California Newspaper Reports on Persecution of Falun Gong in China

June 05, 2013 | By practitioners in China

(Minghui.org) The San Jose Mercury News , a daily California newspaper, published an article on May 31, 2013 detailing how family members of Livermore resident, Ms. Xiao Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner, are being severely persecuted in China.

The article, written by Jeremy Thomas, explained that Ms. Wang, who moved to the United States from China in 2005, took part in The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition held in the city’s central library. Each work of art in the exhibition was created by a Falun Gong practitioner and both showcases the beauty of the practice and exposes the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China by the Chinese Communist Party.

Ms. Wang passed out informational materials about Falun Gong in the library lobby and talked to visitors about the ordeals that she, her family, and tens of thousands of others in China have endured for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Wang said that many people had never heard about Falun Gong and didn’t know the practice has been persecuted for the past 14 years in China. “They’re shocked [when they hear about it],” Ms. Wang said. “Lots of people give me a big hug to encourage me.”

According to the article, after her parents began practicing Falun Gong in 1998, their physical and mental health greatly improved. Ms. Wang said that Falun Gong was very popular at the time and freely practiced in most parks in China.

However, in July 1999, the Chinese regime started to persecute the practice. In 2010, her father, Zhaosuo Wang, mother, Jiling Song, and younger brother, Xia Wang, were arrested for practicing Falun Gong.

The article cited Dr. Sherry Zhang, a spokesperson for Falun Gong in San Francisco, as saying that Mr. Li Hongzhi first introduced the practice to the public in 1992, and over the ensuing seven years, Falun Gong had spread all over China. The Chinese regime had estimated that about 70 million people were practicing Falun Gong back then.

Zhang said that the CCP felt extremely uneasy about the popularity of Falun Gong and overnight changed from encouraging people to take up the practice, to brutally persecuting anyone who practices it.

It was at that time that the Party started arresting and detaining Falun Gong practitioners all over China. Many of Zhang’s friends were sent to forced labor camps and had their families torn apart.

“This kind of thing happens all the time,” Dr. Zhang said. “You don’t know how they find you.”

Amnesty International estimates that ten of thousands of practitioners have been detained since 1999, for believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

The article cited Amnesty’s China expert, James Zimmerman, who said, “In jail, [practitioners] may be tortured or put under psychological pressure. Any association with Falun Gong is likely to get you in trouble with the police.”

When Ms. Wang spoke of her family’s ordeal, she was in tears, the article stated. “They seized all [of my parents’] possessions and ransacked their home,” Ms. Wang said. “My father was a judge and attorney. He lost his human rights, too.”

Ms. Wang’s mother was beaten and tortured in a detention center, which caused her to develop high blood pressure. She was released after spending two weeks in hospital.

Ms. Wang’s father was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded “guilty” to trumped up charges in order to save his son from further imprisonment and torture.

Although Mr. Wang, 64, is due for release in 2014, Ms. Wang fears that her father won’t make it. In 2011, it was discovered that he had developed a tumor on his liver and in a recent photo he looked emaciated.

Mr. Zimmerman said that he had heard about Wang’s story and suggests that local Amnesty groups assist with the case. “We don’t have the resources to campaign on all these thousands of cases,” he pointed out.

The human rights group has helped rescue several Falun Gong practitioners, including Bu Dongwei of San Francisco, who was released in 2008. Zimmerman said that if the public voices their concerns, those who are detained may receive better treatment.

The article cited Dr. Zhang as saying, “Letters from U.S. government officials have helped get some jail sentences shortened. After their release, practitioners can seek asylum through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.”

Wang has started a letter-writing campaign and an online petition, urging U.S. officials to help rescue her family. When her letters to Chinese officials and protests at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles went ignored, she contacted several U.S. elected officials, but has received little feedback. One of the more pressing issues for her right now, is to secure the release of her ill father.

“Wang said her own Falun Gong practice, learned from her parents, has been the source of strength during her ordeal,” the article stated.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Falun Dafa in the Media

Baoding Prison Attempts to Bring About Mr. Zheng Xiangxing’s Death

June 27, 2013 | By a Minghui correspondent from Hebei Province, China

(Minghui.org)

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zheng Xiangxing suffered a head injury as a result of torture in Baoding Prison. He had surgery, but he was not expected to survive it. When he began to recover, officials asked the doctor whether he had followed their orders, and how Mr. Zheng could possibly be recovering. The doctor said that he had followed the orders, and it was simply a miracle that could not be explained.

Still, Mr. Zheng is unable to take care of himself. He badly needs treatment at a more advanced hospital. Mr. Zheng’s wife, Sun Suyun, and his son have been staying near the prison in Baoding City for nearly 7 months. All their reasonable requests, including asking to bail him out for medical reasons, have been turned down. Both the person in charge of the prison, Wang Jianli, and the deputy, Fan Jianli, who is responsible for Mr. Zheng’s case, have insisted on the prison taking charge of a second surgery for Mr. Zheng before considering bailing him out for medical reasons.

