United States: Washington DC Residents Call on the United Nations to Urge the Chinese Government to Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong

On March 15, the first day of the 60th annual United Nations Human Rights Commission Meeting, residents of the US capital gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy to read an open letter to United Nations Secretary Annan, and to call on the UN Human Rights organisations to urge the Chinese government to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners call for an immediate end to the persecution	Bring prime culprit Jiang to justice

Ms. Fan Yagu calls for the rescue of her mother, Fan Weihuang

The open letter stated that in the past more than four years, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China has constantly escalated. Especially during the two meetings of National People's Congress and the Political and Consultative Conference, the persecution was even worse, so as to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from voicing grievances on public occasions. To justify its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Jiang Zemin's group constantly trumped up all kinds of lies and spread them worldwide.

At the rally, Ms. Fan Yagu from Maryland said, "I'm not a Falun Gong practitioner, but my 57-year-old mother has been arrested three times for practising Falun Gong. I know my mother is a good person, but she is being detained at the No.1 Detention Centre of Zhengzhou City's Police Department. Her whereabouts are unknown. For the sake of my mother and all Falun Dafa practitioners, I will expose to the world's media the evil deeds perpetrated by those police officers and some officials in the Chinese government, and expose to the whole world their deprivation and trampling upon human rights." She asked in tears for the American government, and kind-hearted people everywhere to extend their hands to help rescue her mother and all Falun Gong practitioners in China who are suffering the persecution.

Ms. Fan's mother Fan Weihuang, is a retired teacher in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. After practising Falun Dafa, she benefited both physically and mentally, but now is currently suffering persecution in China. For detailed information, please consult the report on Minghui.Net (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net): Voice of An Overseas Chinese in the US: Please Help Rescue My Mother Who is Suffering in a Prison in Henan Province. ( http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/3/13/69790.html)

Ms. Tao Lisa, a resident of Washington DC, commended Fan Yagu's courageous acts in her speech by saying that Yagu is a wonderful daughter; she can make a clear distinction between right and wrong amidst the Chinese government's lies that permeate everywhere, and go resist intense pressure to rescue her mother, as a filial daughter should do.

Ms. Tao said that Falun Gong has been persecuted by Jiang's group for nearly five years, and that more than 900 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died from persecution. Countless families have been broken up. How many daughters like Yagu have been missing their mothers who are suffering persecution every day, and how many mothers have been worrying about their daughters who are unreasonably imprisoned. In Mainland China, Jiang's group manipulates all the media to fabricate lies to persecute Falun Gong, but no voices can be heard from Falun Gong practitioners. Yagu dares to speak out the truth like her mother. This is just what her mother hoped. We are proud of her.

Ms. Tao hoped that more Chinese people can act like Fa Yagu, to be courageous enough to speak out the truth, expose the persecution taking place in China, and fulfil one's moral duty to one's families and the society.

An analyst in Washington DC who did not want to reveal his name said that many people have seen clearly that Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong is irrational and brutal. More and more people at home and abroad are paying attention to the worsening situation of China's human rights, and more and more non-Falun Gong practitioners openly voice their support for Falun Gong, and oppose the persecution. This is a disaster for Jiang Zemin.

It was reported that on March 15, 2004 in Geneva, more than five hundred Falun Gong practitioners arrived from more than 20 countries including Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Russia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Taiwan, the US, Australia, and Israel. They gathered on the Places Des Nations in front of the UN building to hold a press conference and practise the Falun Gong exercises to call on the UN, governments, and non-governmental organisations to help bring an end to the evil persecution of Falun Gong in China.

A coordinator for the Washington DC rally expressed after the rally that they would mail and fax the open letter to UN Secretary Annan. Several media outlets interviewed Ms. Fan Yagu and Laura.