On October 19th, 2005, former 610 office¹ staff Hao Fengjun and former diplomat of Chinese Consulate in Sydney Chenyong Lin testified at European Parliament. The two both stated that they could not tolerate the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and disclosed the nature of 610 office, an agency which was established by CCP to persecute Falun Gong and is similar to Gestapo in nature.

On October 22nd, the UK Saying Goodbye to the CCP Confederation and Service Centre for Quitting the CCP jointly held a press conference from outside the UK Chinese Embassy to commemorate five million withdrawals from the CCP.

"While Xuezhi lived in China he did not have any problems practising his faith. But since Falun Gong was banned in China in 1999, the authorities have fiercely attacked many of the movements' members and Xuezhi is sure that he would be arrested if he were to return to China. Giving up his faith is out of the question. For Xuezhi his belief in Falun Gong is connected to the belief in a better world. Its main principles are Truth, Compassion and Tolerance and in Denmark he can meet freely with other Falun Gong practitioners to practise his faith. This is what nourishes his spiritual life while he is waiting to be able to start from scratch in Denmark."

"Before I came to Sweden, I celebrated the National Day because I was glad to have a holiday. However, today, I am deeply sad. On the face of the true history of the CCP, what are we celebrating? The victims in the persecution campaign (1950-1953), in the campaign against the right (1957), in the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), in the Tiananmen massacre, or in the persecution of Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhists and underground churches?"

"If you are interested in meditation exercises, enrich your knowledge with an ancient cultivation method for cultivation of mind, body and spirit, Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, which helps to control negative emotions ... The goal is to learn to live a harmonious, unselfish and tolerant life, which is in line with the basic principles of the universe: truth, compassion and forbearance. Falun Gong helps to improve every aspect of human beings: body, mind and spirit."

'Almost 2,800 people have been assassinated since 1999, more than 200,000 are currently locked up in extermination camps; and 100 million have been illegally denied freedom of belief. The reason? They believe in Falun Gong, a practice of meditation and exercises that is based on an oriental tradition that improves health and personal values, something that the Chinese Communist Party does not allow for its people.'

This week, Federalism Weekly published twelve pages of articles detailing the human rights violations in China. Entitled “A Free Market and Freedom from Torture”, editor Ms Stefania Piazzo used five pages, including the whole front page, to report the Chinese Communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Scholars at the University of Texas found that modern technology can be utilised to analyse thousands of genes at the same time. Those scholars studied one group of leucocyte of the Asian descendants who have practised Falun Gong for at least one year of and a group of persons who did not to make comparisons. They found that the leucocyte of the persons who practise Falun Gong is highly vigorous, and its immunity is very strong. And they can recover from infection with higher speed..."

More than 2,600 people have been killed in China over the past six years for practising the meditation system Falun Gong, but it is estimated that over 10,000 people have been tortured to death, 200,000 jailed and over 1,000 forced into mental institutions. The abuse of human rights in this Asian country has reached the extreme limits with people being persecuted, tortured and thousands killed and forced into exile, making it border on the limits of genocide.

“The majority of the Chinese people have no choice but to join the CCP if they want to achieve certain influence in the social and political system. It is a way to access public resources,” commented Nis Hoyrup Christensen of The Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS). “It is also a manifestation that this person is part of the system, not a potential threat.” However, not all of the Chinese people support the CCP. According to a report in the Epoch Times, a medium that holds an aggressive critical position against the CCP, the overall situation has been totally different.

"Many local people in Lahti paid attention to a badly beaten Chinese woman in a cage in Lanun square. The bruises were not real, but the message was: Falun Gong practitioners in China have been tortured, killed and arrested during the last six years. Falun Gong is a Chinese cultivation practice which includes the practice of exercises and meditation, like Tai Chi"

Stefan and Rosemary are impassioned about trying to help the dreadful situation in China, where innocent people are persecuted for practising Falun Gong, ...torn from their homes and taken away to be imprisoned and tortured, often leaving bewildered children not knowing where to turn. This terrifying situation has been condemned all over the world by governments and human rights organisations, but it is proving almost impossible to combat.

On the 5th and 6th of February, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners held a Falun Gong class in Joensuu. Ten people attended the introduction class and almost everyone asked for an introduction video and a book to understand more deeply about Falun Gong. A local reporter from Karjalan Heili interviewed participants and took photos for her article.

