October 26, 2007: Falun Gong News Bulletin
Falun Gong Adherent Wang Yuhuan Dead from Chinese Police Abuse
Ms. Wang Yuhuan, a well-known Falun Gong adherent from the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, has died of suspected abuse while in police custody, the Falun Dafa Information Center reported Tuesday. Wang, a prisoner of conscience, had previously been arrested twelve times by Chinese authorities on account of her religious beliefs, and tortured extensively.
Wang Yuhuan’s travails gained international attention following an open letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao by prominent Beijing attorney Gao Zhisheng, published in December of 2005. In the letter Gao details Wang’s removal by police to a mountain torture chamber two hours outside of Changchun. There, Wang was subjected to a litany of inhuman and degrading abuses, including sexual assault by male police; frequent beatings; burning (to the eyelids) with cigarette butts; the puncturing of eardrums with bamboo picks; electrocution with batons; and injections with unknown drugs and substances, among other measures. Wang said of the abuse, “No one who has not personally experienced such pain can imagine how much it hurts.”
Full Report: /displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9506
Human Rights is Not Politicizing Olympic Games says B’Nai Brith Lawyer
Senior Council for B’Nai Brith Canada David Matas, who co-authored a report on forced, widespread organ harvesting of Falun Gong adherents in China, stated at a rally in Amsterdam on October 4th that the Falun Gong are by far the biggest victim group in China today. Matas said that demanding Chinese respect for human rights “does not amount to politicizing the Olympic Games. It amounts only to asking for respect for the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter.”
Matas continued, “Politics is a matter of opinion about which people can reasonably differ. Respect for human rights is not a matter of opinion. There is no reasonable voice which can justify violations of human rights… The Communist Party of China has used the awarding of the Olympic Games to justify its own hold on power in China. Now, that is a politicization of the Olympic Games.”
Full Speech: http://david-kilgour.com/2007/Oct_05_2007_04.htm
Investigation Group Questions China’s Pledge to End Organ Harvesting
An organization established to investigate accusations related to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual group is questioning the Chinese Medical Association’s recently-announced agreement to stop harvesting organs from prisoners and others in police custody. The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) doubts the promise will have any real meaning.
On July 6, 2006, two Canadian attorneys – David Kilgour, the former Canadian secretary of state for Asian-Pacific affairs and David Matas, senior legal council to B’Nai Brith Canada – released the results of an investigation affirming large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners in China for profit.
“The Chinese regime has never been able to challenge any of the evidence raised in the Matas and Kilgour report,” says Dr. Sherry Zhang, spokesperson for the CIPFG. “CIPFG has tried many times to obtain visas so that we can conduct investigations in China, yet we are repeatedly denied. As long as the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China continues, we remain doubtful that the Chinese regime will end this heinous practice.”
Full Story: http://www.humanrightstorch.org/newslink/CIPFGmediarelease_10_8.htm
