On the afternoon of June 5, more than 100 practitioners gathered at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco to appeal and hold a press conference demanding the release of the five practitioners who are overseas residents but who were detained while they were in China. The practitioners read the press statement and walked into the Chinese Consulate to deliver a letter while reporters from many media were following and watching.
The officials at the Consulate refused to accept the letter with the reason: "We do not accept any letters from Falun Gong." The practitioner who delivered the letter was interviewed by reporters inside the Chinese Consulate.
Besides calling for an immediate end to the ban on Falun Gong as usual, they especially demanded the release of the five overseas practitioners this time. The five practitioners include Dr. Teng Chunyan, a New York acupuncture doctor who was sentenced to three years in labor camp, Ms. Zhu Ying, a Montreal residents who is currently missing, Mr. Zhao Ming, a graduate student in computer science at Trinity College, Ireland, who has been imprisoned and tortured in two labor camps since July 2000, Mr. Chu O-Ming, a Hong Kong permanent resident and SAR passport holder, who was arrested after filing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, and Mr. Hu Guoping, a Japanese researcher who was arrested in Beijing for taking pictures in Tiananmen Square and sentenced to three years in labor camp.
Local English and Chinese language media including AP, World Journal, Singdao Journal, TV channel 4, channel 5, and two Chinese TV stations attended the event and conducted interviews.
Category: Rallies & Protests
