(Clearwisdom.net) At 1 p.m. of June 29, 2004, upon hearing the horrific incident of hiring thugs to shoot Falun Gong practitioners during Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai's South Africa visit, Toronto Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate to strongly condemn the terrorist act of Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai, who are important political followers of Jiang Zemin during the persecution of Falun Gong and apparently behind this assassination. After the press conference, practitioners went to the South African Consulate, where representatives of practitioners talked with its consulate general for more than 40 minutes. During the meeting, practitioners expressed the hope that the South African government would punish the assassins and resist extension of Jiang regime's state terrorism overseas.

Political Followers of Jiang Zemin Visited South Africa with State Terrorism

Chinese vice-president Zeng Qinghong and Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai are two important political followers of Jiang Zemin during the persecution of Falun Gong. They arrived in South Africa on the evening of June 26 to start a 4-days visit. On June 27, Falun Dafa information center announced that Falun Gong practitioners would hold peaceful appeals during Zeng's visit to South Africa. At 6 p.m. of June 28, 9 Australian Falun Gong practitioners arrived at Johannesburg International Airport of South Africa; they planned to file a law case against Zeng. When they were driving on their way to the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria in two cars, at around 8:30 p.m. unknown assailants in a white car suddenly opened fire from the side slightly behind the second car driven by the practitioners, targeting the tires and the driver. The car was hit at least five times. The Falun Gong practitioner who was driving, David Liang, was the only person wearing a jacket inscribed with the words "Falun Dafa." He was shot in both feet. The bones in one foot were shattered and required an operation. The car he was driving was severely damaged and came to a stop. Seeing this, the gunmen quickly fled the scene. Practitioners who were at the scene and witnessed the whole incident said: "This was not a typical shooting incident, it was a deliberate assassination attempt by thugs hired by Zeng Qinghong. This kind of act of terror exposes Jiang's policies of extending the persecution against Falun Gong overseas to silence them using all means, it is the most severe persecution case experienced by overseas practitioners in the past five years.

Zeng Qinghong is former Chinese president Jiang Zemin's head political hatchet man and most trusted minion. He has been involved in all the important policymaking including the persecution of Falun Gong during Jiang's reign. From 1999 to the end of 2002, while he was head of the Organizational Department of the CPC Central Committee, he gave many speeches and issued many official documents to order party committees of all levels to carry out an escalating persecution of Falun Gong. He ordered the entire ruling party to participate in the persecution campaign, ordered the suppression and brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners. He initiated and mandated a campaign of genocide to eradicate Falun Gong practitioners both spiritually and physically with a towering list of horrific methods of torture. He tried everything possible to please Jiang Zemin in order to become a member of the Politburo's Standing Committee and gain more power. He played a large role in the planning and executing of the persecution against Falun Gong in order to advance his political career. He became a main accomplice for Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong. Bo Xilai, when he was the Governor of Liaoning Province, relentlessly executed Jiang's persecution policy against Falun Gong practitioners which resulted in death, disablement and mental disorder of many Liaoning Falun Gong practitioners.

Toronto Falun Gong Practitioners Condemn the Terrorist Act and Call on International Community to Resist Jiang's Oversea Extension of State Terrorism

During the press conference in front of the Chinese consulate, practitioners strongly condemned the terrorist act, hiring thugs to shoot Falun Gong practitioners, of Zeng and Bo. In a media release, practitioners pointed out that near 1,000 practitioners have been murdered in prisons and labor camps since Jiang launched the persecution 5 years ago. Furthermore, at least 5 cases in which police purposefully shot at practitioners were reported. In the past 5 years, Jiang's regime has used Chinese embassies and consulates to suppress overseas voice of support to Falun Gong using harassment, intimidation, violence and hatred propaganda. The South African shooting incident marked a dangerous escalation of Jiang's oversea persecution policy and is the first ever attempt to attack peaceful Falun Gong practitioners by hiring assassins. This incident is an international terrorist act.

More than ten youth practitioners who participated in "Toronto to Washington DC Bike Tour to Rescue Chinese Children" postponed their departure time today in order to participate in this press conference. They also read their open letter calling for an end of the persecution during the press conference and delivered the letter to the Consulate afterward.

