BBC TV Program Reveals the Persecutory Tactics of UK Chinese Embassy Staff

On Monday April 14 2003, BBC television screened a program about a Falun Gong practitioner who lives in the UK and is undertaking a research project at a Midlands University. The program revealed how the Chinese Embassy is refusing to renew this practitioner’s passport because he practises Falun Gong, making him unable to travel abroad with his family and threatening to leave them stateless when his work permit runs out. It showed the practitioner’s failed attempts to renew his passport, and a meeting with his local Member of Parliament who stated “we need to try and create some parliamentary pressure on the Chinese Government...I think this is another example of the huge question mark over China’s attitude towards human rights.”

The program described Falun Dafa as “a set of exercises and beliefs designed to improve body and mind...based on the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance”. It showed footage of thousands of people practising Falun Dafa exercises in Beijing before the persecution began, and then went on to portray “the brutality of the crackdown” with footage of Chinese police using violence against practitioners on Tiananmen Square in 2001. This created a stark contrast with the scenes of thousands of people enjoying the Falun Dafa exercises in Beijing and portrayed the irrationality of this persecution. The voiceover described the brainwashing, torture and enormous violations of human rights occurring in China at the moment, as well as the death toll of over 500 practitioners.

The program showed footage of an Edinburgh practitioner, who is also having her request for a passport renewal denied by the Chinese authorities. The cameras covered her daily appeal outside the Edinburgh Chinese Consulate, and filmed as she went into the Consulate to enquire about her passport. The unreasonable and aggressive threats of the Consulate staff towards BBC reporters who had done nothing wrong, and their continued refusal to renew this lady’s passport just because she practises Falun Gong, showed the true persecutory nature of Jiang’s regime and their blatant disregard for the free and democratic society of the UK.

The program went on to show footage of the award-winning performance by Falun Dafa practitioners at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade. As the parade passed her by, one woman could clearly be heard shouting, “Falun Gong – well done for what you did in China. I’m with you!”

This BBC program allowed many people to learn about the Chinese regime’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, not only in China but also in England and Scotland. It also helped people to see through the lies created by the Jiang regime in their attempts to justify and conceal their horrific crimes against humanity and their abuses of human rights.