(Toronto News) A Video by a Toronto Dafa Practitioner
Friday June 20th marks the second anniversary of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's crackdown on the practice of Falun Gong with hundreds murdered and thousands persecuted, jailed or imprisoned in mental institutions or re-education camps. MP John Godfrey, MPP George Smitherman, and Ontario supporters of Falun Gong denounce the persecution. Duration: 9:00 + 9:00 Epress Production
To watch the video, please visit http://www.epress.ca/vid3.asp?vod=to-fgp-jul202001-1
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On the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the illegal crackdown of Falun Gong in China on July 20, 1999, Toronto Falun Dafa practitioners held a press conference at Queen's Park, the Provincial Parliament in Toronto, on July 18, 2001. The press conference was held with the sponsorship and support from members of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) as well as Members of Parliament (MP). The press conference attracted a significant amount of local and national media. Some representatives from MPPs were also present to express their support. MPP George Smitherman and MP John Godfrey made speeches to condemn the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China during the last 2 years. Their speeches are as follows:
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Speech by MPP George Smitherman
This past spring, I reported to the House that last winter a rally was organized in Toronto to condemn Canadian Falun Gong practitioners, featuring the Chinese Consul General as the primary speaker. Further, a civil rights lawyer reported there had been threatening phone calls made from the Chinese Consulate officers to intimidate Canadian Falun Gong
practitioners since the crackdown in 1999. This information has been brought to the attention of the Attorney General. Once again, I am calling on the members of Provincial Parliament and particularly the Premier and the Minister of Citizenship to speak out and protect Ontarians exercising their fundamental right of freedom of belief and freedom of assembly and association.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a peaceful, healthy and popular meditation exercise of body, mind and spirit which has benefited thousands of Canadians and millions worldwide. I can attest on a personal basis, having participated one early morning in Allan Gardens, to the peaceful nature of this method. The fundamental values of Falun Gong, truth-compassion-forbearance are really core values shared by almost every resident of our province. Two years ago this week, the government of China declared the practice of Falun Gong to be illegal. In Beijing alone, 35,000 arrests were made during the period of July to October 1999. Now, I would like to re-emphasize that number again, 35,000 arrests in Beijing. While being arrested, practitioners have never violently resisted or retaliated. During that period of time, at least 24 Falun Gong practitioners died in custody (now the total number of deaths has surpassed 250). This suppression campaign has also included the sentencing of at least 50,000 practitioners to labor camps. Millions of Falun Gong books have been burned or otherwise destroyed in public spectacles. All Falun Gong practitioners who work to tell the truth about Falun Gong are volunteers; there are no paid staffs.
In November, 1999, the United States Senate and the House unanimously passed concurrent resolutions condemning China's inhumane treatment of Falun Gong practitioners and the then US President, Bill Clinton, has spoken out for the rights of Falun Gong practitioners. So I would again like to call this matter to the attention of my colleagues in the Ontario Legislature and to the government, that there have been actions which will be characterized today by the Canadian Chinese Consulate here in Toronto and other groups to suppress these activities of Canadian citizens participating and I think that we jointly speak out against such actions.
Thank you.
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Speech by MP John Godfrey (excerpt)
Well, thank you very much for inviting me to this rather sad second anniversary of the official repression of China Falun Gong. It forms part of a larger pattern of repression of human rights in China. [...] Falun Gong, as a peaceful religious movement, has not been exempted or spared either from imprisonment and humiliation, of the sort that George referred to, or from the death penalty. Estimates range in the neighbourhood of 200 practitioners who have been [tortured to death]. This past June alone, estimates range between thirty and fifty Falun Gong practitioners who have been put to death. One group of fifteen women in a labor camp and another group of ten men, plus others. [...]
For a whole variety of reasons, there is a massive repression movement in China right now, which is characterized by the term "strike hard." "Strike hard." Indeed they have done. It does seem ironic that we didn't know it when we were asked to participate in this press conference but almost as a reward for bad behaviour, the International Olympic Committee decided to give Beijing the 2008 Olympics. It is ironic to note, as Amnesty International has done, that many of the people who are on trial in these kangaroo courts in China have their last moments of public humiliation in sports arenas, and that the Olympic Committee should have ignored that, seems to me quite remarkable. We can only hope, therefore, as we look to the future that as the spotlight now swings firmly onto China for the 2008 games that we will be able to use that publicity, that glare of publicity, to draw attention to the repression of Falun Gong movement and other forms of peaceful protest.
We have had some success at the Federal government level with various MPs getting together to work towards the release of certain Falun Gong practitioners who have Canadian connections. We have in fact had one or two modest successes, but that's got to be seen as a background, against the background of a large scale repression, the sort that George has referred to. So, on behalf of those members of the Federal Parliament --and they are not simply Liberal members of Parliament, they represent all political parties -- we wish to continue to put pressure on our own Canadian government and through the Canadian government on the government of China to stop this repression. Not simply for Falun Gong practitioners, but for all others who suffer human rights abuses in China. That's why I am glad to be here today. I am sad that we should have to commemorate this second anniversary of the repression of this peaceful group. Thank you.