An Absurd Show “Trial”: Media Interviews Practitioner about Charles Li

In front of the UN building in Geneva, a reporter interviewed Falun Dafa practitioner Steve Ispas. Steve was representing “Friends of Charles Li” and came from California on the morning of 20 March, the day before the “trial” of American citizen Charles Li began in China.

Reporter: Steve, how are you? Can you please say how you know American citizen Charles Li?

Steve: I have known Charles Li for 2 and half years. We practised Falun Gong together in Stanford University and he is my good friend. In order to rescue Charles, we established the “Friends of Charles Li” group, to appeal to the Chinese government to release him. We will not stop appealing until the day Charles Li is released.

Reporter: What do you think about tomorrow’s “trial” of Charles Li?

Steve: I am really worried about tomorrow’s trial. This is obviously an absurd trial. I know Charles Li will not be given a fair trial; Falun Gong practitioners in China never have fair trials. Because in China you can’t have any information on the background of the witnesses, they can testify falsely; there have been too many false testimonies in the past. Back in 1999, the Chinese legal authorities published an announcement prohibiting any lawyers from defending Falun Gong. I am deeply concerned about the result of this trial.

Reporter: How do the Californian government and local citizens perceive Charles Li’s detention by the Chinese government?

Steve: The Californian government and ordinary citizens have offered a lot of support to the rescue of Charles Li. The Mayor, the City Council and many Congress members have written to the Chinese Ambassador and to the State Secretary and so on, to appeal to the Chinese government to release Charles Li.

Some other practitioners and I conducted a "Rescue Charles Li SOS car journey." We passed through many cities and collected over 100,000 signatures to demand the Chinese government release Charles Li immediately, because he should not have been detained in the first place.

Reporter: What message have you tried to deliver to the UN through your Geneva trip?

Steve: We want to expose the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong to the world. The reasons for this persecution are complete fabrications, and a classic example is Charles Li’s arrest upon his arrival at Guangzhou airport. After people know the truth, everyone will support Falun Gong. The suppression of Falun Gong is wrong; it’s a violation of human freedom. The persecution of Falun Gong must stop immediately. People of the world need to know the details of the ongoing brutal persecution. I hope the representatives from many countries will be concerned with China’s violation of Falun Gong’s human rights. I hope the whole world can help to stop the persecution of Falun Gong.

Chinese version available at http://yuanming.net/articles/200303/18552.html