Charles Li, American citizen, doctor of medicine, and recent fiancé was detained by police as he disembarked from a plane seven weeks ago on his way home to visit his parents. His name was on "the black list" -- the list Chinese officials keep of foreigners who practice Falun Gong.
Chinese officials have held Charles in isolation for nearly two months, allowing only two 30-minute visits from an American official. Now his captors have demanded he choose a lawyer to defend him in China's courts. Sounds like a good idea, right?
Wrong.
Following a 1999 order from the Justice Bureau, lawyers were forbidden to represent Falun Gong practitioners. In 2001, the Bureau changed its strategy slightly, requiring all pleas to be handled "in accordance with the tone of the Central Government." China's constitution is completely ignored. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China are currently held without trial in forced-labour camps, tortured, and in hundreds of documented cases, killed during sessions of extreme violence aimed at "curing" the subjects of their peaceful faith.
Charles' situation is dire. Choosing a lawyer for this trial would only validate a fundamentally impossible proposition: that any practitioner of Falun Gong could escape China's predetermined "verdict" of guilty. It's a farce to entertain the idea that justice could be served in a state where the top standing orders include "eliminate Falun Gong at all costs." In these courts there are no appeals and there are no observers.
Some U.S. officials have said their role is to make sure that Charles receives the same legal treatment that a Chinese citizen in the same circumstances would receive. But what exactly is the nature of this "legal treatment?" Anyone even suspected of practicing Falun Gong in China is subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, torture or worse. This is not the case for just a few severe cases. It is state policy. It is pervasive. There is no rule of law for practitioners of Falun Gong in China.
Should we be content to ensure a lamb receives the same treatment as any other lamb caught in the lion's den?
In fact, China's legal system is an instrument of persecution, offering a cloak of legitimacy to the process of systematically imprisoning people for their beliefs. China's propaganda mongers would have us be distracted from the ever-mounting atrocities by orchestrating show-trials on state TV, but the real evidence abounds.
Now an American is the target.
Detaining and holding Charles challenges the values upheld and ensured by his U.S. passport. Indeed, it challenges the U.S. itself. How much do we value the hard-won freedoms we enjoy in our homeland? Should we ensure Charles receives the same "treatment" as any other Chinese under a persecutory regime, or should we ensure a fellow American's hard-won freedoms are not trampled in the dark detainment camps of a foreign regime?
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Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.
With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999, fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
The Falun Dafa Information Centre has verified details of 511 deaths since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labour camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTRE
North American Contacts: Cindy Gu 416-419-9981, Jason Loftus 416-977-7576
English Contact: Peter Jauhal 44 (0) 7985 034 543.
More contacts: http://www.falungonginfo.net/europe.htm
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearharmony.net
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