On July 16th 2005, German newspaper Roding published an article entitled "People there have no rights". In the article, Falun Gong practitioner Min Teng-Schwaeger talked about the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners and Utz-Reiner Roemer discussed the autocracy of the Chinese Communist party.

'Followers of the eastern practice of Falun Gong protested against persecution in China yesterday. A group of practitioners handed out leaflets, demonstrated exercises and collected signatures on a petition in Abbey Church Yard. The petition, which calls for the release from labour camps of family members of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners who live abroad, will be sent to the British Government. It is hoped that the government will put diplomatic pressure on China to end the persecution which, according to campaigners, has led to more than 2,750 people being tortured to death.'

The Danish Falun Gong Association intends to file a lawsuit against Jia Chunwang, the former minister of public security, for the systematic torture and killing of thousands of innocent practitioners of Falun Gong. And Denmark must not let this man go, explains the association’s spokesperson Marco Hsu. “Jia Chunwang is at the top of the so-called “6-10 Office”, which was set up with the sole purpose of eliminating Falun Gong. Therefore he is responsible for all that has happened and he will be brought to court.”

'Procurator General Jia Chunwang isn’t just anybody. China’s highest prosecutor was minister of public security in 1999, when China’s government decided to crush Falun Gong, and according to the complaint he was one of the main persons behind the brutal campaign against the movement’s practitioners. From one day to another, the peaceful and apolitical meditation-movement was banned, and millions of its practitioners became hunted victims both inside and outside China. Since then, the reports have been piling up at the UN, Amnesty International and in the international media about imprisonments, torture, persecution and murder.'

On Sunday August 28th 2005, renowned Denmark lawyer Tyge Trier filed a lawsuit on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners against Jia Chunwang, procurator general of CCP Supreme People's Procuratorate and one of the central figures in China's Gestapo-like 610 Office -- for crimes contravening the UN Convention Against Torture. Jia Chunwang was sued the same day he arrived in Denmark to partake in an international conference for prosecutors being held in Copenhagen.

Spokesperson Marco Hsu from the Danish Falun Gong Association says, that he will file a complaint against Jia Chunwang to the State Prosecutor for Special International Crime-cases. Chunwang has, according to Falun Gong, among other things been a leader of a special office which has lead the Chinese government’s campaign against the movement since 1999. ”Since Jia Chunwang has been minister of public security and one of the leaders of the special office, he has had influence on what all the sub-departments of that office have done of persecution and torture”, says Marco Hsu.

Jiang Renzheng, twenty nine years old, is being persecuted. On March 7th, Mr. Jiang, his wife and their two children were deported from the Bavarian State Germany to China because they were not granted asylum. Shortly after his arrival in China, the staff from the State Security Bureau accosted him. One month later he was sent to a labour camp. Mr. Jiang is a Falun Gong practitioner, while at present the Falun Gong movement is being persecuted in China.

'This Monday at nine o’clock, Xiaotian Liu stood watch between two banners in front of Hotel Scandic in Copenhagen, where prosecutors from 80 countries are gathered for three days to discuss witnesses' and victims' judicial position in Criminal case. Among the guest speakers is the Chinese Procurator General Jia Chunwang, whom three Falun Gong practitioners, one of them being Xiaotian Liu, filed a torture complaint against to the police on Sunday. He is guilty of this, because Chunwang, according to Falun Gong, has among other things been leader of a special office which has lead the Chinese Government’s campaign against Falun Gong since 1999.'

A peaceful protest by Falun Gong practitioners took place on Zagreb’s business square. The theme was: “End the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.” During this event, Croatian practitioners of this ancient Eastern cultivation way, which purifies the body and mind, distributed flyers that depicted the brutal torture, which is suffered by like-minded people in China. The Croatian Falun Gong practitioners invited all citizens to join in the group exercises and meditation.

"I was taking a walk in New York City. On the corner of Fifth Avenue near Central Station, many Chinese were giving out fliers to passers-by and telling their stories. They seemed very concerned and needed help. The fliers they gave out described the gross human rights abuses currently happening in China. I spoke to them to find out more. These Chinese people then started recounting to me the tragedies that happened. They said the government in Beijing persecuted a spiritual practice called Falun Gong."

"Something so inoffensive was all of a sudden prohibited by the Chinese government, then presided over by Jiang Zemin. The reasons for this persecution, according to the organisations that defend this large collective, point to the harsh control that the dictatorship exerts over everything that does not follow the regime’s principles. In barely six years, the number of people murdered, tortured to death, persecuted and incarcerated has not ceased to grow..."

