Latvia: Peaceful Appeal and Mourning For Liu Chengjun At The Chinese Embassy in Riga

On Christmas Eve 2003, Falun Gong practitioner Liu Chengjun died in the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital of Jilin University after being brutally persecuted. Liu was one of the leading participants who interrupted cable TV signals in Changchun city in March 2002 to broadcast truth clarification videos about Falun Gong. Back then, eight channels of the Changchun cable TV network broadcast the programmes, including programmes about how Falun Dafa has spread worldwide, and a deconstruction of the Tiananmen staged self-immolation. The video broadcast lasted for more than 40 minutes and allowed many people to realise the truth behind the Chinese regime’s propaganda used against Falun Gong.

Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin, who is also the main instigator of the bloody persecution against Falun Gong, was deeply frightened by this incident. He subsequently issued a secret order to “Kill them without pardon.” Relentless arrests and brutal torture began soon afterwards. More than five thousand Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun were arrested after the incident. Among them six were beaten to death and fifteen were illegally sentenced to imprisonment ranging from four to twenty years. Liu suffered severe torture after he was kidnapped. His name was included in the list for urgent rescue recently issued by Amnesty International. Jiang’s brutal persecution against Falun Gong has destroyed the fundamental values of humankind, and has claimed the lives of many compassionate people.

To mourn Liu Chengchun’s death and to protest against Jiang’s persecution of Falun Gong, Dafa practitioners from several cities in Latvia gathered at the Chinese Embassy in Riga city to peacefully appeal. Practitioners called for the wicked people that are responsible for the persecution to be severely punished. During the activity, those living in the neighborhood of the Chinese Embassy expressed a sincere interest in understanding the true situation in China. There were even more people asking, “How can this illegal persecution be stopped?” After people realised the facts, they said they would like to learn the Falun Gong exercises. During the process of truth clarification, Latvian Dafa practitioners gave the policemen on duty a statement issued by the Baltic Falun Dafa Association, and thanked them for providing support to the activity.