April 25, 2007

The CSN [China Support Network] is now marking simultaneous anniversaries in causes including the Chinese democracy cause, the Tibetan cause, and the Falun Gong cause.

The Falun Gong Cause

In the Falun Gong cause, "April 25" was the date in 1999 when over 10,000 Falun Gong adherents appeared in Beijing, staging the "Zhongnanhai appeal." (Zhongnanhai refers to the compound where the government leaders reside.) [Editor's note: The practitioners were waiting to appeal at the State Council Appeals Office, which is close to Zhongnanhai. The police directed them to stand around Zhongnanhai, which made it look as if they had purposefully come to Zhongnanhai to lodge their appeal.] While the appeal was for the government to allow Falun Gong, this was taken by then-President Jiang Zemin to be a jarring occasion, which became the catalyst for the full-blown crackdown of persecution which ramped up in July, 1999. [Note: The practitioners gathered in Beijing to appeal for the release of 45 practitioners who had been arrested in Tianjin while peacefully protesting an injustice, as well as to petition the government to guarantee their constitutional right to practice freely and without interference.]

Hence, the Zhongnanhai appeal of April 25, 1999 was the key event precipitating a vicious crackdown of historic proportions. To date, 3,013 people are confirmed dead, and the killing goes on to this day. In 2006, it was revealed that the Chinese government practices the wanton (and carefully timed) killing of Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, which become harvested and used in transplant surgery, for which desperate patients are charged large amounts of money. As a human rights abuse, this ranks right up there with Nazi medical experiments, performed on prisoners during World War II.

While Falun Gong faces its holocaust, U.S. news anchors apply a happy face, in essence echoing the song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," and preparations continue for the 2008 Olympics, as awarded to Beijing China. The Chinese regime has been, and continues to be, rewarded for bad behavior. And,
anchormen continue to accept paychecks for corporate cheerleading to the exclusion of the public interest. While they have turned their backs to the sea of humanity including the Chinese people, others have shown more bravery.

In the past week, a doctor and professor emeritus at New York Medical College wrote an open letter urging that China be expelled from the World Medical Association. Abraham L. Halpern, MD said -- "Reports are rampant throughout the world that the organ harvesting program in China continues
without interruption, notwithstanding the denials of the Chinese government and the enactment of a law that went into effect last July to regulate organ transplants in hospitals." He termed China's to be "blatantly pernicious violations of the codes of medical ethics of all the countries of the world," and noted that "Waiting until protests can be organized at the 2008 Olympics or until efforts by diplomats come to fruition will not save the lives of many innocent people during the coming months." Hence, he is urging the World Medical Association to action immediately.

The China Support Network calls upon the Chinese government to cease persecution of Falun Gong. When all Falun Gong practitioners are free, then they will not be subject to become the source of organs for transplant. CSN also calls for the cessation of the Falun Gong organ harvesting practice;
but as noted, that is included in the cessation of Falun Gong persecution.

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