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Falun Gong is freely practiced in more than 50 countries around the world, but relentlessly persecuted in China. The peaceful courage of practitioners there has shocked their oppressors and moved the people of the world. While China continues to block all information, FGMtv brings you the stories you may not hear anywhere else.

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Hello, and welcome to FGMtv on May 14th, 2002

I'm Susan Mitchell.

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In this week's update from China...

• The number of Falun Gong practitioners verified to have died while in detention is 410. However, reliable sources inside China put the actual death count at more than 1,700. One government source advised that 40 were killed in April alone.

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Our top story this week:

• Celebrating May 13th, 2002, the 10th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi, its founder.

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Some of the other stories we're following:

• A Montrealer and an Austrian were detained in China for standing up for Falun Gong
• A Montreal practitioner receives an award from police for saving a child who had fallen through the ice on the river
• corruption plagues China's police force
• Events in Sunzheng Village

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10th Anniversary celebrations around the world

• In an estimated 40 cities across more than 30 countries and in at least 12 languages, people around the world gathered on May 13th to celebrate the third annual World Falun Dafa Day.
• It was on this day ten years ago in Northeast China that Mr. Li Hongzhi first began teaching the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa. Also known as Falun Gong, it is an ancient system of self-improvement that had been taught privately for thousands of years, and espouses the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.
• Mr. Li taught in China for only two-and-a-half years with an estimated 20,000 people attending his lectures. The practice, however, quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China to over 100 million people by late 1998, according to a Chinese government survey. That is, 1 out of every 12 people in the most populous nation of the world.
• During those early years, Mr. Li won praise and awards from a number of Chinese government bodies for the health improvements, the peace of mind, and wellness his teachings brought to the people of China. His book, Zhuan Falun -- the core text of the Falun Dafa practice -- became a bestseller in China.
• In the fall of 1993, Mr. Li gave a free health recovery seminar at the Ministry of Public Security for officials from over 30 provinces and cities across China, most of whom had been injured or disabled in the line of duty. Afterwards, the Ministry sent Mr. Li a letter, praising him for promoting "the traditional crime-fighting virtues of the Chinese people, to safeguard social order and security, and to promote social righteousness."
• Later that same year, the Oriental Health Expo in Beijing awarded Mr. Li the title "Qigong teacher most acclaimed by the people" due to the effectiveness of his treatments and the popularity of his teachings.
• In 1996, Mr. Li began giving free public seminars in North America, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Over the course of the next six years, Mr. Li and the practice of Falun Dafa received over 600 awards and proclamations from government officials across North America, as practice sites were established in 50+ countries by volunteers.
• Mr. Li Hongzhi has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the past three years.
• Sadly, however, in 1999, Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin unleashed one of the most systematic and brutal persecution campaigns in modern history. Its target: Falun Dafa.

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Toronto was one of the cities that celebrated World Falun Dafa Day with outdoor performances for people to enjoy.

Here are some highlights from the program.

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While the rest of the world celebrated, 7 more deaths were verified in China.

• Seven more deaths were reported in the last week, six of which occurred in April, 2002. They are:
• Yuhua Li, a resident of Beijing, who was tortured to death in early April in Shenyang City, Shenhe District Daxi Police Substation after being arrested for practicing Falun Gong.
• Mr. Jian Li, a 34 year-old lawyer from Zhengyang County of Henan Province, who was tortured to death in Henan Province No.3 Labor Camp On April 25 2002. During his one year in the labor camp, he was deprived of sleep, forced to do hard labor and was regularly subjected to torture before his death.
• Ms. Guirong Zou, was a 36-year old employee at Highway Xinbin County Section in Fushun area. She had been illegally sent to Fushun City Labor Camp for 1 years where she was tortured regularly. In the fall of 2001, she was transferred to Wujiabao Labor Camp in Fushun City, where policemen tortured her to death in April 2002.

• 30-year-old Mr. Yanchao Zhang a Falun Gong practitioner from Hongqi village in Lalin town, Wuchang City of Heilongjiang province was arrested on April 5 2002 by Harbin City police. He died in custody three days later. Eyewitnesses say his body was black and blue, almost beyond recognition. His widow is also a Falun Gong practitioner, and is now detained at Wuchang City Nantou Detention Center.
• Ms. Guilan Sun from Baoji City was killed by police as they inserted a tube into her trachea in order to force feed her at the Baoji City No.60 Hospital.
• Mr. Zhenyue He, 35 years old, held a bachelor degree from Sichuan Geology College. He was the electric engineer and captain of Ziyang Well-stablizing Team, Geology Ministry. He was once awarded the honors of "Excellent Cadre, "Excellent Party Member" and "Excellent Worker". He Zhenyue went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in May, 2000. As a result he was laid off and fined 7,000 Yuan. In December of the same year he again went to appeal peacefully in Tiananmen Square and was brutally beaten. After several days of hunger strike he was released unconditionally. On February 3, 2002, He Zhenyue was arrested along with four other practitioners. At 3 pm, April 10, Chengdu Detention Center contacted the National Security Team of Ziyang Public Security Bureau, saying that he died in the Center.

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2 Non-Chinese Practitioners Detained in China on May 13th

• Martial Bachoffner, 34, a French national living in Montreal and Austrian citizen Alexander Hamrle were arrested on May 13th in China. Bachoffner was on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and Hamrle in Changchun.
• On the 10th anniversary, both men were attempting to explain to the Chinese public that Falun Dafa is an excellent practice and that the information given to them by their government under Jiang Zemin's orders is nothing but false propaganda.
• By May 14th, Bachoffner had been deported and arrived safely in Japan. Mr. Hamrle's whereabouts are still unknown after a cell phone call from a police station was cut off.

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A Montreal practitioner receives an award from Police

• Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Ruqing Chen has been awarded a citation in a ceremony at Montreal's 17th Police Station honoring him for saving a young girl from drowning after she fell through the ice in March.

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Corruption Brought to Justice

• Mr. Taimin Fan, the former Director of Shaanxi Province Baoji City Police Station has been sentenced to jail for 10 years. He was convicted of corruption for taking 150,000 Yuan. The average wage of an urban worker is 500 Yuan.
• In recent times, Fan had received awards for his "outstanding performance" in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
• That old adage that good will be rewarded and evil punished seems to be true.

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Events in Sunzheng Village:

Sources inside China say that Sunzheng Village in Lugiao Township of Hebei Province has been surrounded by police 24 hours a day, and everyone is checked. People became angry in May when Mr. Rulin Cheng, a Falun Gong practitioner, who had been detained since last July, was returned to the village after having been brutally tortured to the point of death.

Not wanting to bear responsibility for his death, police had released him, but also sent about thirty police cars and over one hundred police and government employees to the village to intimidate, mistreat, oppress, threaten and abuse practitioners.

Villagers' lives and daily routines have been severely disturbed because each person is interrogated when he or she leaves the village for work. Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to leave the village.

Because of a phone conversation with Mr. Cheng Rulin, his younger brother, who is not a practitioner, was forced to pay 50,000 Yuan to the police to avoid arrest.

This is one of the ways that the persecution of Falun Gong has become the persecution of all Chinese people.

Colored circle of light surrounds the sun in Beijing:

• Last year on May 13th in Toronto, a beautiful circle of colored light surrounded the sun. It was captured by a photographer who published it in one of the major newspapers for everyone to see.
• This year, a similar phenomenon appeared in Beijing.
• These photos were taken in the Lichen District of the city.

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Thanks for watching FGMtv, dedicated to breaking through China's information blockade, revealing propaganda, and bringing you the truth of Falun Gong.