We have always known that freedom of the press is unknown in China. Any news agency that does not kowtow to the party line is summarily closed. Jiang Zemin's regime now extends its slimy tentacles to the Mediterranean. When senior Epoch Times reporter Wenyi Wang applied for a press card at the European Summit, at the meeting of the EU Parliament in Sweden and at every other place she has ever been, the card was issued within a half hour to two hours. Yet, due to Jiang Zemin's visit to Malta it was denied!
Just as Ms. Wang applied for the press card in order to interview Jiang Zemin, who was expected later that day, three officials from the Chinese Consulate pressured the director. The press card was denied and Ms. Wang was told she would have to see the director to find out the reason. When she asked him, he gave no reason. He merely stated that the decision had been made and it was final.
Wenyi Wang is a Falun Gong practitioner. Falun Gong is outlawed in China, where practitioners are routinely arrested, tortured, maimed and murdered just because they refuse to renounce their spiritual beliefs. To date over 258 human beings have died while in captivity. It isn't enough that Falun Gong is banned in China. Zemin's regime has tried very hard to squash the freedoms of practitioners around the world. These are the real reasons Ms. Wang was forbidden access to the President. Furthermore, practitioners, who planned a demonstration, were shunted out of sight far from Zemin's eyes lest he be offended by their presence.
Not having a press card did not stop Ms. Wang. While on a quiet walk off the
beaten path, she happened upon Jiang Zemin taking a stroll. She asked him to
stop killing Falun Gong practitioners. The ensuing interaction was reported at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/7/28/12594.html
and
He was, of course, taken aback and Ms. Wang never did get her press card.
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