France: Widespread Call for and End to the Persecution at a Human Rights Seminar (pictures)

On April 22 2003, The French-Tibet Association held a seminar at the 800-year-old Sorbonne University in Paris. Some human right organisations, Sinologists and public figures were invited to discuss the human rights situation in Mainland China. They all shared a concern for the human rights of the Chinese people and hope to see an improvement. The theme of the seminar was "The On-going Persecution in China and Tibet". The French-Tibet Association sent a special invitation to Falun Gong practitioners asking them to talk about Falun Gong and the ongoing brutal persecution of practitioners in Mainland China.

The practitioners first pointed out that Falun Gong is a cultivation system that helps people improve their health and cultivate their mind. They also mentioned that before Jiang Zemin initiated his persecution in 1999, Falun Gong was warmly received by people from all walks of life in China.

The practitioners then explained the reasons behind the persecution of Falun Gong in China and the brutal means used by Jiang and his accomplices during the past four years. They revealed that it was the rapidly growing number of Falun Gong practitioners that made Jiang extremely jealous. Misusing his power, Jiang violated the will of the government and the people to forcefully launch a brutal nationwide campaign of oppression. The main tools of the Jiang regime are lies and brutal violence and this persecution was initiated solely to defend Jiang’s personal interests and is without legal basis. Practitioners exposed the schemes adopted by Jiang’s regime to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief, including murder, inhuman torture, forced brainwashing and sexual abuse. As this persecution involves tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners and hundreds of millions of their relatives and friends, it has actually endangered the entire Chinese society.

The practitioners’ speeches aroused widespread concern among everyone. People asked questions and talked with the practitioners to find out more. Some expressed a willingness to learn the Falun Gong exercises immediately, while others suggested that practitioners spread Falun Gong more widely in society. Some people who practise other cultivation practices of the Buddha School mentioned that through the Internet they have already come to know about Falun Gong and the persecution. They said they view Falun Gong practitioners as fellow practitioners, and wish for an end to the persecution.

Translated from Chinese at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200305/20770.html