This makes no sense to his family, since they would bail him out to have him treated, which is what the prison claims to want. It seems more like they are trying to hinder his recovery. Mr. Zheng’s wife is sick with worry, and her heart disease that had been gone for 10 years has recurred. His son can only afford one meal a day. The two just wait outside the prison, agonizing over Mr. Zheng’s situation.

On May 7, 2013, Mr. Zheng’s wife Sun Suyun shouting in front of Baoding Prison

Mr. Zheng’s wife wants to know: “Why does Baoding Prison have to oversee the second operation in their designated hospital? On March 6, when we submitted the application to bail him out for medical reasons, they disregarded it. So why do they have to do a second operation? Baoding Prison is already suspected of torturing Mr. Zheng and causing his current condition. Before they are cleared of criminal charges, how can they take charge of a life threatening surgery?” On May 8, in order to prevent Baoding Prison from carrying out the second surgery, she printed her message on her clothing and walked the streets to let passersby know how they were wronged. People were very upset to hear it, and some were moved to tears.

On May 8, 2013, Ms. Sun Suyun protesting the way Baoding Prison had harmed her husband

Three to four people at a time take turns watching Mr. Zheng. Given that he can’t take care of himself, he is fully qualified to be bailed out. According to the “Medical Reasons Allowable for Being Bailed Out,” Mr. Zheng certainly qualifies:

1. Serious illness, possible death in a short period of time.
2. Handicapped, has trouble taking care of oneself
3. Elderly, not in a position to be harmful to society.
The hospital has given notice that he is in critical condition. Mr. Zheng meets all three conditions. Why does Baoding Prison still refuse to bail him out?

Background

Mr. Zheng’s family owned an electronics shop in Tanghai County, Tangshan City. Before Mr. Zhang was arrested for practicing Falun Gong, they had a very happy family. The couple handled their business with honesty, and others thought highly of them. When their son first graduated, he got a very good job in the local area.

Mr. Zhang arrested and sentenced

When the Tanghai local police bureau arrested Mr. Zheng on February 25, 2012, he had to close his business. His wife and son have been trying everything to rescue him. Under the direction of the Tangshan City 610 Office, Tangshan County court illegally sentenced Mr. Zheng to ten years in prison. On August 8, 2012, he was taken to Baoding Prison and pressured to “transform.” In September, when his family members went to Baoding Prison to visit him, they were turned away and told: “During the three months where Mr. Zheng is under strict observation, his family is not allowed to see him.”

Serious injury and surgery

On the morning of October 28, two Baoding Prison officials went to Mr. Zheng’s home, saying that Mr. Zheng had fallen down and cracked his skull. They took him for surgery, and his condition was critical. That afternoon his family went to Baoding City No.1 Central Hospital. They saw Mr. Zheng, his head wrapped in bandages and two tubes coming out of him. His right eye was bruised, his left eye was closed, his mouth was wide open, his tongue was curled inward, and there was blood in his nose and ears. He was emaciated, but his four arms and legs were tied to the bed, and he was unconscious. His wife collapsed and had to lean against the bed when she saw him.

Doctor’s observations

Without notifying his family, Baoding Prison had Mr. Zheng operated on. The doctor said that when Mr. Zheng arrived at the hospital, he was already in a coma, his pupils were dilated, and he was incontinent, so they followed emergency procedures. A CT scan showed that his left temporal bone was fractured, his semi-temporal epidural had hematoma, his temporal occipital subdural had hematoma, his right temporal lobe and left temporal lobe had contusion, he had intraventricular and subarachnoid hemorrhage, and his brain was seriously injured. They operated right away, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Family complains and seeks explanation

Although he was in such critical condition, he was put in a regular ward and didn’t even have a ventilator. When his family was checking his medications, they realized that he was only getting antibiotics. They were very upset and started shouting, “The medication I give my pigs at home is much better than what you’re using on him!” Only after that did the hospital agree to transfer Mr. Zheng to the ICU.

His family began to interrogate the prison officials about how Mr. Zheng was injured: “He fell down on the afternoon of the 26th in the washroom.” They provided a video-recording, which showed Mr. Zheng coming to the washroom and then squatting by the booth to vomit. He was getting up to urinate when he leaned over against the wall. He fell on his bottom, then hit the back of his head. He was lying on the floor face up until an inmate found him and called other inmates over to help carry Mr. Zheng out of the washroom. They put him in a nearby cell, where Mr. Zheng vomited three more times. During this time, no staff members showed up, and only inmates helped him clean up the floor. After almost an hour, three inmates carried him out of the cell. That was the end of the video-recording. The prison stated that Mr. Zheng was taken to the hospital. When his family asked to see the video-recording from the hospital, they were told it was not available.

