(Minghui.org) The Alaska Dispatch published an article by reporter Cain Nunns titled, “China's other oppressed spiritual movement, Falun Gong” on November 18, 2012. The article states that there is no hope for reform in China with the new leadership in place.
"Along with China's new leaders came talk of possible reform. That has died down since their names were announced this week. Most of the seven Politburo members, including incoming President Xi Jinping, are remnants of the old regime — terrible news for many, but especially the minority groups that say they're being oppressed by the government," wrote Nunns.
“Prominent among them is Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that melds meditation and slow-moving exercises with teachings on compassion and humility, and has accused the Chinese government of torturing members for decades. It says their persecution has intensified because of the Party congress.”
The article cited Theresa Chu, a Falun Gong spokeswoman and human rights lawyer, who said that the oppression against Falun Gong practitioners increased during the 18th Communist Party Congress. "It's always been severe, but now it’s getting worse," Chu said. "Any event like this in China leads to more persecution, not just for us, but for everybody. This week has been very tough for Falun Gong practitioners because more of them are being locked up."
The article also cited reports from trusted sources around the world:
“A recent report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government body, says Beijing has created 'an extrajudicial security apparatus' known as the 6-10 office, which runs special facilities known as 're-education centers' that are trying to 'stamp out' the Falun Gong.
The report states 'large numbers of practitioners' are being jailed and that those who refuse to renounce their beliefs are 'subject to torture, including credible reports of deaths in custody and the use of psychiatric experiments.
Exact figures for the number of Falun Gong practitioners in custody are hard to come by. However, the US State Department last year said that Falun Gong practitioners make up at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in 're-education through labor' camps.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture estimates Falun Gong members make up two-thirds of the alleged torture victims in custody, and has called for an independent investigation into allegations of state-sanctioned organ harvesting.”
Nunns also noted that “the watchdog Freedom House says 'Falun Gong' is among the most censored words and phrases on the internet in China, along with 'Tiananmen' and 'Tibet.'”
In addition, the article described some of the experiences of people in Taiwan, the only Chinese-speaking democracy in the world.
“I’ve been reading a lot about Tibet and Tiananmen Square, which you can’t access online in China," said John Xi (pseudonym), a student from mainland China studying in Taiwan. "It’s pretty obvious the rest of the world’s version of what happened is different from my government’s."
James Liu and other Falun Gong practitioners “have been holding silent demonstrations at 50 sites” in Taiwan, according to the article, to raise awareness and clarify the facts about the persecution to the local residents and tourists from mainland China.
"If we were protesting in Beijing or Shanghai, we'd be arrested within minutes," Liu said.