Latvian Practitioners Release a Statement Regarding the Shooting Incident in South Africa

On the afternoon of July the 1st, Latvian Dafa practitioners appealed at the Chinese embassy in Riga City against the shooting of Australian Falun Gong practitioners by unknown gunmen in South Africa. They strongly called on the Chinese government to immediately end terrorist acts against Falun Gong practitioners.

A representative of Falun Gong practitioners said in a statement, “On June the 28th 2004, Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai visited South Africa. These two people are primary culprits in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The latter has been prosecuted in the U.S. and Poland this year respectively on charges of cruel torture, genocide and crimes against humanity against Falun Gong practitioners in China.”

In the shooting incident in South Africa, Australian Falun Gong practitioner David Liang was the only one who was hit, and was also the only one in clothing bearing the words Falun Dafa. According to the bullet holes in the car, the attacker shot at least five rounds at Liang’s car. Liang’s two feet were hit, and his bones in one foot shattered. A variety of evidence indicates that this shooting incident was a premeditated crime targeting Falun Gong practitioners during the visit of the two Chinese officials.

The nine Falun Gong practitioners went to South Africa from Australia to expose the Jiang group’s persecution of Falun Gong as well as the atrocities committed by these two visiting Chinese officials in the suppression of Falun Gong. They were to hold a press conference exposing the crimes that these two officials had committed, and once again wanted to seek support for the legal action against them in South Africa.

As is known to the public, Falun Gong practitioners have endeavoured to end this illegal persecution against Falun Gong in China, and they are not against the Chinese government. In 2001, the Unit mentioned the situation in China in its report saying, "It is state terrorism." Latvian Falun Dafa practitioners call on the Latvian government to condemn the crimes against humanity committed by the Jiang group.