News and Activities from Around the World -- December 25, 2005

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Dec. 23, 2005
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Weekly news about Falun Gong in China and around the world - www.faluninfo.net

  a.. PROMINENT CHINESE LAWYER PUBLICIZES HORRIFIC DETAILS OF FALUN GONG TORTURE
  b.. "THIS IS ARGENTINA NOT COMMUNIST CHINA!" CHINESE THUGS BEAT PROTESTERS
  c.. CHINESE EMBASSY PRESSURES THAILAND POLICE TO ARREST, HARASS FALUN GONG

Quote to Note: "Do you know how the Chinese torture Falun Gong?"
-- A Lebanese official threatening his bound American prisoner just before torturing him in a scene from Warner Brothers' motion picture, SYRIANA

PROMINENT CHINESE LAWYER PUBLICIZES HORRIFIC DETAILS OF FALUN GONG TORTURE
NEW YORK (FDI)- China's renowned civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has published a third open letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao condemning the brutal persecution of Falun Gong. The letter discloses details of cases he personally investigated over the last several weeks amidst mounting pressure from the Chinese Communist Party to stop his work. One of the cases he uncovered is of a mother and son who were tortured to death, just days apart, in the same detention center: "Every time they were tortured, the mother and son could hear each other's screams," Gao wrote. Gao also detailed brutal sexual torture that he found pervasive among both men and women. "[Torturers] tied many knots on a thick rope and pulled it back and forth in a sawing motion across [Ms. Wang's] vagina. Her entire lower body swelled up. The head police then ordered inmates to jab her swollen vagina with the thorny end of a broken mop stick. This torture caused Ms. Wang's vagina to bleed profusely." One victim told Gao "After one night's torture, my face was swollen to several times the original size and my whole body was drenched in blood...I was carried to the Changchun City police department. There were many small cells, each with a tiger bench [torture devise] inside. There were female [Falun Gong] practitioners on every tiger bench. Most of them had fainted, with their lower bodies naked or with only a cloth covering the body." Gao, who was on the New York Times' front page on December 13 (news), remains under tight watch by Chinese police.
Full Text of Letter: http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-12-16/35876.html

"THIS IS ARGENTINA NOT COMMUNIST CHINA!" CHINESE THUGS BEAT PROTESTERS
BUENOS AIRES (FDI)-In front of Argentine TV, a group of Chinese men beat Falun Gong practitioners who were holding a peaceful demonstration across the street from Argentina's National Congress building in Buenos Aires. One of the Chinese thugs ran up to a practitioner who was giving an interview explaining why they were protesting and kicked her in the neck right in front of the TV camera. All but one of the Falun Gong practitioners attacked were native Argentines. The assailants were part of an entourage escourting Luo Gan, a senior Communist Party official. Luo, who is one of the chief perpetrators of the torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners in China, had been served with a lawsuit in Argentina a day earlier. Local Argentines tried to protect the practitioners, yelling at the thugs: "This is Argentina not communist China!"
Full Story: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9309

CHINESE EMBASSY PRESSURES THAILAND POLICE TO ARREST, HARASS FALUN GONG
BANGKOK (FDI)- Three men, two women, and three of their children aged 5, 6 and 14-all Chinese refugees with United Nations refugee protection documents-were detained while meditating across from the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. Apart from a 14-year-old girl who was released, they are currently being held at the Bangkok immigration detention center. Wikorn Jarupruch, a Thai immigration investigator, told the practitioners that the Chinese embassy had directed the police to stop the protests.
Full Story: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9317

This bulletin is online at: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9323

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER- Contacts: Gail Rachlin 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 646-415-0998, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: [email protected], Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

On December 14, Falun Gong practitioners held a peaceful protest in front of the Argentinean Parliament against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegation headed by Luo Gan. Hired thugs dispatched by the Chinese Embassy attacked the practitioners and snatched their banners and truth-clarification posters. The Argentinean police present at the scene did not take any action to stop the violence. After the incident, practitioners across the world condemned the CCP's extension of violence to other countries and went to Argentinean embassies and consulates to call on the government of Argentina not to bow to the CCP's pressure. They called on the Argentinean authorities to maintain righteousness and safeguard human rights.

