Canada: Vancouver Practitioners Urge Mayor to Rescue Relatives On His Trip to China

At around noon of January 11, 2005, Vancouver practitioners held a press conference in front of the Vancouver Art Museum to call on Mayor Larry Campbell to urge China to end the persecution of Falun Gong and release a Vancouver resident's relatives, who are being detained in a forced labour camp. The mayor is to lead a delegation to visit Vancouver's sister city Guangzhou starting on January 12.

Chunyu Zhang urged the Mayor to rescue his mother and sister

Vancouver resident Chunyu Zhang gave a speech during the press conference. Both his mother and sister are being detained in a Chinese forced labour camp. His mother, 60-year-old Yang Huizhen, is a doctor who has been arrested and detained three times since the persecution started in 1999. She was again arrested last May and no family members have been allowed to visit her so far. Zhang's sister was arrested and then sent to a forced labour camp along with the mother. Zhang hopes that the Mayor would urge his counterpart to release them.

Practitioner Tianxiao Zhang narrated the tragedy that has befallen her family

Two family members of practitioner Tianxiao Zhang have been persecuted to death, and she has lost contact with her sister, who was arrested in May 2001. During the press conference, Zhang urged the Mayor to ask the Chinese government to release her sister.

A couple asked for help to rescue their daughter

Another couple requested city council member Raymond Louie to help to rescue their daughter Yang Jinyan when the council member visits their hometown of Zhongshan city. Yang has been arrested many times for practising Falun Gong and is facing a prison sentence. She is currently being detained in Zhongshan City.

In a press statement, Vancouver practitioners stated: Today, we send this request to our Mayor because the brutal persecution has lasted for more than 5 years and has directly affected residents in your city. Canadian officials with a sense of democracy and freedom, a desire to protect human rights, should condemn China for the violation of human rights and the atrocities against its own citizens, and safeguard justice.