United States: Rescued and Arrived in the U.S., Falun Gong Practitioner Li Weixun Expresses Gratitude at a Press Conference Held in Washington, DC

On the morning of September 29th, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, held a press conference at the Rayburn House Office Building to express gratitude to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.S. government and the U.S. Congress and other organisations for rescuing Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Weixun from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China.

At the press conference, Dr. Liu who teaches at the American University, spoke on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners in Washington. DC, "The United States was established for those who escaped religious persecution 300 years ago. Three hundred years later, the United States can still uphold freedom of belief and human rights, and provide asylum for Falun Gong practitioners. The United States will also be protected by Heaven."

Ms. Li Weixun speaks (on right)

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Weixun was detained numerous times by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for persisting in practising Falun Gong. She was savagely tortured by the CCP police in early January 2002. She could not move her arms or legs, and she could not talk or eat. When she was on the brink of death, the perpetrators reluctantly approved medical parole and sent her to a hospital for emergency treatment, only after strong repeated requests from her family and friends. During her stay at the hospital, four police officers watched her around the clock. Ms. Li successfully escaped the monitoring and left China, and she obtained UN refugee status in Thailand.

The plight of Li Weixun and other Falun Gong practitioners who live in exile obtained recognition from the U.S. Congress and the U.S. government. Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee James Sensenbrenner, who is very influential in the U.S. Congress, sent a letter to the U.S. Congressional committee that is in charge of accepting refugees, urging the congress to carefully deal with the cases of Falun Gong practitioners' applications for refugee status.

On September 21st, 2005, with the help of the UNHCR, the U.S. government and several non-governmental organisations, Li Weixun arrived in America and ended her several years of homelessly, her life in exile and ultimately obtained freedom.

At the press conference, Li Weixun said, "I'm very grateful to the U.S. government, U.S. Congress and the people of the United States for rescuing and helping me. The U.S. government has accepted me and other Falun Gong practitioners before me and provided us with a basic living guarantee. This has brought encouragement and good news to the righteous forces in the world and victims, protesters and people who love freedom despite being under the control of dictatorship. This is a good beginning."

Regarding the present situation of the international community, Ms. Li Weixun said, "Most countries' governments have been discussing human rights [with the CCP] in private, but avoiding directly facing the Falun Gong issue. This way of being manipulated by the CCP has obviously not been able to stop the persecution. It should be noted that the CCP's genocidal eradication and implication policies against Falun Gong practitioners is not only harming them physically, but what is more shocking, it is destruction and slaughter of people's spirits and beliefs! What is worth noting, is that if the international community continues to show indifference and compromises like this, then human beings will lose hope." Ms. Li continued, "However, the United States did not keep silent, and thus has set a good example for other countries. I believe the United States will do even better in the future."

Dr. Liu representing Falun Gong practitioners in Washington, DC

At the press conference, practitioners also responded to the question of many people who are wondering if Falun Gong is getting involved in politics. Dr. Liu said, "From the beginning of the persecution until today, Falun Gong practitioners' aim has never changed and will never change, that is, to end the persecution. We have never been interested in political power. All that we have done is to let people see clearly the truth, so as to end the persecution imposed upon Falun Gong practitioners."

Dr. Liu said, "In the past six years, Falun Gong practitioners have spent a lot of time and our own salaries, and practitioners inside China have even risked their lives to clarify the truth to the masses of Chinese people. Many people have learned the truth, but there are still many people who do not want to listen. Because in the past years, the CCP's propaganda inside China has made many Chinese people have a negative opinion of us, even hatred towards us. They even believe that we are anti-China. Then why do they have such opinions of us? I think it is because of the CCP's brainwashing propaganda over the past several dozens of years, which has led to people's confusion and mixing of two different entities -- China and the CCP. Their way of thinking has even followed the CCP's line. Therefore, we feel it is a very necessary step towards stopping the persecution, to help people learn about the true nature of the CCP, how was it established, all the crimes it has committed against the Chinese people and the warped logics it has instilled into the Chinese people's mind."