Qinglin of taking part in suppressing Falun Gong practitioners by genocide and torture while he was holding the post of the Communist Party Secretary General of Beijing.

This is another accusation which is filed in Spain after the one against Jiang Zemin for the crime of genocide in persecuting Falun Gong. Now there are seventeen countries, including France, Germany, Belgium, USA, Australia, Taiwan, Tanzania etc., which are processing penal action that aims at the persecution by the CCP authorities of Falun Gong practitioners. As lawyer Carlos Iglesias said, "This is the first time in human history that one law case is litigated in five continent in the whole world. Additionally, he also emphasized that "we are not against the Chinese government but those criminals who took part in this persecution. Falun Gong has never taken part in politics nor will it in the future, meanwhile, we are not interested in any economic profits."

Carlos Iglesias also said that this year, Spain is the chairman of UNSC. By turns, it should let China know that people all over the world are paying attention to the human rights situation in China. "The Spanish government is very clearly aware of the suppression happening in China now." However, regretfully, the CCP authorities keep savagely trampling human rights as well as international rules.

I am 69 years old in 2004. I am a traditional Chinese medical doctor working as a chief physician at a hospital in China. I started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. Since Jiang Zemin started to openly persecute Falun Gong practitioners on July 20, 1999, I have been trying to explain to my fellow Chinese people the truth about Falun Gong. The staff from the local Public Security Bureau, local police stations and the neighborhood administration office in my community, as well as my patients, have repeatedly asked me the same question: "You are a trained medical professional. You are supposed to believe in science. Why do you believe in such superstition?" As I have explained to them before, I can testify based on my personal experience of studying Falun Gong books and practicing the exercises that Falun Dafa is supernormal and not a superstition.

I was born in a prestigious family, where nearly all of my family members are traditional Chinese medical doctors. My father was a chief physician and my elder brother and younger sister are both deputy chief physicians. Despite my prestigious background, I had been tormented with many terminal illnesses for decades. My father and my siblings were capable of providing me with the first-class medical care, but they were unable to treat my illnesses.

First of all, I suffered from menorrhagia (excessively heavy or prolonged uterine bleeding), which caused chronic anaemia (deficiency of red blood cells) for many years. Despite the blood transfusion, the massive bleeding and severe anaemia had even caused hypovolemic shock or oligemic shock (characterized by the loss of fluid from the circulating blood volume, so that adequate circulation cannot be maintained to all parts of the body.) In women, the total hemoglobin (hemoglobin gives red blood cells their color and carries oxygen) concentration is typically 12 to 16 grams per deciliter (dl), but my typical hemoglobin concentration was 5 - 6 g/dl. It had even dropped to 2.7 g/dl at one point. Due to my severe chronic anaemia, my heart continued to enlarge and I constantly suffered from shortness of breath, palpitation, angina (chest pain because the heart is weak) and swelling in the legs (oedema). I had to avoid touching the left side of my chest because of the pain. I felt weak and frail all the time, and I could not have babies.

Secondly, I was diagnosed with vulvar dystrophy. My gynecologist, the Chairman of the OB/GYN department in a hospital, recommended that I have vulvectomy, but I decided not to have the operation. Instead, I was given Fluocinolone Acetate (A topical glucocorticoid used in the treatment of eczemas) ointment to stop the itch. Over the years, it spread to my vagina, anus, groin and the lower abdomen. The itch was unbearable. Eventually, the vulvar dystrophy developed into cancer, which then spread to other areas in my body. In the end, I could even feel a hard issue in my stomach, but I didn't have the courage to go under the knife. In the end, my weight dropped from 152 to 100 lbs.

Thirdly, I suffered from tuberculosis in my early years. After I recovered from tuberculosis, the disease had left me with frail lungs. Each and every winter, I would be inflicted with colds, coughing, and shortness of breath. I took both traditional Chinese herbal medicine and western medicine for many years, and I was under the medical care of famous doctors, but I was still haunted with illnesses. How could I possibly have any pleasure when I had to take medication following each meal each day? I tried to practice many Chinese qigong (a form of traditional Chinese exercise which cultivates qi or "vital energy"), but none of them helped me combat my illness or improve my health.

