United States: Houston Practitioners Announce Libel Case at Press Conference in Front of Chinese Consulate

Around noon of February 10, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from Houston, Texas held a press conference in front of Chinese Consulate. The practitioners announced that Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued the verdict on February 3, 2004 and found Pan Xinchun, Deputy Chinese Consul General in Toronto, guilty of libel.

This is the first case of a successful lawsuit against Chinese diplomatic officials overseas in name of one Falun Gong practitioner. This is also the first case that a Chinese diplomat was found guilty for spreading hatred against Falun Gong in a court in a Western country.

On April 25, 2003, shortly after the SARS-related death toll in Toronto reached 16, The Toronto Star published a feature letter from local businessman Mr. Joel Chipkar who expressed his concern over the SARS cover-up that lead to the spread of SARS in Toronto.

For the past 4 years Mr. Chipkar has also written letters and appealed to the Chinese consulate in Toronto for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China where his mother and father-in-law faced brutal torture and now live in exile.

On May 1, 2003, a rebuttal letter by Mr. Pan appeared in the same newspaper denying responsibility for the cover-up of SARS and used the situation to accuse Mr. Chipkar and other Falun Gong practitioners of having a "hidden purpose" and "ulterior motives." He also labelled Mr. Chipkar and Falun Gong practitioners as being members of a "sinister cult."

In August 2003, Mr. Chipkar launched the libel lawsuit against Mr. Pan in the Ontario Superior Court. On February 3, 2004 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued the verdict and found Pan Xinchun, Deputy Chinese Consul General in Toronto, guilty of libel.

Jiang's regime bought off, utilized and controlled overseas media through overseas Chinese institutions to spread lies defaming Falun Gong and then "sold them back" to China to deceive people there. Its purpose was to eradicate Falun Gong. They not only hired people to harass Falun Gong practitioners, controlled some individual media to be their mouthpiece, but they also abused diplomats' positions to provoke hatred against Falun Gong inside the Chinese community and harass governmental officials of other countries who support Falun Gong. They tried to extend the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong to other countries.

The judgment of Pan Xinchun's libel case gave a warning to all diplomatic officials working in Chinese Embassies and consulates overseas who followed Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong that they themselves will bear the consequences of their actions.