Japan: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold a Candlelight Vigil in Front of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo to Commemorate Liu Chengjun

On the evening of December 30, 2003, Falun Gong practitioners held a candlelight vigil, outside of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, to commemorate Falun Gong practitioner Liu Chengjun from Jilin Province who passed away on December 26. Practitioners strongly called for holding the murderers responsible and punishing head criminal Jiang Zemin. Liu Chengjun was one of the practitioners responsible for tapping into cable TV networks in Changchun City to broadcast the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa in March 2002, having no other avenues to let the public know the facts.

Around 8:00 p.m. on March 5, 2002, eight channels on the Changchun cable TV network aired "Falun Dafa Around the World," "Self-immolation or Staged Event" and other truth-clarifying programs. The broadcast lasted for 40-50 minutes without interruption. As the programs on Falun Gong broadcast facts about Falun Dafa that were completely different from the authorities' defamatory propaganda, it caused a great sensation in Changchun City. After the broadcast, nearly 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Jilin Province. Liu Chengjun was arrested on March 24, 2002. The police shot him twice in the leg, even though he was already in handcuffs. He was later sentenced to 19 years in prison. Liu Chengjun is the eighth Falun Gong practitioner who has been verified as having been tortured to death due to the TV tapping incident. Eyewitnesses said there were bloodstains near Liu Chengjun's nose, in his ear and on his thighs, and the authorities immediately cremated his body without conducting any autopsy the same day that he died.

One Falun Gong practitioner participating in the activity said that she learned the news of Liu Chengjun's death from the Internet, she was very sad. She still remembered that in March 2002 during the human rights conference in Switzerland, she first heard that Jiang ordered "kill (Falun Gong practitioners) without pardon" after the broadcast in Changchun, and more than 5,000 practitioners were arrested. One year and nine months later, Jiang regime, disregarding the law and the calling of justice from the international community, tortured Liu Chengjun to death. She was very sad. She said that last year Amnesty International headquarters issued an Urgent Action statement for personal security of those Falun Gong practitioners arrested after the Changchun City's TV broadcast. With the concern of the world's opinions, there were still eight practitioners who were tortured to death. It's not hard to imagine how many more practitioners there are, whose names are unknown, but were murdered in China. She hoped that the appealing activity would call for more strength from all to join in and help stop the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Huang who just came from China not long ago said Liu Chengjun's death reminded her of the atmosphere of terror that covered north eastern China when the mass arrest of Falun Gong practitioners occurred after the TV tapping incident. She said that Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong and the information blockade was the reason that tapping into state TV was necessary in order for the public to learn the facts about the persecution. In China, Falun Gong practitioners' freedom of speech and right to enjoy the protection of law were stripped away. Falun Gong practitioners broadcast the truth through tapping into TV networks to allow the public, whose minds have been deceived by Jiang regime's lies, to know the truth and can be considered a righteous act.

Practitioner Ms. Liu's speech was very inspiring. "December 26 was the day Liu Chengjun passed away, it was also the day when the Chinese authorities announced that people infected by SARS had reappeared in Guangzhou City. I hope the coincidence can remind people of the tremendous harm brought to the public by the Jiang Regime’s lies and information blockade. People who have gone through this painful experience have realized that exposing the lies will help the world avoid a possible disaster. I believe one day people will cherish the best wishes Liu Chengjun brought to our world. He gave his life to expose Jiang's lies that destroy humanity's fundamental morality, and safeguarded the dignity of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance'. Liu Chengjun is our nation's pride."

The same evening, Japan Minghui Falun Gong School teachers and students also arrived to commemorate Liu Chengjun.