On December 22, Malaysian practitioners handed in a petition letter to the Argentinean Embassy to protest the incident. A spokesperson for the practitioners said that incidents of violence against practitioners holding peaceful protests occurred in Argentina and Thailand. Local police treated the practitioners unfairly under pressure from the CCP. It indicates that the CCP continues to extend the persecution of Falun Gong to other countries.

Practitioners displayed banners reading, "Argentina: Do not collaborate with the CCP to persecute Falun Gong," and "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yingkang, and Liu Jing to justice." They called on the Argentinean government not to bow to the CCP.

A practitioner said, "We are shocked and concerned at the violent incident that occurred in Argentina. People from all circles have gradually come to know about the CCP and the evil nature of the persecution. Even those who were passively involved in the persecution have come to know that Falun Gong is great, and know not to listen to the CCP's orders take part in the persecution. We practitioners hope that the Argentinean government does not bow to the CCP's pressure and will not collaborate with it to persecute Falun Gong."

The Argentine Ambassador dispatched a representative to accept the letter and said that the letter would be transferred to the government of Argentina.

On December 19, 2005, Finnish practitioners went to Argentine Embassy and delivered an open letter. The letter requested the Ambassador and the government of Argentina to investigate the serious incident that occurred in Argentina.

The letter demanded that the Argentinean government investigate the violent incident quickly and attentively, stop such violence related to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong and the trampling of human rights in Argentina and bring the thugs who attacked the practitioners to justice. No democratic government should trade with the CCP by sacrificing human rights.

Two practitioners explained to the staff members who met them in the embassy about the worldwide spread of Falun Gong and the numerous awards the practice has received. They also narrated the facts of the persecution in China and told about the deaths of at least 2,793 practitioners due to police brutality. The violence against practitioners in Argentina is evidence of the CCP's extension of its atrocities to other countries. The persecution must stop. After listening to the practitioners' explanation, the two staff members expressed their concern about the incident and indicated their support for the practitioners. The practitioners presented them the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party in English. The officials accepted the open letter and said they would transfer the letter and the "truth-clarification" literature to the ambassador.

On the afternoon of December 22, practitioners in Switzerland held a peaceful protest in front of the Argentinean Embassy in very cold weather. They called on the government of Argentina to not be deceived by the CCP's lies or bow to CCP pressure to give up the principles of human rights. They hoped that the Argentinean government would help end the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. They read an open letter in English and German and handed it to the receptionist at the embassy. The receptionist said that he would transfer the letter and forward the practitioners' message to his boss.

A practitioner reads the open letter in German

On December 20, practitioners in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) gathered in front of the Argentine Consulate to express their strong concern about the incident in which thugs hired by the CCP beat practitioners in Argentina. Representatives of the practitioners handed in a petition letter, the Nine Commentaries, and truth-clarification literature to Mr. Carlos Layus, the Consul, in their meeting with him in the conference room of the consulate, and expressed their concerns about the violent incident.

Mr. Layus was shocked about the CCP's persecution of such a peaceful group. He expressed his sympathy to a practitioner who suffered one and a half years of imprisonment in China and was pleased that she was able to come to the US.

Mr. Layus said that the police's duty is to maintain order and it is unbelievable that such an incident occurred in Argentina. He said he would transfer the petition letter to the Argentine Embassy in Washington and to the government of Argentina.

Colluding with Jiang Zemin and his gang, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Falun Gong for more than 6 years using the most vicious and brutal measures. The persecution violates both heavenly principles and human standards, and the CCP is soon to be wiped out by the heavens. Meanwhile, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has exposed the CCP's evil nature, and many people have awakened to the truth. Today, more than 6.5 million Chinese people have openly quit the evil party and its affiliated organizations. While the CCP is staggering before eventual collapse, it is still trying to expand the persecution to outside of China using commercial interests and political influence.

On December 14, 2005, while protesting in front of the Argentinean Congress building against a Chinese delegation headed by Luo Gan, practitioners were assaulted by thugs sent by the Chinese Embassy. Banners and exhibition boards about the facts of the persecution as well as personal items of the practitioners were snatched away. Under orders from their superiors, the police present didn't take any action to stop the violence. After the incident, practitioners around the world condemned the CCP's persecution and went to their local Argentinean embassies and consulates to urge the Argentinean government not to bow to the doomed CCP, and uphold justice and protect human rights.

Swedish practitioners protest in front of the Argentinean Embassy

At around noon of December 22, 2005, Swedish practitioners protested in front of the Argentinean Embassy and urged its government not to act as an accomplice to the CCP in the persecution of Falun Gong.

