Press Release from the Irish Falun Dafa Information Centre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 14/01/2002 [http://www.faluninfo.net/ ]

Thousands Rally in Over 30 Cities around the World as Falun Gong Holds Worldwide 3-Day Vigil

Twenty Reports of Killings in the Past Twenty-Two Days

Falun Gong Practitioners Expose Crimes against Humanity to the Public;

Call for Support

DUBLIN, January 14, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Centre ) -Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and supporters are gathering today in front of Chinese Embassies and Consulates around the world to launch a 3-day vigil to condemn the recent rampage of arrests, torture, and killings of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and to expose the criminals involved.

Press conferences and the 3-Day Worldwide Vigil are being held in over 30 cities around the world, including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Dublin, Paris, Geneva, Stockholm, Taipei, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

These activities were instigated by reports of 20 deaths in the last 22 days of Falun Gong practitioners who died due to torture and mistreatment while in police custody in China. ****

Four Deaths Reported Yesterday

The deaths of four more Falun Gong practitioners in police custody were reported yesterday. Among the deaths was Mr. Wang Tiesong, 32, an employee of Jilin Province Forestry Bureau, who was tortured to death by police earlier last month. According to reliable sources inside China, police brought Wang's body to the hospital after he had died and kept his lifeless corpse on emergency respiratory equipment for 11 days. This was an apparent attempt by local police to avoid responsibility for his death by claiming emergency efforts had been undertaken to save Wang. By the time Wang's body was put on the respiratory equipment, however, the pupil of one of the eyes was already dilated and the other eye had rolled back into the head.

Two days ago, reports surfaced of the death of Mr. He Xingzong of Hubei Province who was assaulted and then strangled to death on the streets of his hometown while posting flyers that revealed human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners. In response to a phone call from one reporter, an official at the local police department claimed, and “He died from posting flyers" and then hung up.

Irish Concerns

“The case of Trinity College student Zhao Ming is widely known across Ireland and Europe. Ming is due to be released this coming March,” said Mr. Gerald O’Connor, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Ireland. “The situation in China is deteriorating daily. We must ensure Zhao is released in March and given a free passage to return to his studies while paying close attention to the situation in China.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND- Contacts: Ger O’Connor 086 355 6180, Leo Harris 0507 35672 or Dai Dongxue 087 959 6370. Email: [email protected], Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/