Practitioners Persecuted in China Speak at Press Conference Hosted by U.N Press Association in Geneva

On March 25, the U.N Press Association held a press conference in the news hall of the administrative office in Geneva. Falun Gong practitioners Anders Ulrik Dahlgren from Sweden, Lin Shenli from Canada, Zhang Cuiying and Dai Zhizhen from Australia, Stefanie Korper from Germany and Zhou Shiyu, spokesman for Falun Dafa Information Centre, were invited to attend.

The press conference attracted lots of attention because it was held while the 58th U. N. Human Rights Commission was underway. Many Swiss and other international news media attended the conference, including several of the local bureau chiefs. During the press conference, the five victims shared their first-hand experiences and protested Jiang and Luo's regime's brutal physical and mental persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Anders Ulrik Dahlgren and Stefanie Korper recounted their experiences of being violently arrested, beaten and illegally detained. Australian Zhang Cuiying and Canadian Lin Shenli told about their experiences of being detained, brutally beaten, and tortured for eight months and two years respectively, because they had said, "Falun Dafa is good" to the government. Australian practitioner Dai Zhizhen tearfully told the touching story of her husband and father-in-law, who were tortured to death. She explained also how her sister was sent to a forced labour camp because she practiced Falun Gong. Her story moved all who were present. Some news reporters listened to the practitioners' stories with tears in their eyes.

The Falun Gong practitioners' stories of the cruelty and brutality of the persecution shocked and angered the media. The reporter from Voice of America wrote a report as quickly as he could. The reporter from International Voice of Freedom's UN bureau asked for an opportunity to interview the practitioners in depth. A 45-minute interview with the victims was later broadcast. At the end of the interview, the spokesman of Falun Dafa Information Centre described the Chinese government's recent escalation of the brutal persecution in Changchun, calling for the U.N., foreign governments, international organizations and all kind-hearted people to use all means at their disposal to stop Jiang's regime from committing further atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners.

Source: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/4/9/20788.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2002/4/3/27751.html