In front of the Embassy, there were a lot of pedestrians at lunchtime and many of them stopped to learn about the truth. After the event concluded, an on-duty police said to practitioners, "Your demonstration is very peaceful and organized. It would be wonderful if all demonstrations were like yours. Merry Christmas!"

Media interview the event

On December 20, Danish practitioners delivered an open letter from the Danish Falun Dafa Association to the Argentinean Embassy. In the open letter, practitioners urge the Argentinean government to investigate the assault, resist the CCP's exportation of violence, uphold the founding principles of its own country and protect people's basic rights and safety.

An assistant to the Ambassador met with the practitioners. The practitioners submitted the open letter and played video clips of the assault and related reports using a laptop computer. The practitioners asked the assistant to pass the following message to the ambassador: It is very dangerous for a democratic country to compromise human rights for commercial interest.

The practitioners also highlighted the growing tide of people's withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and presented copies of the English version of the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" to the embassy. They hoped that the Ambassador would be clear about the doom of the CCP and convey such important information to his government. They urged the Argentinean government not to provide opportunity for the CCP to export its state terrorism.

The secretary promised to pass on the practitioners' heartfelt message to the Ambassador.

Colluding with Jiang Zemin and his gang, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Falun Gong for more than 6 years using the most vicious and brutal measures. The persecution violates both heavenly principles and human standards, and the CCP is soon to be wiped out by the heavens. Meanwhile, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has exposed the CCP's evil nature, and many people have awakened to the truth. Today, more than 6.5 million Chinese people have openly quit the evil party and its affiliated organizations. While the CCP is staggering before eventual collapse, it is still trying to expand the persecution to outside of China using commercial interests and political influence.

On December 10, 2005, on a sidewalk opposite the Chinese embassy, Thai practitioners protested the recent rape of two women practitioners by a Chinese policeman and the ongoing persecution in general. At around noon, Thai police officers and vehicles went in and out of the Chinese embassy. Later, several dozen uniformed police and plainclothes police crossed the road and forcibly searched practitioners' bags, dragged practitioners away and grabbed their banners, causing injury to the practitioners and damaging their personal belongings. On December 14, the police in Pattaya beat three practitioners who handed out Falun Gong materials. On December 15, Thai police arrested eight practitioners in front of the Chinese embassy. To date, six practitioners, including one small child, are still being detained in the Immigration Bureau. Out of the practitioners, two are parents of two children of 4 and 6 years old. Their situation is very urgent.

Practitioners around the world have taken action to protest in front of their local Thai embassies and consulates. They are demanding the immediate release of detained practitioners, condemning the CCP for expanding the persecution to Thailand and asking related officials who have assisted CCP to stop doing so.

Practitioners from New York, Washington DC, Houston, Florida, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, England, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Israel, Singapore, Malaysia, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and New Zealand have gone to their local embassies and consulates to protest this incident. However, the Thai government still has not released the unlawfully detained practitioners. Recently, practitioners from other regions have joined the protest.

Chicago practitioners have gone to the local Thai consulate repeatedly to deliver protest letters, protest the arrest of practitioners and condemn the persecution. They urge the Thai government not to give up its sovereignty to appease the Chinese communist regime and to resolve the incident quickly.

Practitioners have been submitting protest letters everyday. When they talked with the Thai consul, the consul asked, "Why are you coming back again?" A practitioner said, "The situation has gotten worse and worse, and practitioners are still being unlawfully detained. They are on a hunger strike and their lives are in danger. We hope that the Thai government will take prompt action and release them immediately." The consult said that he would pass on the message to his country for sure to let his government know the overseas reaction to the incident.

One consulate guard is originally from Poland. Upon learning about the arrest of innocent practitioners by the Thai government under the pressure from the CCP, he said, "I know about the Communist Party, we were persecuted by it for more than 40 years."

Though it is extremely cold in Chicago, there were many people coming out for last-minute holiday shopping. During the past several days, a lot of people who passed by the consulate have seen practitioners protesting in the snow with banners which read, "Thailand, don't follow the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong!" and "Immediately release all unlawfully detained Falun Gong Practitioners!" Many of them slowed down to learn about the cause of the protest.

Practitioners also handed out truth-clarifying materials to people who come to the consulate for consular service. Upon learning the truth, they expressed their outrage at the incident. Many raised their thumbs and said, "What you are doing is right. Good luck!"