"In the eyes of the former head of the CCP and Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, his greatest threat was the popularity and respect that Falun Gong held among the Chinese population. He worried that the greatest threat and challenge to the CCP's power was the high ethical principals that are the mainstay of Falun Gong. Once the number of Falun Gong practitioners became larger than the CCP membership, Jiang Zemin began his brutal persecution."

"Suddenly on July 20th 1999, one hundred million Chinese citizens are declared as public enemy number one. The former head of state Jiang Zemin was very clear in his instruction: “Tarnish their names, ruin them financially, destroy them physically!” A minority is demonised and become the scapegoats for all the ills in the Chinese system and society."

Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance are universal principles that were too demanding for the Chinese Government. Each year China tops the lists of human rights violations, torture or the implementation of capital punishment that are published by the most prestigious independent organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch. This intolerance has afflicted Falun Gong practitioners.

The BBC Chinese website published a report on 8th August 2005 entitled: “Ma Yingjiu: Standing Strongly Against the CCP with China”. The report says, Mr. Ma Yingjiu, the new leader of the Taiwanese Kuomintang Party, said to a Chinese Times reporter during an interview on Jinmen Island: “Justice for June 4th, support Falun Gong, criticise the anti-secession law. These viewpoints will not be silenced just because I have become the president of the Taiwanese Kuomintang party.”

Six years ago, on the 20th of July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started a persecution against Falun Gong in China that shocked the world. To commemorate over 2,600 Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted to death and to appeal for an end to these human rights abuses, Spanish practitioners held a peaceful protest.

More than twenty people from the Spanish Falun Gong Association and their legal team peacefully protested at the Chinese Embassy in Madrid. They urged that the genocide, persecution and torture of hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have a right to freedom of belief in China be stopped. The organiser said that to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the persecution against Falun Gong was the purpose of the day’s gathering. The former president of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, initiated the comprehensive persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, the followers of an ancient Chinese spiritual practice, with the policy of defaming their reputations, bankrupting them financially, and destroying them physically.

Falun Gong has five powerful and peaceful exercises that cultivate the body and the soul...The Chinese authorities banned Falun Gong in 1999, because the number of practitioners far outnumbered the number of members of the Communist Party. Since then, several thousand Falun Gong practitioners from China have been persecuted, illegally jailed, tortured or sent to forced labour camps. Several thousand have been killed.

Violations of basic human rights and the persecution against good people in China violates laws and regulations, which most countries — China included — have ratified to secure the lives of their citizens. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has now extended its tentacles of persecution outside China. The latest example in Finland was the harassing phone calls in the spring, when contact persons for Falun Gong in several areas received disturbing and threatening phone calls repeating the evil propaganda from the CCP. The international community should help the investigations in order to have the culprits behind the act identified.

Pia-Maria Sandas, a young Finnish lady based in New York and Madrid, has discovered a system of relaxation that improves physical wellbeing and that has, according to her, changed her life. Sandas is sure that Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) is what made her allergies and other physical and emotional problems that bothered her for years disappear. Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is an ancient discipline that originated in China, and that consists of a series of exercises and relaxations of the body through meditation. According to its adherents, this system that is practised by over 100 million people in the world and is recommended for all ages and cultures.

Kalmar citizen Ulrik Dahlgren is pressing charges against China’s former head of state, Jiang Zemin, for crimes against the UN convention on torture. Three years ago Ulrik was imprisoned in conjunction with a demonstration in Tiananmen Square against China’s persecution of Falun Gong. For five days he was incarcerated, five days that left deep scars on Ulrik. Around the world there are now several lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, among others. Ulrik’s lawyer Peter Bergquist believes that putting pressure on China can lead to better human rights in the long run. Millions of people are today incarcerated in labour camps after the persecution against Falun Gong began and many thousands have lost their lives.

On 20th June, a press conference was held with Ms. Xiong Wei to inform the public about her two years of suffering in a Chinese forced labour camp. Xiong Wei was imprisoned for handing out leaflets in Beijing exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. The Slovakia press conference was featured on two TV stations and in other media.

A local newspaper called Texnopolis published a feature article related to the events taking place during the conference, including a parade, Falun Gong exercise demonstrations, a concert and a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Embassy. The report mentioned that the persecution of Falun Gong in China has already led to more than 2000 deaths.

