The press conference gave practitioners the opportunity to bring to light the detention of 2 Chinese students who were formerly studying in Dublin, Mr. Liu Feng and Ms. Yang Fang. The assistant principal at Ms. Yang Fang’s college, Mr. Gerard Craughwell also made a speech.

'My name is David Norris. I’m a member of the upper house of the Irish Parliament and I’m standing here today outside the Irish Parliament and protesting about the treatment of Falun Dafa practitioners within China and the infringement of their human rights.'

'I have never been able to make direct contact with either of the sisters inside the labour camp. I was told both sisters were suffering from the forceful brainwashing...My mother was 73 when she died in October 2001, a few days after her birthday...It was simply too much for her to endure. She died with much pain in her heart – she didn’t have chance to see the two sisters in the labour camp, and me also – I wasn’t allowed to go back to China, my motherland.'

After he finished his affairs in the consulate he gladly said to me: “I have handed out all the VCDs in the consulate for you. [The consulate staff] said to me “how dared you distribute such kind of things here?” I said that this was in Italy, this was our freedom, what should we be afraid of? Then, they accepted the VCDs.” His girl friend also said by his side: “Give me two, I’ll help you to distribute them too!”

At this moment, a kind-hearted neighbor came to teach him the Falun Gong exercises, even though under the risk of being arrested and imprisoned. Before long, my granduncle miraculously recovered. Now he is fully healed, as healthy as before. Once again he can perform all sorts of tasks and can ride his bicycle to visit relatives and friends. The family is so happy. The neighborhood villagers say to each other, "Falun Dafa has saved his life. No wonder Dafa practitioners cultivate regardless of the severe persecution."

Because she persists in cultivating Dafa, she was illegally sent to the Masanjia Labour Camp, where she endured a lot of brutal torture. However, nothing has changed her righteous belief in Dafa. Later, she escaped. Before the 16th Party Congress, personnel from the police station in the Huolian village arrested Ms. Zhang again and sent her to the Benxi City Detention Centre for further persecution. Without knowing what kind of tortures the police had inflicted on her, they sent Zhang Huishuang home after she was nearly completely incapacitated physically.

Under the proposed law, people found guilty of acts of treason, sedition, secession from, or subversion against the mainland government could be imprisoned for life. Rights activists and legal experts worry the law may roll back civil liberties and could be exploited by Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to target anyone they do not like.

This is an ominous sign given the fact new anti-subversion laws are under consideration which will give the central government a mechanism to push the Hong Kong government to ban groups like the Falun Gong which are outlawed on the mainland.

While initially being detained, Kaneko suffered horrible abuse at the hands of the police, including being shackled to a bed in a basement hospital, catheterised, force-fed through a nose tube, and being beaten and tortured frequently to the point of unconsciousness.