A group of Koreans told us, "The Communist party is the most vicious thing in the world!"

 
Swedish practitioners protest in front of the Thai Embassy in Sweden

At around noon on December 22, Swedish practitioners rallied in front of the Thai Embassy. They called on the Thai government not to act as an accomplice of the CCP in the persecution and release the detained practitioners. An official of the embassy walked out to meet with the practitioners. He said that he had passed on the practitioners' letter and related materials to the ambassador and his government. He also expressed his regret at the Thai government's actions. The official also said that the Swedish practitioners were doing the right thing.

In the morning of December 19, Finnish practitioners submitted an open letter to the Thai Embassy to Finland. They urged the Thai government to investigate the incident and release all unlawfully detained practitioners. In particular, they urged the government not to bow to the CCP's pressure and act as an accomplice to the evil party in the persecution. The Finnish practitioners also called on other international institutions to investigate the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

The practitioners also told staff members of the embassy about Falun Gong: As a high-level cultivation method of the Buddha school, Falun Gong has spread to more than 70 countries around the world. While more than 100 million have benefited from the practice, the CCP has been brutally persecuting practitioners in China and running a propaganda campaign against the practice for more than 6 years. The staff members listened to the practitioners' introduction attentively, accepted the open letter and other supporting materials, and arranged an appointment with the ambassador for the practitioners.

In the morning of December 10, Boston practitioners submitted an open letter to the local Thai Consulate and held a protest outside the consulate to express their deep concern over the arrest of practitioners in Bangkok. For the sake of Thailand's future, they urged the Thai government not to follow the CCP to persecute Falun Gong.

In addition, 5 practitioners had a 30-minute meeting with Thai Consul Joseph Milano. After listening to the practitioners' introduction of Falun Gong and the 6-year persecution, Consul Milano said that he had been to China in the past and knew that the Chinese government applied tight control over its citizens. He thought the situation had been improved, but now knows the real situation. Upon hearing the practitioners' request of the immediate release of the detained practitioners and an investigation of the culprits, he said that he would pass on the request to his government, though he couldn't offer much other help due to the limitations of his position.

In the past several days since the incident, the practitioners have received much support from all over the world. Below are messages posted to Falunhr.org:

Ted L'Estrange from Oxford, United Kingdom wrote: "The communist party knows that it can torture with impunity while the world is distracted with the potential rewards of commerce. "

Chris Ameln of Germany wrote: " In the year 2005 it is a crying shame, that a nation like China is still using torture and intimidation... I also support the boycott of Chinese and Thai-made goods. The Thai government must bow their head in shame, as their acts not only violate all human rights, but also the Buddhist belief of non-violence.

Bradley Lavelle from UK wrote: "I am currently boycotting all products from China and will do the same if Thailand commits to this atrocious behaviour. I had planned a trip to Thailand this coming summer but that is very much in doubt now...will spend my money elsewhere...these practices are not acceptable"

There are also people who expressed their outrage over the Thai government's suppression of Falun Gong. William Franklin McCoy, M.D. from the United States wrote: "Please recognize that Thailand is not China. Thailand does not have to follow the dictates of the Chinese government. It is outrageous that the Thai government thoughtlessly complies to the orders of the Chinese Communist Party."

Dr. Albert Lin from Western Australia wrote: "The Thai government should release all detained Falun Gong practitioners immediately and stop kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party, whose collapse is imminent."

On December 18, 2005, the "Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group" (FGHRWG) filed a complaint to the UN Human Rights Commission regarding the Thai police's violence against innocent Falun Gong practitioners. During the incident, instigated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Thai police first roughly treated practitioners who were conducting a peaceful protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok on December 10. On December 15, Thai authorities arrested five practitioners and three children in front of the embassy. As a member of the United Nations, the Thai government is fully responsible for observing the Universal Human Rights Declaration. The violence was the result of the CCP's pressure and orders. In its complaint, the FGHRWR detailed the incident and recounted past repeated harassment of practitioners by the Thai government under the CCP's pressure. What is even more troubling is that Thai police detained three children, though it later released two of them. The children have been nevertheless traumatized. The Thai government should explain why such a human rights violation could happen and compensate the victims.

The FGHRWG publicized the incident worldwide and requested that the Thai government release all practitioners immediately. As soon as the news was released, the FGHRWG started receiving voices of support from all over the world.