In 1996, I had the great fortune to learn Falun Gong. Since then, I concentrated on my cultivation practice wholeheartedly. All of the aforementioned illnesses that had tormented me for decades went away without a trace. Before I started to believe in Falun Gong, I I expected that medical science would provide a solution to my terminal illnesses. However, I was repeatedly left disappointed. Over the decades, my illnesses had never improved; they merely deteriorated. I believe in Falun Gong because it actually got rid of all of my terminal illnesses. My skin texture has also improved and I now have a rosy complexion. I have become very fit and can walk for a long distance without feeling tired. My voice has become loud and clear instead of whispering and weak. Although I am approaching 70, I have been repeatedly told that I look like I am in my 50's. Each time the staff members from the local Public Security Bureau, police stations and the neighborhood administration office in my community came to see me and tried to make me renounce Falun Gong, I would share with them my personal story of becoming perfectly healthy because of Falun Gong. At the end of the story, I would ask them, "I have been practicing Falun Gong for eight years. In the past eight years, I have been perfectly healthy and did not need to take any medicine or get a shot. Even for a young man such as yourself, can you honestly say that you have never been sick and did not have to take medicine or take any shot at the hospital in the past year?" Then they became speechless.

I think the complete transformation of my health is testimony that Falun Dafa is the most extraordinary science and not a superstition. We all know that everyone has to go through the inevitable cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death. When I was severely ill and halfway to death, neither Chinese traditional medicine nor western medicine was able to save me. It is Falun Gong that cured my terminal illnesses and prevented me from having any illnesses. Isn't it a most miraculous phenomenon? Isn't Falun Dafa extraordinary?

I am a thirteen-year-old practitioner from China. The only thing I can say is, "Thank you, Master and Falun Dafa for saving me when I was on the verge of death."

According to my grandmother, I started showing signs of illness when I was 4 years old and even after six months of medical exams, the doctors still did not know what I had. Only later, did we discover that it was "bone tuberculosis." My family was very poor at the time and my father had tuberculosis and needed injections continually. He was hospitalized many times, which cost a lot of money. We borrowed from many relatives and friends. Despite all the treatment, my father died a few years later. When I was five years old, according to my grandmother, I had three surgeries to remove growths; the first one was on my back. However, not long after, there was another growth on my shoulder, so a second surgery was necessary. Not long after that another one appeared on my foot, which led to yet another surgery. Although three surgeries were performed, it was not over. I had a bleeding infection that drained continually. A lot of money was spent. The hospital had discovered that it was an incurable disease after its original diagnosis, yet performed the surgeries, without telling us! We borrowed money from all of our relatives and friends, two of whom were Traditional Chinese doctors, who also said that the condition was incurable.

I was brought home to live out the rest of my remaining life. Because my father died, and now I was dying, my mother could not handle the pressure and left home with my sister. My sister and I are twins. I heard that my mother left with tears in her eyes. Ever since then, I have lived with my grandmother and grandfather.

They both looked everywhere for folk medicines, but nothing worked. Grandmother couldn't sleep or eat well and both she and grandfather cried every day. They didn't want to see me die, but who could save me?

One day in March of 2000, my grandmother met a kind person who practiced Falun Dafa. She told my grandmother, "Why don't you practice Falun Dafa? Only Falun Dafa can save your whole family. If you truly practice Falun Dafa, the disease will be cured." This is how my grandmother and I started to practice Falun Dafa.

At the beginning, I couldn't even stand up or sit up to listen to the Fa. We received 14 audiotapes of Master Li's lectures. Because my grandmother and I could not read at the time, we listened to the lectures every day. After listening for a while, I could sit up. Then my grandmother borrowed a copy of Zhuan Falun from a fellow practitioner, who also taught me how to read and use a dictionary. My grandfather also taught me how to read. Within six months, my illness was cured.

It was Master Li who saved me! Master Li and Falun Dafa saved my whole family.

Grandfather brought me to the hospital to determine the condition of the bone tuberculosis, but they were unable to find anything wrong with my body. The hospital gave permission for me to return to school.

Right now I am in second grade, because I don't know that many vocabulary words. I can't write any deep understanding of Falun Dafa, but I just want to thank Master Li and thank Falun Dafa.

I want Falun Dafa to be treated fairly, but such a good practice is persecuted in China. Falun Dafa teaches people to do good, avoid doing bad deeds, help people and always think of other people first. Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance are what Master Li teaches us.

In a famous northeastern teacher's college located near Changchun City, a long row of tables were set up just outside of the cafeteria during lunch time. Each of the tables had a long white cloth covering the top and a lot of pens and markers for signing the tablecloths. There was also a propaganda bulletin saying that the petition was against Falun Dafa. It is a new campus that is yet to be completed with about 6,000 people using this one cafeteria. You can easily imagine the amount of traffic going in and out of the place.

