August 8, 2008

(Clearwisdom.net) Peng Keyu, the Chinese Consul General who allegedly admitted inciting pro-Communist mobs to attack Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York, (according to the Falun Dafa Information Center, which monitors the human rights crisis in China) has been invited to participate in the Evening of Champions street festival in Chinatown Friday evening.

The event is being co-hosted by the Philadelphia Sports Congress and the City of Philadelphia to celebrate the Olympic spirit and Chinese culture as the 2008 Games get underway in Beijing, China.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, Peng Keyu admitted encouraging pro-Chinese Communist mobs to attack Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York in a recorded phone conversation. The recording was made on May 22 by an undercover investigator with the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong describes itself as a personal cultivation practice that includes meditative exercises and teachings based on the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. While it is freely practiced in 70 countries around the world, the Chinese Communist Party initiated a brutal campaign of persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in July 1999. The Falun Dafa Information Center has confirmed the detentions of thousands of practitioners and the deaths of more than 3,000 adherents since the persecution began.

"Local Falun Gong practitioners applaud the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Sports Congress for planning this celebration of the Olympics with the local Chinese community," says Cindy Wang a Philadelphia-area Falun Gong practitioner. "However, we feel it is important for the public to know that Peng Keyu was recorded gloating about his efforts to have Falun Gong practitioners harmed on American soil. This goes against the Olympic spirit and violates basic human freedoms."

In June, New York City Councilmember Tony Avella (District 19) introduced a resolution calling on the FBI to investigate Peng Keyu's alleged involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong on US soil. 35 Members of the Congress sent a letter to President Bush calling for investigation on Peng Keyu.