Some of the comments from all over the world are reproduced below:

Chris Ameln from Germany: " In the year 2005 it is a crying shame that a nation like China is still using torture and intimidation... I also support the boycott of Chinese and Thai-made goods. The Thai government must bow their heads in shame, as their acts not only violate all human rights, but also the Buddhist belief of non-violence.

Ted L'Estrange from Oxford UK: It is a terrible fact that torture is still the norm in China. The communist party has always had a very low opinion of its subjects and knows that it can torture with impunity while the world is distracted with the potential rewards of commerce.

Ebby Mohseni from Canada: Humanity stands up for justice.

Alan Coles from UK: Thailand should be ashamed but not as ashamed as China.

Richard Jacobs from Washington State, USA: Please release the detained Chinese refugees. The decision to make the arrests and the manner in which it was carried out was unworthy and tainted the honor of the Thai nation.

William Franklin McCoy, M.D. from the USA: Please recognize that Thailand is not China. Thailand does not have to follow the dictates of the Chinese government. It is outrageous that the Thai government thoughtlessly complies with the orders of the Chinese Communist Party.

Ivan Huber from the USA: Please release the Falun Gong practitioners who are illegally detained in Thailand, for they have done nothing wrong.

Bradley Lavelle from the United Kingdom: I am currently boycotting all products from China and will do the same if Thailand commits to this atrocious behavior. I had planned a trip to Thailand this coming summer but that is very much in doubt now...will spend my money elsewhere...these practices are not acceptable.

Eric Williams from Austin TX, the United States of America: I FOR ONE WILL BOYCOTT ANY PRODUCTS THAT BEAR THE LABEL "MADE IN THAILAND." WHO IS WITH ME? Together we can all make an impact.

Tucker-the TLC WORKS from Connecticut, USA: The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is absurd and stupid enough.

John Alphonse from One Earth: Open Message to Politicians and Humanity: It's easy to focus on war and huge natural and man-made disasters, and somehow everyone wants to get behind these causes to the point of creating waste, but it takes a stronger mind to focus on the abuses to life happening in China and in our own backyards. Physical and sexual abuse must be addressed directly and actively eliminated as much as possible from the human sphere...

A Human Rights group from Canada: Let these people go.

Dr. Josette Cline from Arkansas, USA: If we do not stand up to the acts of the Chinese, or torture anywhere, then we are condoning it with our silence...speak out!!

Mitch Gerber from the USA: The ongoing persecution against Falun Gong must truly end. The Thailand authorities should know better. I urge kind people around the world to help support Falun Gong and end the brutal persecution against Falun Gong at the hands of the evil Chinese communist party.

Mingzhi Lu from Atlanta, Georgia, USA: I am ashamed of the Thailand Government. Stop following the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong.

Ben from USA: This has to stop.

Jason Loftus from Canada: This is outrageous! How can foreign governments follow the Chinese Communist Party to repress innocent people in their own country? It is bad enough that they are silent about the persecution of Falun Gong in communist China--now it seems they want to import it. What's going through their heads? Can they really just throw away human rights and democratic values so easily to appease a communist dictatorship?

Australians: All Governments the world over should work together to put pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to stop this inhumane torture.

Zam Tual from the United States: All people should have the basic right to express their opinions. These protestors are merely exercising this right. Torturing them is cruel and unlawful.

Muhammad Asghar from Pakistan: The world should to stop torture now!!!

Bigael Teklu from Ethiopia: Stop violence.

Peter Ridderstolpe from Sweden: I'm involved in Swedish international aid work within the Ecosanres R&D program. I'm very concerned about the lack of human rights in China and considering quitting co-work with China

Gordon Webster from Australia: I've spoken with some of these people who were having a peaceful protest in Perth. I was appalled that I had not been aware sooner. Perhaps people will think twice about attending the Olympics, etc.

Jenny Richards from the UK: The Chinese government must observe international human rights norms.

Dr. Arne Thies from France: A real crime against conscience and humanity.

Hellenic Tao from Greece: As a group of people who work with outer and inner peace of the body and soul, we feel strongly against the mistreatment of any human being on the planet.

Glen McRae from Australia: Please do not bow down to the CCP. Support human dignity and human life by immediately releasing the innocent Falun Gong practitioners!

