Global Effort "Rescue our Friends and Family Members" Launched in Every Country

On October 1st, Falun Gong practitioners from Australia, Canada, and many cities in the United States arrived in Houston, Texas to participate in activities to rescue their friends and family members in China who were imprisoned and tortured by Jiang's regime due to their belief in Falun Gong.

The practitioners in Texas exposed the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners--launched by Jiang's regime--to the Texas government, to the media, and to the populace, asking them to stand together to oppose the persecution. They also appealed to President Bush and ask him to publicly request that Jiang, the leader of the Chinese government, release all detained relatives and friends of [Falun Gong practitioners] in China.

The continuous, large-scale persecution against Falun Gong has spread to every country in the world. According to statistics from the global rescue committee, aside from Chinese citizens, there are at least 70 relatives and friends of citizens from different countries who are currently being imprisoned. Among them, the longest sentence is 16 years. At least three relatives/friends of Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death and many more have been forcefully detained in mental hospitals. He Haiying, a spokesman for the global rescue committee, said that in the near future they would announce more details regarding the persecution of friends and family members of practitioners from different countries.

This movement was launched with support from the "Global Urgent Rescue Committee to Rescue Relatives and Friends in China," and by many Falun Gong practitioners in different countries, including Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other regions. These practitioners, along with organisations that support Falun Gong, have already appealed to their respective governments, urging their leaders to request (during the Asian and Pacific Economic Summit Meeting this month) Jiang to release all of their detained relatives and friends in China, and to stop the persecution of Falun Gong.

On Monday, four practitioners from Montreal and Toronto left Canada and arrived in Houston. Mr. Lin Shenli, a participant in this activity, said that he would expose the persecution with his personal experience. He urged leaders from every country to stand up and condemn the atrocities of Jiang's regime, and to help end the persecution. Lin Shenli went to Beijing to appeal in 1999 and was detained by the Chinese government. Later, with tremendous help from the Canadian government, he was released and reunited with his wife in Canada.