Korea: Li Changchun Confronted by Falun Gong Practitioners' Protests During His Visit to Korea

Li Changchun is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the very centre of the Chinese Communist Party. He was sued in an international court for actively assisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) headed by Jiang Zemin in persecuting Falun Gong. He came to Korea for a four-day visit on April 4, 2009. Wherever he went, he encountered Falun Gong practitioners' protests.

During Li Changchun's visit to Korea, Korean practitioners held banners "condemning the persecution" at Cheju Airport and demanding that the chief culprit in the persecution of Falun Gong be punished	Practitioners held banners reading "Falun Dafa Is Good" and "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" in front of the main gate of Xu Fu Park in Seogwipo, Cheju, Korea

During his visit in Japan, Falun Gong practitioners "welcomed him and saw him off" with "over a dozen"eye catching "banners" that read "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong, Falun Dafa Is Good." The practitioners also urged the Japanese Government to expel him.

Li arrived in Cheju, Korea, on the morning of April 4th. His first stop was to take part in the opening ceremony for the Confucius Institute at Halla University in Cheju. Six other CCP officials were with him. According to witnesses, during Li Changchun's stay in Cheju, he changed his car on the way for fear that the car he was in would be identified. When he saw about a hundred Falun Gong practitioners waiting at the front gate of the Confucius Institute holding banners condemning Li Changchun, Li, one of the chief culprits in the persecution of Falun Gong, hurriedly dodged the protest group and stealthily slipped into the school through the back door.

The next stop was to take part in a commemorative ceremony in Xu Fu Park in Seogwipo at 3:00 p.m. the same day. Li Changchun postponed his agenda for three hours in order to avoid practitioners who protested outside the front gate. He went so far as to have plainclothes agents sent to keep an eye on practitioners until it was confirmed that they had left. Only then did Li dare to appear - at 5:50 p.m. The police who maintained order in the cold wind complained about Li's tardiness. Annoyed, a police officer said, "I was on duty for 24 hours yesterday, but I still can't get off work until this is over."

Spokesperson for the Korean Falun Dafa Association Wu Shilei stressed that Li Changchun is one of the chief culprits in the persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners' protest of his visit to Korea is to call for justice. Mr. Wu said, "During his tenure as Party Secretary of Guangdong Province, Li actively assisted Jiang Zemin in persecuting Falun Gong. Over the past ten years, he has cruelly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners and deprived them of their freedom of belief. Li was promoted to be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee because of his active involvement in the persecution. Many Korean Falun Gong practitioners came here on their own initiative in order to expose Li's criminal acts."

Mr. Wu had expected that Li Changchun would "go through the back door during his visit." He said, "Li changed his schedule and took the back door during his visit in Korea, which was not consistent with his position. It shows that he is clear about his crimes, so he was afraid of facing the Falun Gong practitioners who are courageous enough to expose his crimes."