However, very few people signed the cloth. A student in charge decided to start dragging people in and out of the cafeteria to sign, but many people were disgusted instead and many of them openly refused. This signature drive from set-up to clean up lasted only half an hour. The white cloth pretty much remained a white cloth.

At a northeastern town's experimental high school, another signature drive was taking place. Every class was to send 4 students to sign. Based on prior experience, these 4 students are the best in the class in terms of grades and obedience to teachers. There should have been no problem at all. To everyone's surprise, many signatures were in the names of some famous singers and actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The school authorities had no other choice but to turn these kinds of signatures in.

Children who understand the truth employed unique means to resist signing. For instance, a third or fourth grade student from a northeastern town's experimental elementary school was asked by a teacher to sign her name against Falun Dafa. This student knows that Falun Gong is good. She was not going to sign, however, she didn't want to disobey her teacher's order either. She got an idea that if she broke the tip of her ballpoint pen on her way to school, then her pen would not write. It was a bit chaotic with activity around the scene and she decided on the spot that even if she makes a mark, she wouldn't write her name. When her turn came, she scratched into the white cloth "Falun Dafa is Good." More surprisingly, many children left marks on that piece of white cloth and the words they wrote were "Falun Dafa is Good!"

In late September, while the 59^th United Nations Summit is held in New York City, Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world have come to New York, to hold anti-torture exhibitions and raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong. Many New Yorkers have learned about the persecution and have taken action against it. Some of them said they would call their government representatives and tell them about the persecution in China. Some have expressed their opposition to the persecution.

Many people have heard about Falun Gong and learned about the persecution through the practitioners' intensive truth-clarification activities. A passer-by told a practitioner, "The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It isn't just for China, but for the whole world. What Falun Gong practitioners are doing is great! How could such peaceful people be tortured? You are so peaceful and calm. It is from the bottom of your hearts. You have a peaceful light from within. The world needs this. Everyone needs it."

A woman gently stroked the hand of a female Falun Gong practitioner who was playing the role of a torture victim. She looked very concerned. She was trying to feel the pain of the torture victim. She kindly asked the Falun Gong practitioner if she felt cold and gave her a hug. The woman said, "It is too cruel to torture people for doing exercises!" She sat down next to the Falun Gong practitioner demonstrating the torture method of being confined in a small cage and tried to feel his pain. She said, "How can someone treat his fellow countryman like this?" Finally, this kind woman walked to the banner with the words, "This Is Happening in China," and helped hold the banner.

A person passing by told Falun Gong practitioners that he thought Falun Gong was beautiful. The persecution of Falun Gong was like the persecution of Christians, he said. The Chinese leader who was responsible should step down. He said, "He must be crazy. He is a madman like Hitler. It has to be stopped. Has to be stopped... we know about various persecutions taking place, but none of them is as harsh as this one." When a Falun Gong practitioner told him the persecution had been going on for five years, he said even five days would have been too long. He wished the practitioners good luck.

Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition and photo exhibit at Broadway and Liberty. It was close to the financial center of Manhattan. Many employees of financial companies go to have lunch there.

A gentleman who works in NYMEX said, "The persecution shouldn't have happened. Many people don't know things like this are still happening in China."

One woman said, "The persecution is so wrong. Everyone should have the freedom of belief. I also do meditation. People shouldn't be persecuted for meditation or having a belief. Everyone should have the freedom of speech. If you torture people like this in New York, you would be tracked down, arrested and punished." This woman signed her name on the appeal letter and took some truth-clarification materials to put in her restaurant.

A passer-by said, "The United States hasn't shown much concern about the persecution in China. I will ask the media to report about it. It is ridiculous that all the media focus on only Iraq. They should focus on this persecution also, let everyone know about it and help stop it."

A T-shirt vendor took some truth-clarification materials. He said he would help us distribute them at his booth.

At the photo exhibit at Broadway and Spring, three bicyclists from France said they had heard about Falun Gong and the persecution in China. All of them signed the appeal letter. One of them works at an institution studying Chinese forced labor camps. She knew about the prisoner abuse in Chinese forced labor camps. They wished us success.

On Union Square, a woman from Princeton, New Jersey, told the reporter that she had heard about Falun Gong in New Jersey. There were Falun Gong practitioners in Princeton. She had read some materials about the persecution in China. She said, "I think the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is a tragedy. People there can't have the freedom of the belief." She signed her name on the appeal letter.