Falun Dafa Practitioners Missing after Meeting EU Vice President

After participating in the "Future of China" forum held on May 27th, 2006, in Hong Kong, the vice president of the European Parliament Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott called the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government to ensure that two Falun Gong practitioners return home safely, as contact was lost right after the meeting in China.

Before arriving in Hong Kong, Mr. McMillan-Scott was assigned to conduct an investigation in Beijing, and met with European country diplomats, representatives of Chinese non-governmental organisations, and two Falun Gong practitioners. One of the Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Cao Dong, was missing right after their meeting, and it was reported that he had been arrested by the Chinese regime.

Mr. McMillan-Scott announced the missing Falun Gong practitioner incident at the forum, and declared that he has requested an urgent meeting with the Chinese Ambassador in EU next week. He hopes that the CCP can ensure that the Falun Gong practitioners return home safely, will not be harassed in the future, and will be allowed to practise Falun Gong freely.

Mr. McMillan-Scott said that once the reports are issued, especially those about persecuting Falun Gong, and including reports such as organ removals and tortures being confirmed by investigators, that it will affect the decision by the international society on whether the Olympics should be allowed to be hosted by China.

Learning Persecution Facts by Meeting Two Falun Gong Practitioners

Mr. McMillan-Scott described how he met with two Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing. He said, "Last Sunday (May 21st), I met with two Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing, because I want to know first hand how the CCP treats these peace-loving, nice, innocent Falun Gong practitioners. All they want is to continue cultivating Falun Gong. I heard their testimonies for about one hour."

Mr. McMillan-Scott said that these two practitioners had both been detained. Mr. Cao Dong, 34, has been detained four years. His wife Yang Xiaojing is still detained. Mr. Cao testified that he and other Falun Gong practitioners have been cruelly tortured in prison, along with Tibetan Buddhist monks.

The other practitioner that Mr. McMillan-Scott met with was Mr. Niu Jinping, 52, who took his two-year-old daughter with him. He had been detained for two years, and his wife Zhang Lianying is still detained in a detention Centre in Beijing.

Mr. McMillan-Scott said, "The 'Detention Centre' I refer to is not a proper term to describe the mistreatment she is receiving."

Mr. McMillan-Scott said Mr. Niu Jinping's wife refuses to give up her faith. Every time when Mr. Niu visits her, he can see bruises covering her body. Guards sometimes beat her continuously, around the clock, but she still has refused to give up her belief.

Mr. Niu Jinping's wife Zhang Lianying is an employee of Guangda Corporation and is a CPA. She is now detained at the Tuanhe Training Labour Camp under the Beijing City Labour Camp Administration. According to her family, who sent their account to Clearwisdom.net in October 2005, Ms. Zhang Lianying's head and face had many inch-long cuts that were different in depth, which caused her face to be deformed beyond recognition. She had difficulty moving and her mind was often unclear. Her life was also in danger.

Mr. Niu Jinping also told Mr. McMillan-Scott that in those two years when he was in prison, he knew more than thirty Falun Gong practitioners who had been beaten to death in that prison.

Mr. McMillan-Scott said again, "I said that I am not a Falun Gong practitioner, but I totally believe in freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom of thinking, and writing and reporting information. These freedoms have been signed in international covenants that was promised to the Chinese people, but the CCP has not fulfilled its promise."

Someone raised the question at the forum about the CCP's harvesting of living Falun Dafa practitioners' organs that was widely reported recently. Mr. McMillan-Scott expressed that these reports "are very shocking."

Mr. McMillan-Scott said, "I think the international society should deal with this immediately. Some Canadian VIP's have formed an independent investigative group for this matter. It is high time other international societies conduct investigations about this as well. Especially the United Nations, since it always has an emphasis on human rights, but they have not undertaken any investigation yet."

Mr. McMillan-Scott concluded his speech by saying that the CCP should follow the international covenants it signed, as the 2008 Olympics are approaching. Once the reports are issued, especially those about persecuting Falun Gong, and the organ removal from living practitioners, and tortures being confirmed by investigators, they will affect the decision of the international society on whether the Olympics should be allowed to be hosted by China.

American Citizen Deported for Facilitating the Meeting

U.S. businessman Mr. Steven Gigliotti facilitated the meeting of Mr. McMillan-Scott and the Falun Gong practitioners. Soon after the meeting, Steve was interrogated and deported back to the U.S.

According to Mr. Gigliotti's recollection, after the meeting he left to conduct some business. On the way back to his hotel, a car with no plates blocked the taxi he was in. Several plainclothes police pulled him out of his taxi, threw him inside their car, and covered his head with a scarf.

Steve was locked in an interrogation room, questioned from 6:00 p.m. on May 21st, to 3:00 a.m. on May 22nd, 2006, non-stop. Then he was moved to a hotel room (Greater Long Hu International Apartments) until 6:00 p.m. on May 22nd, 2006.

Policemen were most interested in Mr. McMillan-Scott and the Falun Gong practitioners' meeting. They asked repeatedly, "How did you connect with them? With which means did you contact them? With which means did you help them connect with each other? What did they talk about? How much data did you collect? How many photos did you take? Who are those two Falun Dafa practitioners? Why is the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party in your laptop?"

Policemen took Mr. Gigliotti's notebook computer, and the photo of the meeting that he shot.

Policemen told Mr. Gigliotti that he had committed three crimes. They were "organising this meeting, being in possession of meeting materials and audio recordings, and carrying Falun Gong material." They also said, "These are most severe crimes in China."

Finally, the police forced Mr. Gigliotti to sign three statements that declared, "They took my possessions legally, their interrogation was legal because I violated Chinese Law, and I admit I violated Chinese Law."

After 24 hours of detainment Mr. Gigliotti was sent to the airport with his head covered after 6:00 p.m. on May 22nd, 2006.

During a break in the interrogation, Steve sent a message to his friends in the U.S. that said "I was arrested." Policemen were very angry upon discovering this and took his mobile phone away, and then forced him to send another message saying, "I am safe." They then forced him to shut off his mobile phone. After returning to the U.S., Mr. Gigliotti found out that his friends did not believe the message was sent by him, and called the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The U.S. Embassy called China's relevant departments, but got the answer that they did not know about this matter and did not know who he was.

Mr. Gigliotti said that he is worried, as although he was released, the situation in China is very urgent. Those two Falun Gong practitioners have been missing, and they risked their lives to meet with Mr. McMillan-Scott. He said that he had tried so many times, but could not reach them.

Mr. Gigliotti said, "I was arrested soon after the meeting, which means I was followed early on. It is very possible that those two Falun Gong practitioners were followed as well. Their lives are in danger. I call on the international society to urgently pay attention to this matter and help these two friends to reach safety."

(Update: Mr. Niu Jinping is currently under house-arrest.)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/5/31/129318.html