Ms. M. Bhunnoo from Geneva, Switzerland: Human rights prevail. Freedom of thought is a right and no power can take it away.

Peter Tiong from Australia: Immediately and unconditionally release the detained Falun Gong Practitioners

Patricia Murillo from Belgium: This is unacceptable. We cannot and should not let Chinese officials get control over other countries' people's conscience!

Dr. Albert Lin from Western Australia: The Thai government should release all detained Falun Gong practitioners immediately and stop kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party, whose collapse is imminent.

On the 19th of December, Falun Gong practitioners in Denmark went to the Thai Embassy to submit an open letter in which they expressed deep concern and protest at the recent infringement of Falun Gong practitioners' human rights in Thailand. They called upon the Thai government to immediately release all unlawfully detained practitioners and ensure the safety and freedom of practitioners in Thailand.

Practitioners display banners outside the Thailand Embassy to Denmark

In the open letter, practitioners highlighted the tide of people's withdrawal from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) since the publication of the Epoch Times' editorials, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. They urged the Thai leaders to be clear about the situation and not to bow to the doomed CCP. Besides the open letter, practitioners also included Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials and the English version of the "Nine Commentaries" as reference materials.

To date, there are still 6 practitioners who are being detained by the Thai Immigration Bureau. These practitioners have gone on a hunger strike to protest the Thai Government's severe violation of their legal rights.

Among the detained practitioners, several were mentally and physically tortured in China by the CCP for their belief in Falun Dafa, and some have lost their loved ones. One of them was only a few years old when her mother was tortured to death in China by the CCP. They never thought that they could be arrested in a democratic country after they fled from communist China. However, for conducting peaceful appeals to protest the CCP's brutality and particularly the recent rape of two women practitioners by a Chinese policeman, they were harassed and arrested by the Thai government, who has apparently bowed to the CCP's unreasonable pressure. Very troubling is the fact that those practitioners are UN refugees with proper paperwork. The Thai government claimed that it would hold these practitioners in detention until another country will accept them. Calling itself a democratic country, it has actually followed the Chinese communist regime to arbitrarily violate innocent people's human rights. The public of a democratic country cannot accept such crimes.

When practitioners arrived at the Thai Embassy, the staff member who received them seemed very nervous. Practitioners made a request to talk to the Ambassador and gave the staff member a copy of the open letter and other material. This staff member went upstairs. Tense discussion among several people from upstairs could be heard. After quite a while, the staff member came down and said that a consul will send the letter back to Thailand. At the practitioners' repeated request and explanation, she reluctantly accepted the practitioners' letter to the Ambassador and related material. The Ambassador or the Consul never made an appearance.

Meanwhile, several practitioners outside the Thai Embassy displayed banners reading "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong", "Falun Gong is Good" and "The World Needs Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance."

Dr. Apichart Chinwanno, Ambassador.
Royal Thai Embassy,
Floragatan 3,
Box 26220 100 40, Stockholm.
18th December 2005

Ref: Chinese Falun Gong practitioners, with UN refugee protection status, detained by the Thai police

Your Excellency,

People in Europe consider the Thai people to be kind, helpful and courageous. Their struggle to recover from the tsunami catastrophe won the hearts of many Europeans. With this background, it came as a shock to us that the Thai police detained seven Chinese Falun Gong practitioners with UN refugee status, two of them children, thus worsening their suffering.

On December the 15th about twenty Thai police officers arrested three men, two women and their children aged five, six and fourteen. These Falun Gong practitioners did nothing wrong, but the Thai police chose to lock them up like they were criminals. They were peacefully meditating in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok on December the 15th most probably in sympathy with two female Falun Gong practitioners who were raped by the policemen of Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province in China. They were very sad about what happened to their fellow practitioners in China.

They are now even sadder that Thailand, the country that has protected them earlier, has given in to pressures from the Chinese embassy.

According to the Falun Gong Information Centre, a Thai immigration investigator, Wikorn Jarupruch, told Falun Gong practitioners that it was the Chinese Embassy who directed the police to take action against them.

At around noon that day, the Thai police officers went in and out of the Embassy. Then for no reason, they forcefully searched Falun Gong practitioners' bags, took their banners, and arrested them.

The official reason for arresting the five adults, given by Officer Pithipan Krisdakorn, was that they failed to show proper evidence of legal entry into Thailand. This is an unreasonable claim. Like many refugees, they do not have passports but official letters of protection status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office.

