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United Kingdom: Press Conference Outside South Africa House Regarding the Shooting of a Falun Gong Practitioner in Johannesburg

July 4, 2004

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 28, during the visit of Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai in South Africa, Falun Gong practitioners traveling there to peacefully appeal were shot at on the highway. At least five gunshots hit the car, and the practitioner driving the car was shot in his both feet, shattering the bones in one foot; the car was seriously damaged.

On Wednesday July 1, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference outside South Africa House to tell people about the vicious shooting of a Falun Gong practitioner in South Africa on Monday by thugs hired by Jiang's regime. They handed in a letter to the South Africa High Commission asking for an investigation to be carried out into the shooting, which occurred as two senior Chinese Ministers, both with lawsuits against them for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, visited Pretoria to meet with South African officials.

The Chinese Ministers, Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai, are well known inside and outside of China for their continued attacks on Falun Gong practitioners. They follow Jiang Zemin's illegal act of genocide against one hundred million of his own people for following a belief system of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. The injured Falun Gong practitioner, David Liang, was one of nine Australians who had arrived in South Africa to support a peaceful demonstration by local South African Falun Gong practitioners concerned over the presence of the two Chinese human rights criminals on South African soil.

Directors of the UK Falun Gong Association said at the London press conference that it was extremely regrettable that South Africa has been duped into hosting known perpetrators of serious crimes on the pretext of furthering trade agreements. The directors stated that the real intention of the Chinese visit was to pressure South Africa into supporting the persecution of Falun Gong by creating trade links. It is well known that over one quarter of China's budget has been diverted into funding the persecution, paying for bribes of officials and funding state-managed torture chambers.

Lord Thurlow said that over 900 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners had been recorded and that sources inside China put the real death toll and numbers suffering in the forced labor camps in the hundreds of thousands.

In the news this week, it was reported that the new Chinese leadership is trying to make changes to the regime but is having a hard time stepping away from the persecution campaign instigated by ex-President Jiang as the government is divided on how to bring it to a halt. It is no coincidence then that this calculated shooting occurred when the two most notorious supporters of the persecution were visiting South Africa. On examining the photos of the car peppered along its side with five bullet holes, one has to notice the very straight line in which the bullets entered the car. Considering that the car was traveling at speed, only an experienced marksman could keep a steady arm whilst using such a powerful weapon as an AK-47 assault rifle.

It is no coincidence then that the only person targeted was the one person in the car readily identified as a Falun Gong practitioner by the distinctive blue and yellow clothing often worn to peaceful demonstrations or large group activities. Nor is it a coincidence that the marksman shot to maim, not to kill. It was probably intended to create fear in other Falun Gong practitioners and to scare them into not filing a lawsuit in South Africa against Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai.

Falun Gong practitioners in the UK urge the South African government to stop the export of Chinese state sanctioned persecution onto South African soil. We all need to stand up for each other and do the right thing. That is the only way that this terrible genocide can be ended. Bo Xilai recently visited London as part of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo's delegation. Falun Gong practitioners tried to have him excluded from entering the UK by filing a complaint about his criminal activities with the metropolitan police. The police felt that Bo Xilai had diplomatic immunity and allowed him to continue.

The press conference was later repeated opposite the London Chinese Embassy, which is the site of a two-year-long, twenty-four hour peaceful vigil to raise awareness of the persecution in China and to shame the Chinese Embassy staff that are carrying out orders of senior officials in China to continue the persecution in the UK. This is done by publishing lies and slander on their website and lying to UK officials about the nature of the persecution as well as terrifying local Chinese residents with threats of reprisals to their families in China if they do not keep up the pretence with the Embassy.

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200407/20524.html