United States: Practitioners Stage Peaceful Appeal at AP Headquarters

At the AP's Manhattan headquarters, there were practitioners from all over the world conducting appeals last weekend. A practitioner at the site said that the AP seemed to have a high level meeting last Sunday and we distributed "An Open Letter to the Associated Press" to them. The past weekend, some staff inside the headquarters came out to learn Falun Gong from us and asked where they could purchase Falun Gong books.

From Monday to Wednesday of this week, almost every afternoon there were reporters from all kinds of media outlets at the AP headquarters. They took photos of the practitioners and banners, and they accepted truth-clarifying materials about the staged self-immolation. A reporter from a prominent TV station said that it was wrong for the AP to refuse to meet with the practitioners.

A practitioner then told the reporter: "In the western world, in dealing with such a peaceful group, anyone who repeats the lies of the CCP should take a hard look at their position."

Some reporters and staff of the AP told practitioners that their mission was to carry news and report neutrally, not to comment--and that this article indeed has violated the AP's mission.