The police action was taken with disregard for refugees in need of humanitarian help and avoiding persecution. This really disappoints us in Europe.

The fourteen-year-old girl was released but seven people are still detained. Among them are Mr. Huang Guohua and his five-year-old daughter Kaixin whose mother Luo Zhixiang was three months pregnant when she was killed in Chinese police custody in 2002. The poor girl has been living with her grandparents in China until last December when she was reunited with her father in Bangkok. He had fled to Thailand earlier, after having been arrested and tortured in China himself.

The normal procedure for handling refugees is for the police to call the UNHCR, but once again we regret to say that the police did not act accordingly.

What happened in Thailand is part of the evil scheme by the communist regime to persecute Falun Gong practitioners who strive to follow their beliefs in the principles of truth, compassion and tolerance, rather than the communist ideology. The Chinese Communist Party fears that virtue and morality will challenge the authority of its corrupt dictatorship.

Falun Gong has been senselessly persecuted in China for over six years, and at least 2790 practitioners have died from torture.

Protests in front of the Chinese Embassies and Consulates are being held all over the world and will continue until the persecution in China ends. During the past six years of sufferings, Falun Gong practitioners have never asked for anything else except the right to practice their belief peacefully.

What happened in Thailand recently must be a mistake. We sincerely hope that the Thai authorities will release the seven refugees, two of them are children. They have come a long way. They have suffered enough.

We are anxiously waiting for the release of the UN refugees.

Yours sincerely

Malin Nordstrand
Board of Directors

On December 20, Argentina's Ambassador invited Dafa practitioners to a meeting. Ambassador Elda Beatriz Sampietro had read a letter from the Falun Dafa Association of Sweden that contained information about practitioners being attacked by thugs during the visit of Chinese official Luo Gan to Argentina. The Chinese Embassy dispatched the thugs to physically assault the practitioners who were peacefully protesting the persecution of Falun Dafa in China during Luo Gan's visit. The Argentine police did not intervene because of orders from upper levels. The ambassador heard about the practitioners' petition this week calling on Argentina's government to not bow to the CCP's pressure, and she wished to learn more details about the incident.

In a one-hour meeting, practitioners introduced Falun Gong and the wide spread of Falun Gong in 78 countries and regions around the world. They explained the facts of the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the crimes of the 610 Office and its head, Luo Gan. They further explained that Luo Gan and other main criminals in the persecution have been sued in many countries, including Argentina. They advised the Argentine government not to bow to the CCP's pressure and defame and undermine their democratic system.

The Ambassador and secretary listened to the practitioners' explanations and said they would report to the Argentinean Government and transfer the related literature and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. She took another copy of the Nine Commentaries for herself. She said she would ask Argentina's government to investigate the incident.

The practitioners also invited the ambassador to view their exercise demonstration, in order to learn more about Falun Dafa.

On December the 10th, International Human Rights Day, several groups staged a rally and held a press conference outside the Chinese Embassy in London to protest the CCP's unceasing persecution of the Chinese people's human rights. Lord Thurlow, a former senior UK diplomat, made the following speech in the press conference:

In Africa, Asia, South America and Russia there have been serious cases in which the government violated the rights of its citizens. But in terms of scale, extent and severity, the CCP surpasses the other governments. Today we are focusing our attention on the human rights issues in China to balance the media's exaggerated reports on China's economic and industrial developments to which foreign investments made great contributions.

The United Nations itself has recently issued a report of its sub-commission on human rights, which emphasises the gross violations that amount to terrorism by the Chinese Communist Government against its own people. The Special Rapporteur on Torture calls it "terrorism from above." The main focus in China is the violent assault on practitioners of Falun Gong for the last six years, assessed at one hundred million in number in 1999. The UN Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery flatly denies the CCP attempts to justify its persecution by accusing Falun Gong. On the contrary, the Working Group states that the only deaths have been at the hands of the Chinese authorities themselves. Nearly three thousand deaths have been verified in detail and over four thousand four hundred cases of torture. This is only the tip of a concealed iceberg of a vastly greater death toll and daily torture on a wide scale in the slave labour camps.

Recently there has been an addition to the extensive list of officially encouraged torture methods in the form of deliberately organised rape. A police officer in Hebei Province recently raped a woman aged fifty-one years in their attempt to scare away Falun Gong practitioners who planned to expose the facts of the torture to the UN Special Rapporteurs during their visit to Beijing.

