Press Releases and Media Reports
TV and Radio | Publications | Press Releases
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Article from UK Newspaper Aberdeen Evening Express: 'Chinese Group Is Supported by Scots'
2004-06-30"Supporters of a spiritual movement outlawed by the Chinese authorities visited Aberdeen yesterday as part of a Scottish tour...Scots supporters are angry that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been invited to take part in the Edinburgh Tattoo this summer. Former president Jiang Zemin, who outlawed Falun Gong, is leader of the PLA and Scots practitioners feel this invitation sends out the wrong message about human rights." -
Article from Danish Newspaper Politiken: Chinese Torture at City Hall Square
2004-06-28'The spiritual movement Falun Gong used International Day in Support of Victims of Torture to bring into focus the mistreatment of fellow practitioners in China. The eyes of the world have followed American soldiers’ treatment of Iraqi prisoners with disgust. But torture of people who think differently than the regime is a daily occurrence in China. This was the message that Falun Gong practitioners spread at City Hall Square yesterday on International Day in support of victims of torture.' -
EFGIC: Torture Lawsuit Filed Against China’s Minister of Information During U.S. Visit
2004-06-27LONDON (EFGIC) – A Chinese minister was served with legal papers Friday charging him with torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The papers were served upon a guard outside Wang Xudong’s hotel room within hours after the Minister of the Information Industry delivered a speech at an internet technology trade summit in Chicago. “[The] defendant’s acts and omissions were deliberate, wilful, intentional, wanton, malicious and oppressive, and should be punished..." -
Radio Free Asia Special Report: Chinese Falun Gong Practitioners from 17 Countries Jointly Publish Open Letter
2004-06-24Falun Gong practitioners of Chinese nationality who currently live in Canada, Japan and other 15 countries recently published an open letter calling on people to pay attention to the issue that their passports have been withheld or not renewed over the past few years. At the same time, travel certificates of more than 30 Falun Gong practitioners from Hong Kong have been either postponed or confiscated. -
EFGIC: China’s Soothing Words on Torture: Come Back at Show Time
2004-06-21LONDON (EFGIC) – Three days ago, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture announced that officials in China had postponed his visit, and that inspections of China’s labour camps would not take place as originally agreed upon. After nearly ten years of preparatory talks, the Special Rapporteur is not going to see any labour camps or detention centres because, as the Chinese officials put it, they need more time “to prepare.” -
Agence France Presse: Rights Groups Protest As China Calls Off Visit By UN Torture Expert
2004-06-19'Human rights groups accused China of failing in its commitment to abide by its international obligations after a visit by a UN human rights expert dealing with torture was called off. The Chinese government asked for more time to prepare for the two-week trip this month by UN special rapporteur Theo van Boven in view of the different authorities and regions involved, the United Nations said in a statement.' -
EFGIC: Four-year-old Girl Travels to 37 Countries Speaking for Human Rights after Father Killed in China
2004-06-16LONDON (EFGIC) – 'Little Fadu is only 4 years old, but already she understands that her father, Chengyong Chen, was a very brave man. Chengyong was routinely harassed, arrested several times, and tortured by Chinese police for adhering to his practice of Falun Gong...For the past three years, Fadu – who was an infant when her father died – has travelled the world with her mother, calling for an end to the five-year campaign of systematic violence and brainwashing against Falun Gong in China.' -
Radio France International: The Taiwan Legislature Passes a Resolution Appealing to Mainland China to Stop Persecuting Falun Gong
2004-06-14On June the 8th, 126 bipartisan Taiwan legislators signed their names to introduce a resolution calling on the Chinese authorities to immediately release the arrested and imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners and to stop persecuting Falun Gong. On the same day Taiwan legislature passed the resolution and submitted it to the Executive for further research. -
VOA: Hu Jintao Visits Warsaw, Bo Xilai Charged with Crimes
2004-06-14'The lawsuit alleges that Bo spent huge amount of taxpayers' money to build new prisons in which to detain and persecute Falun Gong practitioners when Bo was Mayor of Dalian City and Governor of Liaoning Province. Citing Chinese official media reports, the lawsuit said that Bo Xilai invested 1 billion yuan (~120 million US dollars) to upgrade provincial prisons.' -
Poland: Freedom of Expression in Poland Challenged by Chinese Embassy Officials (Photos)
2004-06-13As Chinese and Polish leaders were having a summit inside the Polish Presidential palace, some Chinese who were welcoming the Chinese delegation harassed people conducting a peaceful appeal. The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wybocza published an article about this incident in its June 9th edition. The Polish Metropolitan reported that "A supporter of the Chinese government robbed human rights organisations and Falun Gong practitioners of their banners." -
EFGIC: 62 Cases of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed from Torture, Abuse Reported in April and May 2004
2004-06-11'LONDON (EFGIC) – The policy of China’s former leader to “eradicate Falun Gong” continues to increase the number of deaths by torture in China, as 62 more cases were reported in April and May, 2004. The 41 cases reported in April mark one of the highest tolls reported during the five-year campaign of violence and brainwashing against Falun Gong.' -
United Kingdom: Falun Gong Practitioner Interviewed by the BBC About Human Rights Issues in China
2004-06-08The reporter mentioned that he interviewed Mr Li Hongzhi in 1993 in Beijing. He could not understand why the Chinese regime would start the persecution of Falun Gong. He was shocked when he realised how many thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to slave labour camps, placed in mental hospitals, tortured to death and driven away from their homes, and that some of them were forced to become homeless because of their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. -
Several Finnish Newspapers Report on the Persecution of Falun Gong
2004-06-06On May the 13th, the Finnish Falun Dafa Association held a press conference in Helsinki about human rights in China. Many newspapers were represented as well as the Finnish news agency and radio news. The following day, newspapers all over Finland reported on important current human rights issues including the persecution of Falun Gong. -
Report from German Newspaper Rheinpfalz: A Lady Who Upholds Compassion and Truthfulness
2004-06-05While Mrs. Wang was practicing the sitting meditation on campus at Germersheim, she was afraid that few of her classmates could imagine the situation of practitioners after Falun Gong was announced to be illegal on July 22nd, 1999. Although Falun Gong has no political objectives, practitioners were still arrested and detained in Labour Re-education Camps, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals, where they were shocked by electric batons, brainwashed, raped and abused by torture. -
EFGIC: United Nations’ Rapporteur on Torture Highlights China, Falun Gong Ahead of Planned Visit
2004-06-04'LONDON (EFGIC) – With a visit to China planned at the end of June, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture’s latest report highlights the torturing of Falun Gong practitioners there. Of the 115 countries covered, China received by far the most ink in the 420-page report. Of over 130 cases of reported torture and abuse in China, approximately 100 of them were perpetrated against Falun Gong practitioners.'