"The Nordic Association of Falun Dafa would like to extend the most heartfelt New Year greetings to our Master. We will do even better and be more diligent in studying the Fa, clarifying the facts and sending forth righteous thoughts. Happy New year!"

With the approach of the Chinese New Year, January 30th 2003 was named the first Falun Dafa Day in the Swedish city of Lerum. Dafa practitioners in Lerum on behalf of all Swedish practitioners would like to send Chinese New Year’s greetings to Master Li and to all the practitioners around the world. Falun Dafa is good!.

"The Chinese spring festival is a traditional family celebration in the Chinese Year. Similarly to the Irish Christmas period it is when family and friends come together...celebrate the coming of the New Year...Yet due to Jiang Zemins persecution of Falun Dafa in China many happy families have ben broken up and many family reunions will be incomplete. In Ireland there are many tragic examples."

On January 12th, 2003, the Municipal Procuratorate forced Qunying’s family members to sign the autopsy report. The report did not list the time of death, the cause of death, or the time or steps taken to rescue her. Caidian District judiciary branches and the legislative committee of Caidian District demanded that Qunying's whole family admit that she committed suicide.

"Your master is truly a master. Other qigong masters just teach the movement and never explain the principles. Your master teaches the highest principle of the universe. He unselfishly taught this precious knowledge. Falun Gong and your master are wonderful."

"In addition, the Union has on several occasions undertaken formal demarches to express concern about report of torture and ill treatment of followers of the Falun Gong movement who have been arrested, and has urged China to review harsh sentences imposed on them."

"I paid close attention and fully understand the document, which is about the Falun Gong practitioners who are victims and are being persecuted in the People’s Republic of China...Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. I salute you for your efforts to respect human rights and safeguard democratic values."

Jiang does not spare even children and the elderly in his persecution of these innocent, good people. His cruel nature speaks for itself. On December 23 2002, Jiang was sued in US federal court, accused of genocide, a crime against humanity. An international organisation recently formed to investigate the persecution of Falun Gong has just begun taking the steps necessary to bring the criminals to justice.

Dafa practitioners from a city in Northeast China successfully broadcast a program about the truth of the "Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation" on cable TV in a residential area, exposing the deception of the incident. The program lasted more than 30 minutes, covered all the channels on cable TV, and caused an enormous sensation among the people. The city's Public Security Bureau is panic-stricken and is planning to carry out mass arrests of Dafa practitioners soon.

During this time I have heard, seen, and encountered so much that I now realize what it means to be persecuted and what darkness really is…The police also placed a wooden rod against the back of my legs; two people then stepped on the rod and rocked back and forth. I was not able to walk normally for more than a month afterward. Such agonising torture!..If it were not for my faith in Dafa I don’t know how I would have survived.

The police charged her with handing out Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials, and illegally sentenced her to 3 years in prison. Huang Ying asked her daughter to appeal on her behalf, but the police said that if she appeals they would add an additional year to Huang Ying's sentence. Her daughter (a non-practitioner) therefore decided not to appeal.

Under the order from Jiang's regime, "Beating [Falun Gong practitioners] to death is nothing, it is counted as suicide." to date, among the Dafa practitioners I know personally, more than 10 have been tortured to death, and yet all their killers still remain at large and are continuing to commit crimes as they are lured by fame and gain. The following are some of their crimes:

A practitioner's family member, a man over 50 years old, who does not practise Falun Gong, was kidnapped to the county detention centre. It is shocking that the police tortured him by hanging him up by handcuffs and then beating him. It is even more unbelievable that the Public Security intend to sentence him to thirteen years in prison. Such is the extent of the paranoia of the Jiang regime that someone simply associated with a Falun Gong practitioner is subjected to the same inhuman treatment.

"We, who are citizens of Switzerland with its long tradition of human rights, find situations of this kind quite incomprehensible and totally unacceptable...How is it possible that in your country, which is currently making efforts to return to the international stage, displaying the words “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” can put an elderly man in prison for seven years? It is quite simply absurd and truly scandalous."

"This is another clear example that the Chinese regime extends its persecution of Falun Gong outside China's borders. The international community was shocked by the heavy prison sentence handed down to a senior citizen by the Myanmar military authority bullied by the Chinese regime."

"According to the media the Foreign Affairs Minister of Myanmar has been issued a special visa (despite sanctions) to travel to Belgium for the ASEAN-EU joint meeting. Can the Minister for Foreign Affairs use this opportunity to question Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung on the case of Chan Wing-yuen?"

China has allowed an Australian member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement to leave the country but has detained a U.S. citizen reportedly linked to the group, embassy officials said on Thursday.

"I was treated like a criminal by them," said Chen, adding she was repeatedly asked who sent for her, what she was doing in Chengdu and whom she was meeting..."They also questioned me about my trip to Chengdu two years ago," she said. She had then met local Falungong practitioners.

"As we begin the new year and the 108th Congress, it is extremely disheartening to see that little progress has been made with respect to ending the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The Chinese government continues to imprison, torture, and murder these peaceful individuals due to their fear and misunderstanding of the Falun Gong movement."

On January 24, 2003, practitioners held a peaceful appeal in front of the State House in Concord City, New Hampshire. Despite chilly winds, the practitioners demonstrated Falun Dafa exercises and held a candlelight vigil on the steps of the State Capitol.

Teacher asked us to be good persons according the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. I became a good and healthy person both in body and mind. Everyone who saw me said it was like I had changed into a different person, and my family was greatly relieved. Also I've saved several thousand Yuan of medical expenses every year since then.

Falun Dafa practitioner Li Guiqin defended herself with the force of justice in the court, "Falun Dafa is a righteous cultivation way. Being a good person does not constitute guilt, and following 'Truthfulness, Benevolence, Tolerance' is not a crime. Your persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners is a criminal act.

Winter Solstice is a term that marks the change from fall to winter. On this day, daytime is the shortest and nighttime is the longest in the Northern Hemisphere. As the sun’s latitude increases, daytime shortens and nighttime increases. Inside the Arctic Circle, it is polar night. After the Winter Solstice, the sun moves towards the Northern Hemisphere. So daytime in the Northern Hemisphere shortens and nighttime extends.

Being aware of human rights violations from the media, many passersby came to our stand right away to enquire enthusiastically, and more than 200 people signed their signatures that day. One local person said, “You’ve done a good job exposing this evil to the public. Surely one day this evil will be brought to account.”