Swedish members of the banned Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong said Friday they plan to press criminal charges against China's former president Jiang Zemin and other senior officials for murder, torture and kidnapping. "The persecution of Falun Gong is extensive and has been going on for several years. It is directly inspired by the Communist Party and is led by a special body that was created by Jiang Zemin," the group's Swedish lawyer, Peter Bergquist, said in a statement from Falun Gong.

Radio France Internationale reported that Mr. Qin Jing, Chairman of the Alliance for Chinese Democracy in Australia, was interviewed by a reporter about the political asylum application made to the Australian Government by Chen Yonglin, First Secretary of the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney. When interviewed, Mr. Qin Jing said that there were two reasons for Chen Yonglin’s defection. The first one was that he was against China’s high-pressure policy towards dissidents, which was a political matter. The other was that he was against China’s brutal persecution of the Falun Gong group, which has been consistently extended to foreign countries.

Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance – these are the main principles of an ancient Chinese cultivation way called Falun Gong. There are about 100 million practitioners of this cultivation method worldwide, but in China they are persecuted, jailed and tortured by the Chinese Communist Regime.

Because of its popularity in China and the exercises were practised by many people in the parks, the Chinese Ministry of Health surveyed it and found that at that time this practice was the most beneficial qigong practice in China. Gong is actually called cultivation energy. It affects positively the cultivation of one’s body. One also lives by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. The exercises are useless if one does not cultivate one’s heart at the same time.

This article is based on an April 12th report by German newspaper The Main Post. Phone calls from China said that Jiang Renzheng, who was deported to China from Wurzburg, was sentenced to three years in a forced labour camp. The only reason for his detention is that he participated in Falun Gong activities in Germany, which are forbidden in China.

An honest and kind businesswoman who stayed regularly in Islington has been jailed for two years in a Beijing labour camp for practising Falun Gong, a faith that is [banned and persecuted] in China. Friends are campaigning for the release of single mother Feng Yang (also known as Annie), 42, amid fears she may be suffering torture and ill treatment in the Tiantanghe labour camp.

Being suspected of wanting to stay in Germany by using the name of Falun Gong, Wuerzburg Administrative Court refused Mr. Jiang and his family’s application, which was submitted with Falun Gong practitioners’ verification of their identity. The German Falun Dafa Association reminded the German Government of the persecution situation against Falun Gong practitioners in China before the repatriation decision was made known. At present, the association is doing its utmost to rescue Jiang and his family back to Germany.

On May 5th 2005, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal made a ruling on the accusation against Swiss and Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners for obstructing and assaulting the police three years ago. The court ruling overturns the conviction made by a lower court. The summary of the verdict said peaceful demonstration is a constitutional right. Since peaceful demonstration and appeals are protected by the law, the arrest becomes illegal.

During the activities, passers-by could learn about the torture methods and other Chinese Government atrocities used against Falun Gong practitioners and they could also sign a petition condemning the persecution. “The petition will be presented to the Czech Parliament Petition Committee and a copy will be given to the UN office,” added the organiser, who said that people can also sign the petition on the Falun Gong website.

Based on the report, from April 15th to 17th 2005, practitioners held the “Journey of Compassion” painting exhibition in the Краматорск city History Museum. Traditional Chinese paintings by the Australia-based artist Zhang Cuiying were put on display. The famous painter was imprisoned in China for six months just because of her belief in Falun Gong.

According to a report by the Italian Asia News Agency of the 26th of April, the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) has adopted the largest-scale police action since 1999 to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The CPP has arrested many Falun Gong practitioners in Shandong, Jiangxi, Xichuan provinces and inner Mongolia. According to the report, Amnesty International revealed the situation to the outside world while supporting Falun Gong.

Steinau, who is from Bochum, and Kea, who is from Gelsenkirchen, are practising Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese meditation and cultivation practice. However, although Falun Gong originated in China, the country has lost its internal balance. “Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted”, says Steinau.

The Beijing police had never seen a crowd like this. They remained quiet, orderly and in good humour the whole day. They kept the sidewalks clear so that pedestrians could move along. At the end of the day they cleaned up all litter, including the cigarette butts of the policemen.

The Maison du Grütli is hosting a remarkable exhibition until 22nd April exposing the many forms of abuse that Falun Gong practitioners in China are subjected to by the Chinese authorities. This exhibition is organized by Falun Gong members, who have seized the opportunity of the sixty first session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission now being held in Geneva as a reminder of their struggle against crimes to which they are victim – parents and children alike – in China.