Falun Gong: Chinese Government Frames Falun Gong With Anthrax-Contaminated Mail

Central Press, New York, Oct. 18, 2001 ---

During the APEC meetings in Shanghai, eight House Representatives from New Jersey sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to demand that Chinese President Jiang Zemin abolish the 610 Office, which was set up for the sole purpose of persecuting Falun Gong. The letter also urged the release of Dr. Teng Chunyan and Chen Gang, who are now imprisoned in China. The Falun Dafa Information Center (FDI) suspects that the Chinese government is creating terror by framing Falun Gong with a piece of anthrax-contaminated mail.

FDI says that Jiang Zemin is exploiting the world's attention on terrorist acts and the fear of biochemical weapons.

FDI cited news from Beijing, pointing out that spokesman Sun Yuxi of the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared during the APEC meetings that China had found two letters containing anthrax bacteria. Although he did not give details, he revealed that one of the letters contained materials supportive of Falun Gong.

Ms. Yuan Feng, a spokeswoman of FDI headquartered in New York City, said there was never any confirmation even to the existence of anthrax letters in China. But she said that using anthrax bacteria to frame Falun Gong is meant to create terror and is therefore itself a terrorist act that threatens humanity and morality. She called upon the international community and media to investigate and expose the truth of the incident, reminding that similar claims by the Chinese government have proven, upon independent investigation, to be not just groundless but active falsehoods, such as the so-called "self-immolation" videotape at Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

FDI recently learned from sources inside China that President Jiang Zemin has internally labelled Falun Gong a "terrorist organization." Some experts have warned that Jiang's regime is likely to create terrorist incidents to frame Falun Gong.

FDI considers the "anthrax contaminated mail" one such an incident intended to smear Falun Gong and breed public hatred and fear. At the same time, such a claim can also deflect world attention from human rights abuses in China, and attempt to reverse the international pressure on China's Falun Gong human rights during the APEC summit by the regime claiming the role of "victim."

In the letter initiated by Representative Andrews from New Jersey and co-signed by seven other Representatives, they wrote, "we urge you [President Bush] to press for the release of Dr. Chunyan Teng and Mr. Gang Chen, currently being detained in China because of their involvement with the Falun Gong movement. We also ask that you call for the closing of the ' 610 Office,' an immoral entity created specifically to persecute Falun Gong practitioners."

The congresspeople said, "as the world rallies behind us and vows to make no distinction between the terrorists who attacked America and those who harbour them, we ought to take the steps necessary to eliminate China's state-sanctioned terrorism against its own citizens." "The ' 610 Office,' is named for the date it was established June 10, 1999. This office has the authority to override the Chinese constitution, other statutes, and the political and judiciary branches of the Chinese Government. Consequently, it is immune from any legal responsibility for performing illegal activities in executing its orders, including directly causing the deaths of Chinese citizens. The damage done by the ' 610 Office' is profound." In fact, "610 Office" is the "head office for handling the Falun Gong issue."

Dr. Teng Chunyan, 38, is a US permanent resident. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment for providing foreign media with evidence of the physical and mental torture received by Falun Gong practitioners illegally detained in mental hospitals. She was accused of "revealing state secrets to foreigners." Chen Gang is a relative of a US citizen in New Jersey. He has been detained in Beijing for over a year because he refuses to give up practising Falun Gong.

Written on October 18, 2001