On February the 24th 2004, Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong newspaper, published a half-page article maliciously attacking Falun Gong practitioners' activities of clarifying the truth in Hong Kong. The purpose of this article was to create media pressure, to defame Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners, as well as to pressure the Hong Kong government into employing more strict measures to suppress Falun Gong.
For this reason, several Falun Gong practitioners went to Wen Wei Po and kindly told them the facts about Falun Gong and released the following statement:
"Statement by Falun Gong Practitioners in Hong Kong about the Untruthful Report Published in Wen Wei Po"
On February 24, 2004, Wen Wei Po, the mouthpiece of Chinese Government members in Hong Kong, published an article maliciously attacking Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners' legal activities in Hong Kong. The article intentionally avoided mentioning the facts of the illegal persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China. Instead, it made libelous remarks about the truth-clarifying activities of Falun Gong practitioners, describing their handing out of flyers, as well as their appeals to stop the persecution, as "trouble making." What is more ridiculous is that in order to stir up hatred among the Hong Kong people towards Falun Gong, the article claimed that Falun Gong "runs unbridled" in Hong Kong. This is contrary to the fact that Dong Jianhua's government in Hong Kong is making efforts to suppress Falun Gong under the pressure of Jiang and his followers. The article accused the Hong Kong government of helping Falun Gong to sound off at will. One can see the malicious intention of the article, trying to force numerous kindhearted people in the Hong Kong government to follow Jiang and his followers in committing crimes.
As we all know, soon after Jiang started persecuting Falun Gong in China, Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong also experienced various degrees of suppression. In China, about 900 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have been tortured to death since 1999. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to forced labor camps. Several millions have been separated from their families, friends and relatives in China. Among those affected by the persecution, there are practitioners from Hong Kong and other countries as well. Since the year 2000, the Hong Kong government has started monitoring and restricting Falun Gong practitioners, under pressure from the Mainland. Dong Jianhua and several high-ranking officials have openly defamed Falun Gong, putting tremendous pressure on Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong. The peaceful activities of Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong have been disturbed. The Hong Kong practitioners have applied to various locations to hold our annual experience conferences and were declined over 70 times. In March of 2002, during the peaceful appeal in front of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and more than ten practitioners were brought up on false charges. It seems that Wen Wei Po is not concerned about the unfair treatment which the Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners have experienced.
The persecution of Falun Dafa by Jiang and his followers is sustained by lies. The one-voice media in China have deceived many Chinese and Hong Kong people, creating misunderstandings and even hatred towards Falun Gong, to the extent that some are even willingly participating in the persecution. The Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners have been voluntarily distributing flyers to tourists and passersby to clear up this misunderstandings and hatred, to uphold people's right to know the truth about the current situation of the Mainland Chinese, to peacefully resist Jiang's persecution and to reinforce the moral conscience of the public. Falun Gong is not against the Chinese government. You must have seen, when the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visited America and Canada, that Falun Gong practitioners warmly welcomed him. Why haven't we seen Wen Wei Po reporting this news?
The article claimed that Falun Gong practitioners "worked hard to tangle with tourists and disturb civilians." However, the photo published on the same page revealed a truthful scenario of a female Falun Gong practitioner who is pleasantly smiling and politely handing a flyer to a passerby from a distance rather than "working hard or tangling" as reported. In fact, after learning the truth about Falun Gong, many tourists from Mainland China have realized how Jiang and his followers have been persecuting Falun Gong. They felt that it was worth visiting Hong Kong to find this out. Many people sighed, realizing that the information that is blocked in China is easily obtained in Hong Kong. The Mainland Chinese tourists have witnessed firsthand the peaceful and friendly manner of the Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners in this place that is ruled by law.
To fulfill their political task, the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po published this anonymous article to distort the facts and incite hatred. It is not only ill intentioned, but also not wise. Recently, many local governments in China are quietly issuing internal orders to recall and destroy the issued documents ordering the persecution against Falun Gong, which could be used as evidence against them when Falun Gong is redressed and the crimes committed during the persecution are fully revealed. Because they have realized that the persecution is hard to sustain and have seen the trend of its time, they are afraid of punishment in the near future. We hope that Wen Wei Po, as well as the editor and author of the article, can see the trend clearly and can discern what is right from wrong, leave a road out for themselves, and thus not become Jiang's scapegoat.
We seriously request that the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po and the responsible editor and author immediately publish an apology and a statement withdrawing the attack on Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners. Meanwhile, we withhold the right to file a lawsuit for libel.
Falun Dafa practitioners in Hong Kong
February 27, 2004
Additional Information:
Address and relevant phone numbers of the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po (zip code 00852)
Address: 2-4/F, Hing Wai Center, 7 Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Telephone exchange: 86-852-2873 8288
Newsroom: 86-852-2873 8265
Reporters: 86-852-2873 8259
Business News: 86-852-2873 8002
Advertisement: 86-852-2873 9888
Classified: 86-852-2873 9855
Publishing: 86-852-2873 9889
Print: 86-852-2873 8052
Contact information for the district councilor who often reports and complains to Hong Kong government agencies about the truth-clarifying activities of Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners: Chen Yunsheng, District Councilor, 86-852-2540 3636, 86-852-2452 1178 (fax), email: [email protected]
Address: 117 Aizhi Building (underground), Youai Village, Tunmeng, Hong Kong.
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