Open Letter to South Korean Consulates/Embassy(07292009)

July 29th, 2009

RE: Urgent Meeting Request to Discuss Expulsions of Falun Gong Practitioners

Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMR) is appalled to learn that your government expelled two Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Bibo Li (李碧波) and Mr. Zhongshi Li (李钟石) on July 28, 2009. This is the second accident that your government deported Falun Gong practitioners, following the secret expulsion of Mr. Qilong Wu on July 1st.

Practiced by many Koreans, Falun Gong is an ancient mind-body-spirit practice based on the principles of Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Although Falun Gong followers seek only to exercise internationally-recognized fundamental human rights, including freedom thought, conscience, and religion, the Chinese communist regime could not tolerate the popularity of Falun Gong and it launched the largest religious persecution in the world in July 1999. Massive propaganda campaigns were launched to demonize Falun Gong, to humiliate practitioners, and to compel them to renounce their faith. For the past 10 years, Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to arbitrary detention, beating, torture and “transformation through reeducation”. To date over 3,000 Falun Gong deaths have been documented, as well as over 63,000 accounts of torture. Yet an estimate puts the actual death toll in the tens of thousands.

The expulsion of the three Falun Gong practitioners puts their life in direct jeopardy.

We understand that the Chinese communist regime has been exporting its hate campaign towards Falun Gong across the borders, and we believe that Beijing has been flexing its muscles to coerce Korea into becoming an accomplice to its hate crime. However, for decades, the Korean people have strived to build Korea into a sovereign, democratic nation.

We ask your government to do the Korean people proud, to use all diplomatic means to protect the three deported Falun Gong practitioners, and to immediately reopen and re-consider the refugee applications of those Falun Gong practitioners in Korea. As a beacon of democracy in Asia, please shine your light to give hope to the oppressed in China and North Korea.

Yours truly,

Li Li

Executive Director

Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners