United States: Jiang's Regime Victimises American Company Mary Kay, Inc.

Since September 2003, a Chinese subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas based Mary Kay, Inc., a retail cosmetics firm, has been a subject of scrutiny by the "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.]

The surveillance stems from an incident in which a Falun Gong practitioner related the goodness of Falun Dafa cultivation in a speech for the new Mary Kay subsidiary in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. Mary Kay has over 120,000 Chinese employees and sales consultants.

After three Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested, the"610 Office" applied further pressure on Mary Kay by forcing the company to comply with demands regarding Falun Gong, under the threat of having normal business operations in China interrupted or discontinued.

Under pressure from the "610 Office," Mary Kay, Inc. now requires that all current and future employees sign a "behavioural standards statement," which explicitly states that they will neither practise nor advocate Falun Gong, under penalty of employment termination. According to information from within China, several Mary Kay employees and/or sales consultants have already lost their jobs for refusing to sign such a statement. Another Mary Kay employee that spoke in favour of Falun Gong was detained by Chinese authorities, and this employee's whereabouts remain unknown.

Perhaps this "Mary Kay incident" is just a typical example of how the Jiang Zemin regime never hesitates to dupe foreign companies into unknowingly acting as the regime's henchmen in violating basic human rights and persecuting those who exercise the freedoms of belief and conscience.

It is a pity that in order to continue normal commercial activity, Mary Kay, Inc., noted for promoting good character and career principles, was coerced into playing a disgraceful role in the trampling of conscience and persecution of personal belief, as directed by the Jiang regime. Mary Kay has itself become a victim of the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong.

Other foreign companies doing business in China have received similar pressure from the Jiang regime and were also forced to make the difficult choice between the fair treatment of Falun Gong and the guarantee of normal business operation. The difference is that certainly not all foreigners are ignorant of the truth of Falun Gong.

In 1995, a merchant from Biella, Italy, Alfredo Fava, founded a joint venture in China. In October 2001, Mr. Fava was intercepted by Chinese police at Guangzhou Airport and immediately deported to Italy on the next plane. At the end of October, Mr. Fava again went to China to stay for three weeks. However, he was strictly monitored and was even followed by a police vehicle while commuting to his office. Afterwards, although they knew Mr. Fava needed to visit China in order to manage his business, the Chinese General Embassy in Milan still refused to issue him a travel visa to visit China.

Why is it like this? Mr. Fava said that according to the explanation given by Chinese General Consulate Gao Shubao in Milan, it is because he participated in Falun Gong activities while in China.

Fava said, "Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, includes five exercises and takes the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance as its guiding principle. I believe Falun Gong to be the best thing that has ever happened in my life, and I would never deny that I practise Falun Gong."

The Chinese Consulate refused to issue Mr. Fava a travel visa, so he was unable to manage his company in China for a period of sixteen months. Meanwhile, the police in the notorious "610 Offices" deliberately intimidated Mr.Fava's customers, causing the company's sales to fall sharply. This Italian merchant was forced to sell his company in China at a price well below market value.

Regarding this, Mr. Fava asks, "When will the international organisations request that Chinese dictators respect the international treaties that were so pompously signed, but which are never obeyed? If merchants want to manage their own businesses in China, they must first give up their freedom of thought, their viewpoints and their culture. Isn't this actually the case?"