A Comprehensive Report on Torture and Violence Against Women Practitioners of Falun Gong To Be Released NEW YORK - Falun Gong practitioners from all over the country will hold a series of events to mark the two-year anniversary of what has been dubbed the "Zhongnanhai Incident" on April 25th, 1999. It was on this day that more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to appeal to their own government for the legal right to practice their faith. The Chinese regime claims that the practitioners intentionally "surrounded" the government compound. Eyewitnesses, however, tell a different story. Now, for the first time, new information will be released that shows how Falun Gong may have been unwitting pawns in a power struggle in the upper echelons of the PRC government. We will also release a new report entitled: "Women of Conscience" that documents the widespread torture of and violence against female practitioners during the course of this illegal crackdown on Falun Gong. So far, at least 190 people have been killed by torture and police brutality, and at least half of them are women or girls. Most of the deaths have occurred in just the past five months as the persecution has continued to escalate. We must stop the killing before more innocent lives are lost. We invite the media to attend and participate in any of the following upcoming events:
| Event: | March in Chinatown, New York |
| Date: | Saturday, April 21, 2001 |
| Time & Location: | 1-3pm Starts in the square in front of the "Sun Yi Xian Middle School" ( I.S.131 )Southeast corner of Hester (parallel and one block north of Canal) and Christie (parallel and one block east of Bowery St). Several hundred practitioners from around the world are expected to participate. |
| Event: | Breakfast Press Conference, New York |
| Date: | Tuesday, April 24, 2001 |
| Time & Location: | 8:30am - breakfast 9:15am - press conference and announcement of the new Zhongnanhai documents and women's report. Caf?St. Bart's, 109 East 50th St., corner of Park Ave. A group of 50-100 people will be demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises outside. |
| Event: | All Night Anniversary Candlelight Vigil |
| Date: | Tuesday, April 24 to Wednesday April 25, 2001 |
| Time & Location: | 6pm Tuesday - 6pm Wednesday Next to the Chinese consulate in New York City, on West 42nd St and West Side Highway. Every two hours on the hour, we will ring a bell once for every person who has died under the persecution, which would be 190 times as of today. Several hundred practitioners are expected to be practicing the exercises outside the consulate over the course of 24 hours. |