On the evening of April 22, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners held a peaceful appeal and called for the deportation of human rights criminal Bo Xilai outside the Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC while a Chinese delegation which included Chinese Vice Primer Wu Yi and Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai was having dinner in the hotel.
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The dinner party was the only public activity for the Chinese delegate in Washington DC. Falun Gong practitioners stood quietly across from the Fairmont Hotel on busy M Street and held large banners to express, "Falun Dafa is Great," "Global Public Trial of Jiang Zemin," "Immediately Deport Human Rights Scoundrel Bo Xilai," "Dismiss 610 Office!," and "Bring Bo Xilai to Justice!" Some practitioners distributed truth-clarification literature.
Suing Bo Xilai
The newly-appointed Chinese Minister of Commerce, Bo Xilai, was Governor of Liaoning Province from January 2001 to February 2004. According to first-hand information from Clearwisdom.net a Falun Gong website, as of April 18, 2004, the verified number of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of persecution in Liaoning Province was 103, ranking fourth in the country. During his term as Deputy Secretary of CCPC of Liaoning Province and Governor of Liaoning Province, Mayor of Dalian City and General Party Secretary of Dalian City, Bo Xilai enthusiastically followed Jiang Zemin to persecute Falun Gong. The methods used were extremely cruel. Bo Xilai is one of the major people responsible for managing and directing the persecution of Falun Gong in Liaoning Province, and Jiang Zemin thus promoted him as Governor of Liaoning Province.
Bo planned to visit Germany on March 25. Before his departure, human rights organizations protested and condemned him and requested that the German Government refuse his entry. China postponed his visit.
Bo Xilai was served with papers in front of the Fairmont Hotel (2401 M Street, N.W.) in Washington D.C. around 6:35 p.m. on April 22, 2004 when he entered the hotel for a dinner. He was sued for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and torture. A copy of the Summons, Complaint, Notice of Right to Consent to Trial before the Magistrate Judge were hand delivered to the defendant, Bo Xilai, in civil case no. 1.04CV00649 (Li Weixun v. Bo Xilai). The documents were filed this morning in the United States District Court of the District of Columbia by attorney Morton Sklar and attorney Lana Han.
Passers-by Support Falun Gong Practitioners
Many passers-by asked who Bo Xilai was after seeing the banners and why he should be deported. After learning that he is one of the main persons responsible for the persecution, passers-by agreed to the content of the banners. One senior lady told Chinese students in the welcoming group, "Jiang Zemin is being sued. Bo Xilai cannot escape." Many passers-by driving by praised the practitioners by giving them a thumbs up. Some people asked for truth-clarification flyers when their cars stopped during a red-light. After learning the intent of the appeal and the facts of the persecution, a passer-by asked for a poster reading "Stop the Persecution" from a practitioner and stood for quite a while along with the practitioners.
One Mexican person coming to DC for the first time passed by the Fairmount Hotel and talked with the practitioners. He had never heard of Falun Gong before. After understanding Falun Gong and the persecution, he said he supported Falun Gong. At that moment, no flyers were left. He gave us his business card and asked the practitioners to provide him more information later.
Explaining the Facts to Chinese Students
In the beginning some Chinese students did not understand the banner worded "Immediately Deport Human Rights Scoundrel Bo Xilai." After learning about his crimes in the persecution of Falun Gong when Bo was Governor of Liaoning Province, the students had nothing more to say.
Some practitioners walked up to the group of students and talked with them to clarify the truth. Mr. Liu, who teaches at a university in Washington DC said, "When a student I knew found that I was in his group, he asked, 'How come you came over to this side?' I smiled and said, 'We don't designate people to this side or that side.' The Chairman of Student Association from another university said, 'No. Everyone should not designate this side or that side. We are all Chinese.'"
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