August 27th, 2001
Re: Help save 130 lives in China
Beginning on August 21th, several Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners began a 300-hour hunger strike relay at the Chinese Consulate. Why? In the notorious Masanjia Labor Camp in China, 130 Falun Gong practitioners are in their fourth week of a hunger strike to protest the extension of their illegal prison terms. Their lives are in grave danger.
The 130 practitioners at Masanjia Labor Camp, have been brainwashed, physically and mentally tortured in order to force them to give up their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance". They have absolutely no other means available to them in their call for justice other than their own lives. However, their voice can scarcely be heard because the Chinese authorities have sealed off all information to the outside world.
The Masanjia Labor Camp is regarded as the most brutal detention center in China where practitioners are forced to renounce their belief:
- 18 female practitioners were stripped naked and thrown to men's jail cells
- Female practitioners suffer from severe beatings specifically to their genitals
- Guards cut their esophagus open to force-feed a practitioner on a hunger strike
- Masanjia officials are rewarded for their "good work"
According to renowned international human rights lawyer and Canadian MP Irwin Cotler, no Falun Gong practitioners should ever have been arrested or detained. Through these actions, the Chinese government has violated not only its own laws, but also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which China is a signatory.
Since August 21th, Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners, joining others around the world, are on a hunger strike relay in front of the Chinese Consulate to support the determination and courage of the 130 who continue to peacefully appeal despite the threat of torture and death by their own government.
One of the hunger strikers in Canada is Jinyu Li. Her husband is currently being held in a Chinese labour camp with his term extended for his refusal to renounce Falun Gong.
Jinyu started her hunger strike (no food or water) on Aug. 22. She said, "I am willing to show my support for them with my maximum effort. As stated by Martin Luther King, 'One place without justice is a threat to all places with justice.' The suppression of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin's regime is a challenge to the conscience of all the people in the world. ... I hope our Canadian people and government will step forward and say no to such brutality."
Vancouver practitioners have been on the third relay of the hunger strike - each relay lasts at least 48 hours. They are moved by the Chinese Falun Gong practitioner's determination in their belief, a belief that gives them righteous minds. They used their lives to resist the vicious persecution. That is the power of Truthfulness-Benevolence --Tolerance... "We are here to be the voice for the practitioners in China who have no voice... Two years is already too long... We hope that our actions here will awaken peoples' hearts to the plight of these innocent practitioners in China," said Vancouver hunger strikers.
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Would you please add your voice to call on Canadian government to condemn the vicious persecution and lend support in ensuring the immediate release of these innocent people?
The Canadian Prime Minister will visit China within two weeks.
Please also add your voice to request the Prime Minister to urge the Chinese authorities to stop persecuting Falun Gong, to release all the practitioners from incarceration and bring Jinyu's husband, Shenli Lin, to Canada home to be reunited with her.
You can also show your support by coming to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate or by writing a letter in support of the courageous hunger strikers.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely Yours,
Vancouver Falun Gong Practitioners
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(More information about Falun Gong and the persecution of Falun Gong in
China:
Category: Rallies & Protests
