Aug. 25, 2009: Falun Gong News Bulletin

Monitoring the Falun Gong Human Rights Crisis in China

FDIC Eyewitness Account: “Memories of Mr. Li Min, a Fellow Practitioner Who Was Persecuted to Death”
FDIC: “Falun Dafa Information Center Urges Korean President to Protect Falun Gong Refugees”
Chinascope: University Admission Policies Reveal Systematic Discrimination against Falun Gong Practitioners
Reporters Without Borders: “Cyber-dissident Zhang Lin released on completing five-year jail term”
NTDTV: “A Picture Tells a Thousand Words”
Event notice: Screening of film Sandstorm in Los Angeles/New York

FDIC Eyewitness Account: “Memories of Mr. Li Min, a Fellow Practitioner Who Was Persecuted to Death”
The following is an excerpt from the first hand account by a Falun Gong practitioner from Heilongjiang province who knew Li Min. The author’s full name and details have been withheld for security reasons:

“Some time ago, I heard some sad news: Falun Dafa practitioner Li Min was persecuted to death…During the five months that I was in the detention center, I didn’t have a toothbrush. It was worse in prison. I was not allowed to change clothes for more than half a year. All of my clothes were shoddy and tattered. That was the most difficult time in my life. One day a police officer took me to the prison meeting room. When I got there, I found Li Min had come to visit me. He brought me a lot of food and clothes. I was speechless and couldn’t hold back my tears. He always thought of others. Li Min said some encouraging words to me and told me that he would visit me again. He did come to visit me a few times. But I later heard that he had also been arrested and was detained at Daqing Prison.”

To read the full account, see: /article/901/?cid=6

For additional information about the death of 51-year-old Li Min, see: /article/890/?cid=84

Several dozen Falun Gong practitioners continue to be held at Daqing prison, at grave risk of torture. To read more see: /article/894/?cid=84

FDIC: “Falun Dafa Information Center Urges Korean President to Protect Falun Gong Refugees”
August 15: “The Falun Dafa Information Center is calling upon South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to stop deportations of Falun Gong refugees back to China and to grant asylum to those remaining in South Korea. Three Chinese Falun Gong refugees were repatriated in recent weeks, placing them at serious risk of detention and torture, while an additional 30 refugees face imminent deportation.

… The Korean government has claimed the deportations were due to insufficient evidence that as individuals they would be at risk of persecution. However, a wide range of eyewitness accounts and third party reports – including those from Amnesty International, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and the United Nations – document the ongoing systemic and widespread nature of persecution against Falun Gong in China.”

Chinascope: University Admission Policies Reveal Systematic Discrimination against Falun Gong Practitioners
The article is the translation of several websites of Chinese academic institutions in which they outline their admission criteria, including the systematic disqualification of those known to practice Falun Gong. The following is one sample:

“Public Announcement of Hainan on Admission Interviews for Military Academies, Public Security Schools, Schools of Riot Police and Judicial and Law Schools [dated] June 29, 2008, Examinations Bureau of Hainan Province”

“Candidates shall be politically disqualified if they committed one of the following:
… Have practiced Falun Gong or other illegal organizations or groups of organized crimes.
…Have immediate family members or close relatives that are suspects currently under criminal investigation by the authorities or hard core members of Falun Gong and other illegal organizations who refuse to change their wrong positions; and other situations that are not appropriate for enrollment.”

Reporters Without Borders: “Cyber-dissident Zhang Lin released on completing five-year jail term”
August 18: “Reporters Without Borders welcomes the release of the well-known blogger and pro-democracy activist Zhang Lin on 12 August on completing a five-year sentence for posting articles online that were deemed to be “contrary to the bases of the constitution” and “a danger to national security.”

Arrested illegally on 29 January 2005 in the eastern province of Anhui, where is from, Zhang was initially placed in “administrative detention.” He was then accused of threatening the country’s security by means of the articles he posted online and was given the five-year sentence on 14 October 2005.

Zhang often posted articles on websites linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement such as Dajiyuan.com and Epochtimes.com, as well as Boxun.com, a website about human rights in China.”

NTDTV: “A Picture Tells a Thousand Words”
August 10: “The paintings in the Truth Compassion Tolerance Art exhibition in Sydney have got art enthusiasts talking.

[Andrew Toirkens, Exhibit Curator]: “One picture tells a thousand words and we have 24 pictures here, so we’ve got about 24,000 words. So we have quite a lot to say and the pictures do tell the story.”

It’s the story of those who practice Falun Gong and their plight to end the bloody persecution of its adherents in Mainland China. A persecution that has taken the lives of more than 3,000 people according to the Falun Dafa Information Center.”

http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_asia/2009-08-10/419255135330.html

Event notice: Screening of film Sandstorm in Los Angeles/New York
Sandstorm: Trapped at home for twelve days in a massive sandstorm and running out of food and water, a Chinese policeman cares for his dying wife as they grieve for their daughter who is missing in the storm. In this isolation he is tormented by flashbacks of his participation in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The devastating realization of his crimes awakens his conscience and brings forth the light of hope.

This international award winning drama is based on first hand accounts of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The persecution is documented and condemned by human rights organizations and governments worldwide.

Special Limited Engagements
New York: September 4-10, 2009 Village East Cinema
LA: September 11-17, 2009 Laemmle Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills
In Chinese with English subtitles

To read more: www.SandstormMovie.com