Falun Gong practitioners from Ottawa and Montreal began continuous appeals on behalf of Dr. Charles Li at the Chinese Embassy on the afternoon of May 21. On Sunday, June 1, the hunger strike Dr. Li initiated to protest the severe violation of his human rights in China entered its fourth day. The same day, practitioners from these two areas began a hunger strike in front of the Chinese Embassy from 9am to 5pm to support Dr. Li and call for his immediate and unconditional release.
It was reported that an official of the State Department verified to a Voice of America reporter that Charles Li, who had been sentenced to three years in prison, had started a hunger strike on May 27, 2003 in Nanjing Prison.
Dr. Li was arrested upon his arrival at Guangzhou Airport from the US on January 22. The Chinese government accused him of allegedly "preparing" to tap into Chinese state-run T.V. and broadcast programs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China. After being ushered through a "show trial" in March, Charles was sentenced to 3 years in Nanjing Prison. Here, Dr. Li wrote a 96 page document to the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. According to a U.S. consulate official, however, Nanjing Prison officials removed 8 pages from the document that contained specific information regarding Dr. Li's request to become a plaintiff in the genocide lawsuit against former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, which was filed in U.S. District Court in October 2002.
Presently, Charles Li's situation is very urgent. Officials at the Nanjing Prison where Dr. Li is being held have denied him all contact with his fiancée, Ms. Yeong-ching Foo. Chinese officials have also refused to allow U.S. consulate representatives to visit him, using the severe spread of SARS in the region where the Nanjing Prison is located as an excuse.
According to the most recent annual report of United Nations Human Rights Commission, many Falun Gong practitioners have died while on hunger strikes in China's forced labour camps and prisons due to forced feedings and brutal beatings.
During Saturday's gathering, Ottawa practitioners read several articles in both English and Chinese on the global lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, including Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice In the Court of Morality, In the Court of Conscience, and In Courts of Law All Over the World and Jiang Zemin Accused of Eight Crimes in Deceiving the World and Harming Mankind
On Sunday, a practitioner participating in the hunger strike said during an interview, "Compared to what fellow practitioners in China are experiencing, my suffering is nothing. The persecution Charles Li has experienced has showed how fearful the instigator who single-handedly started this persecution four years ago is before the righteous. Bringing Jiang to Justice, exposing the evil, and upholding justice will allow more people to know the truth about Falun Gong."
BCCTV (British Columbia Canadian Television Network) | ||
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Dozens of Falun Gong practitioners took over the sidewalk outside of the Chinese [Consulate] in Vancouver today to stage a hunger strike. They are protesting the imprisonment of an American Falun Gong practitioner in China.
[Practitioner] "We believe that this persecution is not only a persecution of innocent people, but a persecution of the nature of the universe, a persecution of you and me."
They've gathered to meditate and fast for 24 hours to support the American Dr. Charles Li who has been in jail since January. Protesters hope the event will bring attention to his plight. [Practitioner] "... give a voice to the people who have no voice, and to support Charles Li as much as we can, who has completely denied access to outside information."
Falun Gong practises meditation and exercises that were outlawed in China four years ago.
On June 1st 2003 Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners held a 24-hour hunger strike appeal in front of the Chinese Consulate, requesting the Chinese government to release American Citizen Charles Li immediately and to bring Jiang to justice for his persecution and genocide of Falun Gong practitioners.
When they heard the news that Dr. Charles Li went on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention and persecution, Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners decided to send forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate from 9am June 1st to 9am June 2nd and held a 24-hour hunger strike to support Charles Li and request the Chinese government to release Charles Li immediately. They also called for a global public trial of Jiang for his crime of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners in China.
The illegal imprisonment of Charles Li is the extension of persecution of Falun Gong to overseas Falun Gong practitioners. It is a clear violation of human rights justice. If the international community can do nothing to stop the Chinese regime from arbitrarily detaining and persecuting an innocent American citizen, the outcome will be very serious.
The practitioners' action was to remind the people of the world to be aware of the genocidal crimes Jiang's regime is committing in China. They also hope more people will join the effort to save Dr. Charles Li and stop the violence from spreading and escalating.
From 9am to 5 pm June 1 2003, Toronto Falun Gong practitioners went on hunger strike in front of the Chinese Consulate demanding the immediate release of Charles Li, a Falun Gong practitioner and American doctor who has been on hunger strike in a Chinese prison for five days. On the same day, practitioners throughout Canada started hunger strike protests in front of the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Canada.
Confirmed by Voice Of America, American citizen Charles Li, who was (illegally) sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Chinese government, went on hunger strike on May 27th in Nanjing Prison.
Doctor and practitioner Ms. Zhu Dan said, "Charles is a doctor and he knows the severe outcomes of hunger strike. Many organs are exhausted after a hunger strike and the changes can be irreversible. If he was not persecuted so badly by the Chinese government, he would not choose this way to protest."
Mrs. Shou, who is in her 80's, said that she came to the Consulate to participate in the hunger strike protest this morning. She was very clear about the cruel persecution of Chinese practitioners in Mainland China. The persecution has extended to foreign countries. The Falun Gong issue is no longer just a China issue. It is a global issue. The Chinese government uses fabricated charges to imprison foreign citizens. We cannot allow this to continue.
Doctor Charles Li was arrested immediately upon his arrival at Guangzhou airport on January 22 2003. On March 21, after a one-day show trial, he was sentenced to three years and jailed in Nanjing Prison. In the prison, he wrote 94 pages of material to give to the American Consul in Shanghai. But the prison withheld 8 pages he had written related to his wanting to become party to the lawsuit against Jiang and others for the inhumane treatment he has received.
Nanjing Prison has forbidden all communications between Dr. Li and his fiancée Yongqing Foo, and even used the prison locale's high SARS infection rate as an excuse to reject the American Consul's request to visit him.
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