1. 

BBC: Amnesty reports on Asia-Pacific abuses - China's treatment of Falun Gong members was criticised - Tuesday, 28 May 2002

The annual review by the international human rights group Amnesty International has highlighted increased abuses in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

[...] Report on China Amnesty said a campaign against crime in China led to a massive increase in executions - even for crimes such as bribery, tax fraud and selling harmful foods - and "a new wave of executions of people labeled as 'separatists' or 'terrorists'" in the wake of 11 September.

Torture and ill-treatment remained widespread and appeared to increase against certain groups. The group also said around 200 members of the banned Falun Gong group allegedly died in custody as a result of torture over the past year. [...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/Asia-pacific/newsid_2012000/2012559.stm

2. 

Indonesian Media: Assiddhiqiyah Peranmen (Islamic Scripture Learning Institution) Develops Program for Learning Falun Gong

-- 3,000 Islamic Elementary and Middle School Students Join the Program to Improve both Physical and Mental Health

According to reporter Xie Menghan: Yesterday (May 12) at the Islamic Scripture Learning Institution in Tongeroog, about 3,000 elementary and middle school students learned to practice Falun Gong. The dean of the Peranmen, Noer Mohammad Lsdandar is a congressman who invited reporters from the newspaper to attend the activity.

The group was invited by Assiddhiqiyah to join the group practicing classes. Peranmen is an Islamic Scripture Learning Institution. The headquarters of Assiddhiqiyah Peranmen is located at Kedoyn, in Jakarta.

The two institutions include 3,000 Islamic elementary and middle-school students. The dean of the institution, Dr. HK Noer Mohammad Lsdandar, Sq., is a chief figure of Islam and also a congressman of Indonesia.

He said in his opening remarks that Indonesia is now suffering from economic depression. To most middle or lower class Indonesians, inflation, especially with respect to the cost of medical treatment and drugs, is causing suffering, but no one could help. It would be a blessing to the common people if they could achieve mental and physical health improvements through practicing Falun Gong, so the practice should be supported.

He believes that Falun Gong has nothing to do with politics but is a pure practice to improve both mind and body. The Falun Gong books teach people to be good and healthy. This is his conclusion after he read the Falun Gong books.

3. 

World Falun Dafa Day Celebration in Queensland

Ten years ago, Falun Dafa embarked on a most magnificent journey. Ten years later, across all corners of the world, millions of practitioners, government officials and people from all walks of life regardless of their nationalities, races, and social classes came to celebrate this important day.

Queensland practitioners held a series of activities to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. Falun Gong practitioners in Queensland, Australia gathered together at King George Square on May 12 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the public introduction of Falun Dafa. Senator Andrew Bartlett, a strong supporter of Falun Gong, led off events with a warm welcoming and congratulatory speech. Following is the speech of Senator Andrew Bartlett:

"I would like to congratulate you all on the 10th anniversary of Falun Dafa being spread in the world. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Democrats Party, and the principles for our party also include honesty, tolerance and compassion. So I can fully appreciate the principles of Falun Dafa, which are Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.

There are a lot of injustices and problems in today's world, which make it even more important that we uphold these principles. I'm very sorry that Falun Gong and these principles are being persecuted in China. I hope that there will be more groups of people in society who will follow the same principles. Today, you are celebrating the 10th anniversary.

I hope that when you celebrate the 20th anniversary there will be even more people celebrating it together with you. "

4. 

A Journalist's Defeat

By a reporter in China

I was raised in a Northeastern city, and from youth was educated to love the Party, love my country, serve the people, and to be a kind and bright citizen. After college I landed a job at a TV studio, and effectively completed every project. Gradually, I realized that all the upright programs that reflected everyday life were canceled, and those programs that reported true events were being ordered to be terminated. I became increasingly disheartened.

During the severe floods of 1998, I was assigned to report on the situation at the disaster sites. Previously, I had seen on television many reports of heroic rescuers full of righteousness, singing patriotic songs. When I arrived at the scene, I was infuriated, because the "natural" disasters were actually the result of immoral human actions. During the past ten years funding for flood control had been embezzled by local officials, resulting in sloppy and substandard construction along the Yangtze River. Every time a dam overflowed, many people lost their lives. What was more upsetting was that the items donated to disaster areas were being sold illegally. I witnessed a bottle of spring water selling for the outrageous price of 10 Yuan, when one can buy it for about 1.2 Yuan at a supermarket. Citizens in the disaster areas shed tears and lost blood, and in the end this was the kind of "assistance" they received.

At the disaster area, I never got enough sleep at night, as I indignantly recorded all the facts and captured the most accurate video footage. When I arrived back at the studio, eager to see my report broadcast, the editor took my video and did not respond for a long time. When I inquired about it, he always hesitated to answer and afterwards dropped the project.

I just cannot accept what has unfolded lately. The government's persecution of Falun Gong was becoming more and more disturbing and unthinkable. I had worked on some Falun Gong stories before and covered some events, but there was no way to convey the truth -- the government's prejudiced stance had to be abided by, and what was being reported to the people was anything but the truth. I was baffled, but something even more outrageous occurred. Recently, after a few areas broadcasted the truth about Falun Gong, many TV stations received orders and were "mobilized" as if facing a formidable enemy. At our studio, all employees' ancestors had to be traced back and investigated to three generations, and everyone had to complete thick loyalty documents.

A month ago I was out of town, and on my way back I noticed policemen question pedestrians. They were forced to say the name of Falun Gong's founder, and then utter a slanderous sentence. Otherwise, they would be arrested. I was furious at the cruelty of their tactic. How could a public government employee coerce citizens to curse at someone, and view "refusing to curse" as a reason for arrest? Back at the studio, something even more unreasonable was waiting for me. In the front lobby a picture of Falun Gong's founder was spread out on the floor. The security guard told me that I must walk across it, or else... I was shocked and speechless. What kind of corrupt mind could possibly think of such a nasty way to force people to engage in such sinful deeds? I didn't want to stomp on anyone's picture, nor did I think stomping on the picture of someone I didn't know was a proper act.

BBC: Amnesty reports on Asia-Pacific abuses

3,000 Islamic School Students Learning Falun Gong

World Falun Dafa Day Celebration in Queensland

A Journalist's Defeat

To date, 417 Falun Gong Practitioners have been verified to have died from Police Torture in China.

On May 22, Minghui's mother, Mrs. Mo Zhengfang, successfully
obtained her baby's Chinese passport from the Chinese Embassy (UK).

When little Minghui (now 2 years and 4 months old) was 8 months old, her registration was canceled by Jiang's regime because her parents are Falun Gong practitioners, forcing her to become a stateless person. The incident was exposed to UK society and drew lots of attention. Not wanting to see such outrageous discrimination in UK territory, the UK parliament and Ministry of Foreign Affair have exerted pressure on the Chinese embassy. Over the last two years, the incident has been brought up many times during the annual human rights talks.

BBC: China debt 'six times official figure Monday, 27 May, 2002, 13:58 GMT 14:58 UK

China's public debt could be up to six times higher than the official government figure, according to a study by the Hong Kong arm of investment bank Credit Lyonnais. The report puts China's debt at almost 140% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with a government figure of just 23%. Credit Lyonnais stressed that calculating China's debt is highly uncertain.

Campuses watch for spread of religion Josephine Ma 05/31/2002 South China Morning Post

Beijing is attempting to stop university students taking part in religious activities as part of its campaign to keep young intellectuals from drifting away from communist ideology.

* What is Falun Gong?

* Why the Persecution?

* What is the 6-10 Office?

* Self Immolation or Plot?