Practitioners Appear on British National Television to Expose the Brutal Persecution of Falun Gong

On Tuesday 19th February 3 English Falun Gong practitioners, who were recently deported from China, appeared on the teatime chat show Richard and Judy. This is a relaxed and friendly talk show on Channel 4 that reaches over 2 million viewers. Whilst one practitioner demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, the other two described the terrifying ordeal and inhumane treatment that all three had suffered at the hands of the aggressive and unlawful Chinese police. They also informed the people of Britain of the thousands of innocent Chinese Falun Gong practitioners who have been illegally imprisoned, beaten, tortured and killed by the Chinese authorities.

As well as showing deep concern for the suffering Chinese people, chat show hosts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan displayed a keen personal interest in Falun Gong through well-researched questions and knowledge. Practitioners were later informed that they and their team had already looked at truth-clarifying literature and several Falun Gong websites. They had received a long and detailed statement from the Chinese Embassy in London that was also scheduled to feature on the show. However, after research and meeting practitioners the production team realised the obviously false and abhorrent nature of this propaganda; it was not mentioned in the interview, halting the further infiltration of the Chinese government’s propaganda into British society. Instead, the production team ordered three large and beautiful backdrops displaying the Chinese characters Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance). The show also featured a Professor of International Studies from the globally revered London School of Economics who showed a vast knowledge of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Both the Professor and the production team were warned that they could receive more vicious propaganda from the Chinese Embassy after publicly supporting Falun Gong.

After the show, practitioners joined the production team, Richard and Judy for refreshments and were presented with gifts from the team. Judy expressed worry and concern that the practitioners may return to China, particularly for the 18-year old student who was violently assaulted by Chinese police. Practitioners distributed leaflets to the production team and other guests and thanked them all for the chance to highlight the inhuman persecution in China to 2 million people.

Reported by British practitioners

22 February 2002