China: Video Exposing the Persecution of Falun Gong Broadcast on Beijing Satellite TV

At 8 pm November 20th, 2004, the Beijing satellite TV system was tapped into and broadcast a video entitled "Between Heaven and Earth". Viewers in different areas reported seeing varying lengths of the video, from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. The video mostly consists of information about the staged self-immolation in Tiananmen Square. According to some in Beijing, this may have been the longest video aired through TV tapping and the one with the greatest impact.

Video exposes the truth about the self-immolation

Recently, in some areas in China and especially in some labour camps directly controlled by Jiang's faction, the perpetrators have escalated the persecution and serious torture cases have been reported. When the video "Between the Heaven and the Earth" was aired at around 8 pm, November 20th, 2004 Beijing time, some Falun Gong practitioners reported seeing about 10 minutes of the video, and it was cut off at the beginning of the topic "who is behind the persecution." Others said that they saw the video for about 30 minutes before the signal dropped, and normal programming did not resume, either.

After the incident took place, some local TV programs in various places in China were cancelled and replaced with CCTV-1 [central government programming]. Some people posted messages on an Internet forum based in Shanghai, saying, "Right now isn't the normal time for news programming, so why are some local TV channels being replaced with CCTV-1? The picture is dark for the few local programs that are running." Some Internet posters who didn't know what was going on wondered if it was due to solar flares.

The staged self-immolation and the first time practitioners tapped into the Chinese TV system

Starting in July 1999, CCTV used its decades of experience in twisting the facts to make up an overwhelming number of programs to slander Falun Gong. The programs appeared to be filled with ironclad evidence, in an effort to destroy Falun Gong's reputation. Hundreds of millions of people have been inundated with lies for the past few years.

Although people had some reservations about the programs attacking Falun Gong due to their experience from political movements in the past, the Tiananmen self-immolation video aired on January 30th, 2001 broadcast by Focal Point Interview of CCTV was a heavy blow that successfully deceived most people.

It was a common scene in Mainland China that in the electronics department of a supermarket, shelves of televisions were broadcasting the Tiananmen self-immolation video. The broadcaster's angry voice fills the entire room, and many consumers stopped and watched it. Their faces were filled with shock and resentment toward Falun Gong.

However, when the CCTV program on the self-immolation is played in slow motion, people see that Liu Chunling, one of the self-immolators, was not burnt to death but was hit over the head by a man behind her wearing a military jacket. The video mentioned that another self-immolator Wang Jindong had been severely burnt, and yet a Sprite bottle full of gasoline remained fully intact between his legs. Philip Pan, a reporter for the Washington Post, went to Henan Province, where the immolators were from, and after conducting an investigation, he published a report that pointed out inconsistencies and fallacies in the staged self-immolation.

Thirteen months after the public broadcast of the government video, on March 5th, 2002, eight channels within Changchun City cable TV network broadcast videos made by Falun Gong practitioners, including 'Falun Dafa Around the World' and 'Self-immolation or Staged Event?'

The successful airing was the result of efforts from Falun Gong practitioners Liu Chengjun and others. The programs lasted nearly 50 minutes and reached more than one million viewers. The action received great reaction from the local area as well as from the world.

Ms Wang, a department manager at a high-tech company in Silicon Valley, California said, "We learn about the cruel persecution of Falun Gong in countries outside of China, but newspapers and TV stations in Mainland China are all controlled by the government, so the people in China hear only one voice. The arbitrariness of such an information monopoly can only be felt when it is compared to the freedom of the press in Western countries. It must have been very difficult for the Falun Gong practitioners to tap into the cable TV system. It took both courage and wisdom for them to break through the information blockade to help the Chinese people see the truth."

Mr Zou, a researcher of biological sciences at University of California, Berkley said, "In the past few decades, countless Chinese people were persecuted for speaking the truth. However, few people were able to persistently and successfully spread the truth like Falun Gong practitioners. Their selfless act is inspiring to others who want to speak the truth. It's true that some people don't like this, but maybe it's because it hurts their self-interest or they are afraid of losing something."

After the incident, the government arrested more than 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun City. Six practitioners died during the arrest, and another 15 practitioners including Liu Chengjun were illegally sentenced to prison terms varying from four to twenty years. After suffering 12 months of torture, Liu Chengjun became the eighth practitioner to die after tapping into the cable TV system.

In January 2004, a Falun Gong practitioner published an article entitled "Tapping into a Chinese TV Network to Broadcast Truth-Clarification Videos is a Heroic Act of Justice" on Clearwisdom Net, in which he said, "Both the Chinese Constitution and international conventions all stipulate that people have freedom of belief and freedom of speech, but the Jiang regime has totally deprived Falun Dafa practitioners of these rights in the past three years. If practitioners maintain their faith in Falun Gong or legally appeal to the authorities for their grievances, they are abducted to labour camps or brainwashing centres and tortured mentally and physically. To date, at least 852 innocent Falun Dafa practitioners have died because of the persecution. Many of these people died from cruel torture. According to inside sources in the Chinese government, the actual number of deaths far exceeds 852."

"Jiang monopolises the media, the righteous owner of whom is the people; he advocates the 'Three Represents' during peak viewing times and attacks Falun Gong in an earth-blanketing style, a style that reminds people of the Cultural Revolution while he tries his best to cover up crimes committed by corrupt government officials. These acts are truly an encroachment upon the public interest." "Those in Jiang's group interfered with related overseas broadcasts, including broadcast programs by Falun Gong practitioners. He and his lackeys also blocked many websites on the Internet, all of which are a violation of the constitution of China and of international agreements."

"Between Heaven and Earth" records historical facts

"Between Heaven and Earth" is the title of a video made by Falun Gong practitioners both inside and outside of China. It covers six topics that expose the various lies the Party has made up and its attempts to frame Falun Gong, with an emphasis on the staged self-immolation. It also introduces Falun Dafa in a positive light and records the major events that took place before and after the beginning of the persecution, such as the April 25th appeal and other events that preceded Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong. It also reveals how the persecution has been exposed in international society and efforts that are made to bring an end to the persecution, including lawsuits filed against the head perpetrator and other officials responsible for the persecution, as well as foreign governments' support and help for Falun Gong after they learned the truth from the practitioners.