Products made by forced labour

The forced labour in hundreds of China's forced labour camps earns enormous profits for China. One million Chinese people were imprisoned in seven hundred labour camps, half of whom were innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

Li Heping was granted political asylum and now lives in the U.K. Li had been illegally imprisoned in a labour camp from 2001 to 2003 due to his practice of Falun Gong. During most of this time, he was forced to make lighters and alarm clocks to be exported to the western markets. Annually these hand-made products earned ten million Yuan for the labour camp. The labour camp was even rewarded by the Chinese authorities.

We should recognise products of this kind traded by western enterprises to lessen this kind of trading.

Has China shown any tendency to ease its human rights abuses? The western governments presumed that their routine talks with China could help improve the situation. However, the talks were followed by no action. Conversely, the persecution against Falun Gong has been escalating since Hu Jintao came to power. China still imposes strict censorship on overseas news. Chinese people could only know what the CCP intends to reveal to them, including the distorted facts of history. Only when the truth could hardly be concealed did China's continuous cover-up of SARS and bird flu reach the public. The disastrous event when the Songhua River was seriously contaminated by benzene class chemicals was exposed only after China's failed attempt at covering it up.

At present, the foundation upon on which Communism is based has been broken. Six million Chinese people signed to quit the CCP since the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party one year ago, a series of editorials to expose the CCP's history marked by bloody violence and persecution. The resignations have posed a great threat to the CCP and also led to the CCP's reprisals. The Communist party members who had made a protest were imprisoned.

These conditions can no longer be tolerated.

On the 19th of December 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Russia went to the Argentinean Embassy and submitted an open letter. The open letter appealed to the Ambassador and the Argentinean government to pay attention to the serious assault of Falun Gong practitioners by thugs under the direction of the Chinese Embassy in Argentina.

On the 14th of December 2005, while protesting in front of the Argentinean Congress against Luo Gan, one of the chief culprits of the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners were assaulted by thugs deployed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Banners and exhibition boards, as well as personal items of the practitioners, were snatched away. Argentineans who tried to stop the violence were also injured. However, the police present shockingly didn't take any action to stop the violence.

The open letter requested the Argentinean government to thoroughly investigate the assault, take immediate action to stop the brutal persecution and human rights violation of Falun Gong, and hold the assailants accountable. The letter said that no democratic government should compromise freedom and human rights or bow to the totalitarian communist regime.

A representative of the practitioners first clarified the truth to a staff member of the Embassy. She then introduced the practitioner to an official in charge. The official accepted the letter and said that she will give the letter and other materials to the Ambassador.

Italian practitioners recently held an anti-torture exhibition at the Torino city center to expose the Chinese Communist regime's brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Torino is one of the largest and most famous Italian cities, and will host the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in February 2006.

The anti-torture exhibition was held at the bustling Piazza Castello. The square is connected to a pedestrian business street, and countless tourists and local civilians come here hunting for Christmas gifts. As soon as practitioners set up their anti-torture exhibition photos, they were surrounded by people who asked questions in succession. They all wanted to know why the peaceful Falun Dafa practitioners would be subjected to such an inhumane persecution. Many were speechless upon seeing the graphic photo evidence. Some expressed their outrage at the Chinese Communist Regime's atrocities aloud.

When the atrocities were exposed , the locals expressed their sympathy to the practitioners. They all wanted to sign a petition calling for an end to the persecution. As there were so many people, they formed a line waiting for their turn to sign. After signing the petition, one young fellow also brought his friends. There were also occasions in which entire families signed the petition.

Upon learning of the Chinese Communist regime's atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners, two middle-aged ladies said, "It is very good that you have organized such an activity. Everyone should know the truth."

A gentleman told a practitioner that he supported Mao's Communism in 1968. However, he now felt very regretful for having supported such an evil theory that had brought huge calamities to mankind. He was very happy to receive a copy of the Italian version of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and wished that the tide of people's withdrawal from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) will soon dismantle it, and the Chinese people will soon live a peaceful life without it.

A kind-hearted older lady told a practitioner, "In China, animals are being treated very brutally. However, they treat these practitioners of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' even more brutally. I am very sad."

When it was getting dark, despite the chilling cold, there were still many people coming to the exhibition to learn about the truth of the persecution and sign the petition.