United Kingdom: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold Press Conference and Candlelight Vigil, Call for Bringing Jiang, Luo, Liu and Zhou to Justice

On February 14, Falun Gong practitioners from the United Kingdom held a press conference and candlelight vigil to protest the Chinese authorities' brutal persecution of Dafa practitioners during the last three months. Practitioners called to bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice. Former UK diplomat Lord Thurlow said in the press conference that only when more people understand the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong can this unprecedented inhuman violation of human rights be stopped.

According to reports from Falun Dafa websites, from November 2003 to January 2004 26 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed to have been tortured to death in China. These Falun Gong practitioners were from nine different provinces and municipalities. The tortures they suffered include beatings, electrical shocks, force-feeding*, and injection of drugs that damage the central nervous system. The practitioners who were tortured to death include a 65-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man. As of February 14 2004, at least 884 practitioners were confirmed to have been killed during the persecution against Falun Gong.

During the press conference held at 4pm, some practitioners sat holding portraits of Chinese practitioners who were tortured to death. Some practitioners stood behind them with banners printed with eye-catching words in both Chinese and English: "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to Justice." These four people play the most malicious role in this persecution. They suborn the 610 Office, the Ministry of Public Security, labour camps and other institutions to persecute Dafa practitioners with extremely cruel means. They also issued the order that Falun Gong practitioners can be beaten to death, and their deaths counted as suicide. They even assign a death quota to each labour camp.

During the press conference, a representative from the UK Falun Dafa Association said, "Jiang and his followers' persecution of Falun Gong violates both the Chinese Constitution and international laws. No matter what roles the evildoers play in this persecution, they will eventually be brought to justice."

During the candlelight vigil, practitioners held lotus-shaped candles and quietly sat in front of the Chinese Consulate. Accompanied by the peaceful Dafa music of "Pudu", they mourned for fellow practitioners who have died in the persecution and called for justice and conscience.

*Force-feeding is the number one cause of death for Falun Gong practitioners. The purpose of police force-feeding is not to nourish, but rather to torture practitioners and to cause so much pain that they will renounce the practice of Falun Gong. To that end, the police have used many different means to cause excruciating pain and injury, including inserting and withdrawing the feeding tubes repeatedly, leaving the feeding tubes in the stomach, knocking out teeth while attempting to force-feed, force-feeding saturated salt-water, vinegar/liquor, or urine/feces, etc.