After the press conference, practitioners went to the South African Consulate in Toronto where representatives of practitioners talked with its consulate general for more than 40 minutes. During the meeting, practitioners explained the truth of Falun Gong to the consulate general and told him that Falun Gong has received many proclamations and wide support from all levels of Canadian governments and Canadians. Practitioners expressed their outrage over this shooting incident and stressed that practitioners' South African visit was not to protest the South African government. The practitioner who was shot is a Chinese Australian who just landed in South African and had enmity with no one, after the shooting, the gunmen fled showing no intention to rob practitioners. The Jiang regime thus must be the one behind the shooting incident. Practitioners urged the South African government to investigate this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. Practitioners also encouraged South Africa to resist the extension of the Jiang regime's state terrorism overseas so to protect South Africa from being harmed by hatred and terrorist acts. The consulate general said that he would report practitioners' requests to the South African government.

The South African Consulate is located at a busy area of Toronto. The practitioners' posters and banners attracted attention from many passersby. People in succession took information about the shooting incident and urgent media release as well as a briefing from practitioners; many of them inquired about what was going on. Upon hearing that the Jiang regime has hired thugs in South Africa to shoot practitioners, many people were shocked and expressed their understanding and support.

Falun Gong practitioners holding a press conference in front of the Chinese consulate to condemn the Jiang regime's terrorist act of hiring thugs to shoot practitioners

Practitioners peacefully appealing in front of the South African Consulate, calling on actions to stop the Jiang regime's terrorism

Jiang Regime's State Terrorism Has Been Exposed to the International Community

Over the past 5 years in China, Jiang has ordered the policies, "Defame their reputations, bankrupt them financially and destroy them physically," and "any Falun Gong practitioner beaten to death is to be counted as a suicide." Jiang's state terrorism has resulted in death of at least 998 Falun Gong practitioners. Outside China, the Jiang group has purposefully and carefully covered up the state terrorism against Falun Gong practitioners. Meanwhile, through Chinese embassies and consulates around the world, the Jiang regime has used all measures to spread its state terrorism to overseas: From distributing materials instigating hatred to foreign governments of all levels and non governmental organizations, to press related institution not to provide facilities for Falun Gong's activities; from hiring gangsters to curse and beat practitioners, to embassy officials personally attacking practitioners; from taping practitioners' phone calls, to intimidating practitioners...

Since the persecution started in 1999, overseas practitioners have been steadfast in engaging peaceful public appeals to call an end of the persecution. The crimes of Jiang's regime thus have been exposed to the international community and more and more civilians have learned the truth of the persecution. Since 2002, overseas practitioners started to seek legal measures to end this persecution and bring the perpetrators including the chief perpetrator Jiang to justice. To date, more than 10 Chinese high-ranking officials who have actively followed Jiang's persecution policy have been sued when they visited other nations. Courts have convicted some guilty. Overseas Falun Gong practitioners have also sued Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai.

This shooting incident coincided with Toronto practitioners' anti-torture exhibition held at downtown Toronto, the exhibition is to mark the UN International Day in support of Victims of Torture and further raise public awareness of the persecution. Though the exhibition only showed a few torture methods employed during the persecution, the brutality exposed by the exhibition also shocked passersby. The exhibition helped civilians visualize the brutality of Jiang's genocide crimes against Falun Gong practitioners. Many people told practitioners that they had read news of the persecution or Falun Gong materials before, however, they still didn't have first-hand experience about the persecution. However, the real-life torture exhibition helped them to realize that state terrorism is not just a concept and something happening in a remote place. Many of passersby said that they would make their contribution to help end this atrocity. During the 10-hour exhibition, group after group of viewers came to view the exhibition, some shook their head and sighed, some burst into tears. Several thousand Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials were distributed during the exhibition. Practitioners also collected many signatures in support of the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin.

Viewing anti-torture exhibition

Canadian policemen were shocked by the brutality of the persecution

Pedestrians signing a petition in support of bringing Jiang Zemin to justice

People started to ponder: in the past 5 years, Jiang's regime has tortured hundreds of thousands of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners; today, the Jiang regime hired thugs to shoot Falun Gong practitioners; tomorrow, will this kind of atrocity happen in other parts of the world? Today, the Jiang regime is targeting Falun Gong practitioners; tomorrow, will it extend the persecution to other groups disliked by the regime?

In an open letter, Toronto practitioners called on Canadian and other nations' governments to pay close attention to and condemn the state terrorism of the Jiang regime, to jointly resist and stop the atrocities, and jointly create a bright future for humankind.