(Clearwisdom.net)

Geneva, March 23, 2002 - Beginning with the Chinese New Year (February 12), Chinese police have been instructed to open fire whenever they see Falun Gong practitioners posting truth-clarifying flyers or banners. Recently, practitioners successfully broadcast a 50-minute TV program revealing the truth of Falun Gong on the Changchun City cable television network. Furious, the Chinese dictator Jiang issue the order of "killing without pardon" targeted at Falun Gong practitioners. In order to expose and protest this policy of international terrorism, we, 700 practitioners from all over the world, have gathered here to hold a hunger strike during the United Nations Human Rights Commission Conference.

In China, there have been at least 386 verified cases of Falun Gong practitioners dying as a result of police brutality. Over 100,000 have been detained, beaten and tortured. More than 20,000 have been sent to forced labor camps without trial, and nearly 1,000 practitioners have been sent to mental hospitals. Millions of Falun Gong practitioners are living through a nightmare. They have been fired from their jobs, dismissed from school, evicted from their homes, forced to divorce and even have abortions, had their families broken apart, and extorted exorbitant amounts of money.

"No matter what, we will change your repeated answer of 'No.'" This is what three drunken guards said to a female practitioner who refused to sign a document renouncing her belief in Falun Gong, as they were punching and kicking her. Afterwards they sent her to a "brainwashing class," where she was the victim of brutal torture and repeated sexual assault. The authorities only let her go after extorting a huge amount of money from her family. As she was leaving the detention center, a guard said to her, "If you tell the outside world what happened to you here, you will die an even worse death."

Why has this brutal persecution of a peaceful practice of improving body and mind gone on for more than two years? It is because the noble principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" had attracted over one hundred million cultivators in seven years, and this was a point of bitter jealousy and paranoia for a few members of the ruling regime. However, Falun Gong is not interested in politics or money. It is only interested in the practitioners' kind hearts being genuinely cultivated. Practitioners from all over the world have been holding a hunger strike appeal in Geneva on Thursday and Friday. Facing this inconceivable and ever escalating persecution, the cultivators of Falun Dafa can only express our wishes in this rational and peaceful way:

"Leaders of China, you are cause for shame for all of humanity. Stop your violent suppression! Respect the people's right to live! Deal with problems like civilized people!"

Through this peaceful activity, we call for the following three actions:

• Immediately rescind the order to murder practitioners in Changchun and all over China who are being subjected to imprisonment and torture.
• Respect the rights of women: the violent abuse and assault of women are commonplace. In extreme cases, guards have stripped female practitioners naked and thrown them into male jails cells or turned them over to criminal inmates to be raped and sexually assaulted. Other female practitioners have been branded by red-hot iron rods. One young woman who was seven months pregnant was forced to abort her baby. The list of atrocities goes on and on.
• Members of the Human Rights Commission: it is time for action. China cannot be allowed to escape punishment in the form of censure and economic sanctions from the civilized world.

Please support us by telling our story to your friends and neighbors. Please write to your local and national governments, calling upon them to raise their voices of justice and show their moral support for Falun Gong practitioners.