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| | In
the past three years the brutal reality of the illegal persecution of Falun Gong
has become known throughout the world. In Canada the peaceful appeals of Falun
Gong practitioners have motivated the public and the Government to step forward
to help those suffering in China and protect the universal freedom to believe
in Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance. Below
are the abbreviated stories of 9 practitioners who were rescued by the efforts
of Canada and are now back with their families. |
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| February 6, 2003, Ms. Yueli Yang, a senior engineer in
China's space program, has been released from the Chinese forced labour camp in
Beijing. Due to pressure from an international committee working to rescue
family members in China who are wrongfully imprisoned and tortured for their practice
of Falun Gong, Ms. Yang was released four months early. | |  |
| | January 15,
2003, With the collective efforts of the Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted
Falun Gong Practitioners and all Dafa practitioners around the world, Falun Gong
practitioner Chen Ruichang in China, the former Deputy Chief of the Editor-in-Chief's
Office at Guangdong Province TV Station, was released on January 15, 2003 after
being illegally detained for two years. He is now back at work in his former workplace.
Chen Ruichang is an elder brother of Australian citizen Richard Chen. |
| | December
6, 2002, Tianxiong Peng was released. According to a report from Falun Dafa
Information Center on December 26, 2002, Ms. Tianxiong Peng, age 30, is an army
medical officer in Guangzhou First Army Medical University. She and the twin sister
of Tianying Peng started practicing Falun Gong in 1995. After Jiang's regime initiated
the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Tianxiong suffered persecution and harassment
unceasingly. In March 2001, she was detained in an isolated room for one month
in the medical university and forcibly received brainwashing consisting of propaganda
materials against Falun Gong. Tianying said that her sister's four-month old son,
who had been separated from the mother, was terribly upset and cried for feeding
daily. | |  |
| | | The most
recent time that Tianxiong was arrested was in March 2002. Her university asked
her to attend a so-called meeting and she did not return. Later, her husband received
a notice that his wife had been sent to the Chatou Labor Camp in Guangzhou and
that she would not be released until she denounced Falun Gong. According to the
elder sister Tianying, some information was obtained from her hometown and dozens
of local Falun Gong practitioners were imprisoned in the camp. Tianxiong protested
her imprisonment by refusing food and water but the labor camp did not respond. It
was on December 6, 2002 that Tianxiong was released. |
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November 2002, 46-year-old, Ms. Yuzhi Wang was incarcerated in China’s
notorious Wanjia Labour Camp where she faced brutal torture and witnessed horrific
scenes. She fled to the United Arab Emirates where, because of the vicious propaganda
and cruel pressure from the Chinese consulate, United Emirates authorities detained
Ms. Yuzhi and made plans to send her back to China. Thanks to round-the-clock
emergency rescue efforts by practitioners, supporters and government officials
in Canada, Ms. Wang received a special visa and was rescued to Canada on November
11th. Ms. Wang said: "On behalf of my family, I sincerely thank the
Canadian government, and the Canadian Falun Dafa Association. I am merely an extremely
lucky one among tens of thousands of victims. I hope other Falun Gong practitioners
in China will regain freedom like me as soon as possible."
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| | In January
2001, Ms. Yanying Wu and her brother were secretly sentenced to 2 years each
in labor camps because they were Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Wuwas recently
released from a Chinese labor camp due to pressure from the Canadian campaign.
Her sister recalls, "In September 2001 she was beaten so severely [by Chinese
prison guards] that her face could not be touched…" Yanxia Wu heard
of her sister's release on September 7th. She said, "When I first heard her
voice, I was very emotional. I thank the Canadian government and Canadian people
for all their efforts. Their support has made all the difference." Unfortunately
her brother, Zhanzhong, still suffers in labor camp today. | |
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| | In August 2002, an "Urgent
Rescue our Family Members persecuted in China" campaign started in Canada.
The efforts of this campaign with the help of the Canadian people and the Canadian
Government has resulted in the release of 4 family members suffering in China.
The rescue campaign has now become a global effort. 59-year-old Zhaojin
Qiu and 27-year-old Bo Qiu are husband and Son of Yanying Wang in Toronto, Canada.
In October 2000, both Zhaojin Qiu, and Bo Qiu were sentenced to three years in
a labor camp without trial for peacefully appealing for the end to the persecution
of Falun Gong in China. Due to the "Urgent Rescue Campaign" efforts
they were released in October 2002 and are now under house arrest in China. |
| In Feburary 2002, after two years of imprisonment and much
suffering in a Chinese labor camp, Mr. Shenli Lin, called a "Prisoner of
Conscience" by Amnesty International, was finally freed, largely due to Canadian
efforts and reunited with his wife Jinyu Li in Montreal. Amnesty International
identified Mr. Lin a "Prisoner of Conscience" and a victim of torture.
Lin's wife credited his release to the combined efforts of Canadian Federal
government, Amnesty International, and people from all sectors of society, and
especially MP and human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler who is Lin's legal counsel.
Lin is the 3rd Falun Gong practitioner rescued by Canadian efforts.
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| On May 10, 2001, Ms. Ying Zhu, a 34-year-old student
at Concordia University in Montreal disappeared when she traveled home to China
to visit her sick mother. She was held by police and viciously interrogated and
tortured because she was known as a Falun Gong practitioner. Her arrest outraged
the public. Student Unions united across Canada in campaigns to free Ying Zhu.
A coalition of MPs from all five major political parties actively worked on obtaining
the immediate release of Ying. Amnesty International repeatedly made public statements
to assist Ying and condemned the repressive crackdown against Falun Gong in China.
Because of the pressure the Chinese government released Ying Zhu. She arrived
in Montreal on June 21, 2001.
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 | | On
November 15, 2000, 61-year-old renown art professor Kun Lun Zhang was arrested
in China and sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp for refusing to renounce
his spiritual belief in Falun Gong. Due to overwhelming Canadian support he was
released in January 2001. "I am Kunlun Zhang. I am happy to be back in
Canada. I was very moved when I heard how Canadian people rescued me from the
Chinese labor camp. I would like to thank the Canadian government especially Foreign
Affairs, Amnesty International and other human rights groups, my legal counsel
Liberal MP Mr. Irwin Cotler, other MPs, the Canadian media and especially the
tens of thousands of kind-hearted Canadians who signed petitions and wrote letters
for my release."
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