Exposed: Interfering Tactics of the Chinese Embassy in Russia

According to worldwide media reports, before the Falun Gong press conference was to be held in Moscow, the Chinese Embassy there presented notes to both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, requesting that they bar the conference. Later, we also learned that the News Secretary of the Chinese Embassy had called the head of the News Development Institute, who was the sponsor of this press conference. During an hour-long talk the News Secretary repeatedly spread rumors and slandered Falun Gong while requesting that the press conference not take place. The Chinese Embassy exerted "huge" pressure through both formal and informal channels. The situation, as a result, turned very complex before this event. Even the security personnel in the Institute's office building, where the conference was to be held, received secret orders from the police department, asking them to prevent reporters from attending the press conference.

Facing the Chinese Embassy's desperate obstruction and interference and its various clumsy performances, practitioners in Russia introduced Falun Gong and clarified the truth to the head and other staff members of the Institute. With strong support from the News Development Institute, the press conference was eventually held without incident.

Speak Out the Truth

Many important media, including Russia's well known publishers, news agencies, PTP TV, Chinese editors of the Voice of America, China's Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily, attended the press conference. It began with the showing of the videotape about the truth of the Tiananmen Square Immolation Incident. Next, a practitioner representative pointed out the details of the doubtful points in this incident, disclosing and refuting all the vicious lies created by the Chinese government. They also revealed to those attending, the criminal facts of the barbarous persecution and killing which Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to in China. They appealed to all participants to help stop the Chinese government's escalating massacre of Falun Gong practitioners, and to urgently help save the lives of those innocent people who are still facing torture and killing everyday in China.

Support from the Amnesty International and Human Rights Organizations

The representative of Russia Amnesty International solemnly pointed out that "Any motives generated from ideology and politics should not be used as an excuse for killing." Russia's President also mentioned in a recent speech that "A death sentence is not a punishment; it is revenge. No government or parliament can make a decision on this issue. Only the most lofty God can make this decision."

Mr. Venikelsiki, the representative of Human Rights Defenders in Moscow Helsinki Organization, said in his presentation, "As long as our constitution and law are still effective within the Russian territory, we should not allow China's secret service personnel to disrupt the internal affairs of Russia. Not only should we protect Russian Falun Gong practitioners' rights, but we should also protect the rights of those Chinese practitioners who are living and working in our land. As all of you know, the Chinese secret service personnel and the Chinese Embassy tried all ways to seek out Chinese Falun Gong practitioners, attempting to have them arrested and deported back to China so that they could illegally persecute them more openly." He also stated, "If Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in Russia suffered various persecutions from the Chinese Embassy, we will consider giving them political asylum. In Russia, all Falun Gong activities are beneficial to people and have done no damage to the society at all. Documents from the Moscow medical examination agencies prove that Falun Gong is beneficial to the human body and mind."

After all representatives of various attended organizations, including the Falun Gong representative, finished their presentations, the press conference organizers answered questions from reporters. Also, they restated that Chinese authorities' violation of human rights would not be allowed to happen in Russia.

Chinese authorities used all contemptible means to try to prevent the press conference from happening and they went to great lengths to threaten the organizers. But, they eventually failed. This story shows us that the evil fears the truth and is always afraid that its crimes will be disclosed to the public.

We plan to take more efforts to expose the Chinese government's atrocities to the Russian government, media and people.