Jiang's Group Wreaks Havoc in France, Tramples on Freedom, Equality and Fellowship

The persecution against Falun Gong initiated by Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin out of jealousy and paranoia has continued for more than four years. In these bloody four-plus years, there have been at least 870 verified cases of Falun Gong practitioners dying as a result of the persecution. Meanwhile, the Jiang regime has extended the slander and persecution of Falun Gong to outside of China. In recent days, the Jiang regime has caused incidents in France against the peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, in the process trampling freedom, equality and fellowship--ideals that are treasured by the French and Chinese people alike.

On January 24 and 26, ahead of Chinese Chairman Hu Jintao's visit to France, several dozen Falun Gong practitioners from England, Germany, France, Taiwan, and Norway were distributing truth-clarifying leaflets or simply wearing yellow scarves with the words "Falun Gong" on them on the streets of Paris. They were taken to the police station, had their passports inspected and their literature taken away, and released after being detained for four hours. Some practitioners were taken away without doing anything, without even any clothing or apparel that indicated they were associated with Falun Gong. French police even conducted a forceful search of a female German practitioner. The French public was aghast upon hearing news of what happened. When some practitioners were being released, the police filled in "no reason" for the "reason for detention" entry on their logs. Some policemen admitted that their actions were quite inappropriate. Several policemen said helplessly, "This was an order from above, they have to think about the French economy."

This unusual behaviour by the French police was clearly carried out under the coercion of the Jiang regime. A member of the community in Chinatown said, "As far back as a few months ago, the Chinese Embassy have been continually telling the French government, police, and local Chinese that Falun Gong practitioners would make trouble during the Chinese New Year's Parade and Hu Jintao's visit." The local Chinese were indeed targeted by the Jiang regime's slander. However, the Falun Gong practitioners' activities have always been peaceful, a fact that's widely acknowledged, and would never be "making trouble." On the contrary, it's the Jiang regime, who is responsible for the bloody persecution of Falun Gong, that is making trouble on French soil, a place that cherishes freedom, equality and fellowship.

Before this incident, the Jiang regime has repeatedly coerced democratic governments into obstructing Falun Gong practitioners' legal, peaceful activities. In April 2002, when dictator Jiang Zemin visited Germany, in order to avoid seeing practitioners, he fed large quantities of lies slandering Falun Gong to the German police. This caused a part of the Berlin police to react poorly when they saw Falun Gong practitioners wearing yellow scarves. They forbade practitioners wearing yellow scarves from being along the path of Jiang's motorcade, among other inappropriate acts. Afterwards, the practitioners met several times with the Berlin Ministry of Internal Affairs, laying out the persecution that Falun Gong practitioners have suffered in China, as well as Falun Gong's guiding principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and peaceful nature. After verification with multiple parties and investigations, the Berlin government issued a formal written apology to Falun Gong practitioners in December 2002, promising that similar episodes would not occur again.

In June 2002, when Jiang Zemin was to visit Iceland, the Icelandic government refused entry to Falun Gong practitioners based on a list of names that was apparently provided by the Jiang regime. This touched off a firestorm, leading Iceland's leading newspaper to carry four full-page ads apologising to Falun Gong practitioners, with the Chinese words "We're sorry" as the title, and with the English title of "Apologies to the Falun Gong practitioners." The advertisement was sponsored by more than four hundred fifty people, including members of the Icelandic Parliament and prominent figures, sending shockwaves throughout the country. Icelandic citizens held three consecutive days of large-scale protests, indicating that the government's policy of refusing entry to Falun Gong protesters brought shame to the Icelandic people. Under pressure exerted by the public, the Iceland government relented and allowed entry to the Falun Gong practitioners.

The latest incident in France is a replay of the Jiang regime's reprehensible behaviour in Germany and Iceland. They are using economic interests to entice and threaten democratic governments. Of course, the relevant members of the Chinese government delegation must also bear responsibility for this act that sold out conscience for personal gain. Their actions are helping Jiang's dictatorship to persecute good people. France is a democratic country, and the actions on the part of a few French officials are going against the trust placed in them by the French people. These are also stains in their personal conduct.

However, the Jiang regime's actions could not stop the Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal. According to the AFP, more than 650 Falun Gong practitioners and human rights activists from all over Europe gathered in Paris on January 25 to protest the persecution against Falun Gong. A spokesperson from the Paris police said that the protesters came from countries including Austria, England, Germany, Russia, Australia, and others. They held signs such as "Falun Gong is peaceful" and "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice". They paraded in downtown Paris and were quite orderly, as expected.

The goal of Jiang's regime is not just to defame Falun Gong practitioners. They intend to cause conflict between Falun Gong practitioners and other officials inside the Chinese government, hoping for those officials to become accomplices in their persecution and share in their criminal activities. However, their efforts are in vain. The Falun Gong practitioners are only protesting against those under Jiang's control who initiated and carried out the persecution, and treat Jiang Zemin and the current Chinese leadership differently. When Wen Jiabao visited the U.S. at the end of last year, the Falun Gong practitioners displayed banners stating: "Welcoming Wen Jiabao's Visit to the U.S." and "Severely Punish Jiang Zemin." Falun Gong Founder Mr. Li Hongzhi said in an interview with NTDTV regarding this issue, "What we're simply doing is opposing the persecution, and the main thing is, we're targeting the chief instigators of the persecution." This time when Hu Jintao is visiting France, Falun Gong practitioners only want to bring Jiang to justice, with no such plan for Hu Jintao--the distinction is quite clear. Jiang Zemin and his accomplices can no longer hide behind the government to escape punishment. So far, they have been named in lawsuits in six different countries with the charge of genocide. At the same time, fifteen Chinese officials, including Jiang Zemin, is on the Canadian police's watch list. If any of them enter Canada, they will be the subject of a criminal investigation. What awaits Jiang and his accomplices is justice dealt out by the law.

This incident in France is another case of persecution of Falun Gong by the Jiang regime, but it has provided a good opportunity for Falun Gong practitioners to clarify the truth to the French public and government officials. Those who have understood the truth will undoubtedly see the Jiang regime's despicable actions for what they are, and stand on the side of justice.