Spectator Writes to Newspaper Criticising Media for Turning a Blind Eye to the Persecution

On August the 7th, 2004, in the U.S. Capital, Washington DC, Falun Gong practitioners held a live re-enactment of torture methods used against fellow practitioners in the persecution in China. Kery Nune from Annandale, Virginia was shocked by the exhibition. In a letter to the editor of the Magic City Morning Star she criticised media for turning a blind eye to the persecution. She also pointed out that this massive persecution was a human tragedy that we should learn from.

The following is the text of her letter, which was published August 22.

Dear Editor:

A torture exhibit held on the 7th of August outside the Washington, DC Convention Centre depicting the Chinese government's mistreatment of people who practice Falun Gong was very shocking. More shocking than the real life actors appearing bruised and bloodied, is the fact that the U.S. State Department and human rights organisations documented this cruel punishment of the spiritual group yet it is not in the news.

Nearly all Americans are familiar with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, yet the media seems to have turned a blind eye to an even larger population being persecuted to death today. One-hundred thousand people who practice Falun Gong are in forced-labour camps in China. Women have been raped by Chinese policemen or they are thrown naked into jail cells with criminals sometimes resulting in unwanted pregnancies. Children, including honours students, are thrown out of school. Further, many children become orphans when their parents are arrested or beaten to death by the Chinese government. What is their crime? It is simply their belief. These people are harmless yet they are treated worse than dogs.

While I understand that not all media cover China in great detail, I am surprised that I haven't heard more reports about a U.S. congressional resolution (H Con Res 304 with 74 co-sponsors) urging the Chinese government to stop harassing and intimidating people who practice Falun Gong right here in the United States! Chinese, who come here to avoid persecution in China, have been subject to Chinese government surveillance, death threats, break-ins to their homes, and even a car was set on fire. To top it off an American is imprisoned in China for attempting to reveal the human rights abuses to the Chinese public. Despite Dr. Charles Lee's U.S. citizenship, he has been deprived of his legal rights and subjected to severe torture. When foreign government's go after U.S. nationals or when our citizens are imprisoned abroad, the American public has a right to know.

Until now, I have seen reports simply stating that Falun Gong says it has been "mistreated" by the Chinese government, coupled with China's anti-Falun Gong propaganda to justify its actions. I've only seen a couple of Washington Post articles and one Wall Street Journal article explaining China's political motivation for labelling Falun Gong as a [slandering word omitted]. Falsely labelling innocent people in order to eradicate them is very serious. And if reporters outside of China are not covering this, how can the public know what is happening?

As genocide began in Rwanda, reporters were busy covering the Tanya Harding story. And during the early years of the Holocaust, major newspapers in the west downplayed the human rights violations in Germany, which quickly turned to genocide. This massive persecution was a human tragedy that we should learn from. But perhaps, far worse than that tragedy, is allowing history to repeat itself.

Sincerely,

Kery Nunez
Annandale, Virginia

Source: http://magic-city-news.com/article_1968.shtml