Doctor uninformed

His family members met with the doctor in charge of Mr. Zheng’s case and asked him how he went about the treatment. He replied, “When Mr. Zheng came in, I saw blood at the corner of his mouth, so I treated him for gastrorrhagia. I infused him with medication to help stop the bleeding.” His family asked, “Did you know that Mr. Zheng was brought here after he fell and lost consciousness?” He said, “No.” When his family asked if he had checked his head, he replied that he did so by hand. His family were very surprised. If Mr. Zheng really had a fractured skull, wouldn’t the doctor have felt it? They asked how Mr. Zheng was treated and what medication he was given, but the hospital would not reveal any further information. They said that they could only tell someone from the prison and that the family would have to check with that someone.

Family monitored

The hospital not only refused to update his family on how Mr. Zheng was treated, but also arranged for police officers to monitor them every day when they visited him. They checked the video-recordings from the hotel where they were staying to monitor their activities at the hotel. Meanwhile, people from No.10 Farm in Tanghai County in their local government also dispatched two staff members to closely monitor them.

Back to prison

Miraculously, after a month, Mr. Zheng began to recover. Although he still couldn’t see, he could open his eyes, move all four limbs, and talk, but not very coherently. He could also eat but was incontinent. The hospital staff was very surprised. They all thought that Mr. Zheng would die, and even said something to the effect that if he died, then it’d be easier to for them to handle. Mr. Zheng is gaining consciousness day by day, which has shocked Baoding Prison officials. Even though he is getting better, his life is still at risk. Then, on February 21, 2013, he was taken out of ICU and sent back to prison.

Ten days later, the prison refused to let Mr. Zheng’s family visit him. In order to save Mr. Zheng, on March 12, his wife protested by writing about his plight on her clothes to show that he was wronged and yelling on the street until they let her see him.

At 3 p.m. on March 19, Mr. Zheng’s wife and son finally saw Mr. Zheng. Two inmates watched as Mr. Zheng held a rail and stood. He was sweating and shaking all over. His son quickly walked over and carried him to a chair. His hands, feet, and legs were dark purple, his calves were very stiff, his feet were swollen. He kept saying that he ached, so his wife and son massaged him. His knees were crooked and couldn’t be straightened. His muscles had atrophied. His face looked shrunken. He had lost most of his vision. He couldn’t take care of himself.

In mid-April, when they went to visit him again, he was very weak. He had lost the strength to speak, but his mouth kept opening and closing. When his family changed his diaper, they saw he had purple dots on his back side, in addition to the red spots on his chest.

Related articles:

Mr. Zheng Xiangxing Near Death from Persecution, Thousands of People Sign Petition Demanding His Release

Mr. Zheng Xiangxing’s Life in Danger; His Wife Appeals for Justice Outside Prison (Photos)

After Witnessing Zheng Xiangxing’s State of Health in Prison, His Family Calls for Help

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

Elderly Falun Gong Practitioner Repeatedly Arrested and Detained

June 27, 2013 | By a Minghui correspondent in Gansu Province, China

(Minghui.org) At 4 p.m. on February 9, 2013, Ms. Gong Yuehua, 65, was near the Changtai Road Market giving two people a CD which contained the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong. Someone reported her to the police, and officers from the Guilin Road Police Station arrested her. While she was being detained, three officers went to her house and performed an illegal search. They confiscated Falun Dafa books and any Dafa-related materials they found. On February 10, 2013, at 2 a.m., the police secretly transferred Ms. Gong to the Jinchang City Detention Center.

During the past 14 years of persecution, Ms. Gong has been illegally arrested and tortured by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 2000, she was forcibly taken to the Jinchang City Drug Rehabilitation Center and held for 70 days, during which time she was tortured. In October 2003, the police unlawfully arrested her and tortured her to extort information. In February 2004, the police took her to Lanzhou Forced Labor Camp, where she was abused and tortured until August 2005.

The following is Ms. Gong’s account of her suffering.

On December 23, 2000, Officer Liu Tianying told me that the chief of the police station wanted to talk to me. Liu took me to an office and ordered me to put my fingerprint on a piece of paper. I refused and as a result, I was locked up in the Jinchang City Drug Rehabilitation Center.

Life in the Rehab Center was very restricted. At the slightest “mistake,” I was kicked or punched by the guards or drug addicts.

There were 19 of us squeezed into one room. We all ate and relieved ourselves in that room. Most of the time, we were locked in the room and were not allowed to go anywhere. Elderly Falun Gong practitioners were forced to serve young drug addicts. I was detained and mistreated there for 70 days.

On October 24, 2003, a person reported me while I was distributing Falun Dafa flyers. Police from the Domestic Security Division, Li Xinhua, Dai Baoji, and Liu Chengye, arrested me and handcuffed me. They took my fingerprints and handcuffed me to a chair. I could not straighten my back. Li slapped my head repeatedly, and I became very dizzy. He tortured me while Dai went to search my home. They confiscated all of my Falun Dafa books.

Liu and Dai took turns torturing me. As soon as I closed my eyes, they punched and kicked me. They shocked my fingers with an electric baton. They tightened the handcuffs until my hands were swollen and purple. The third night I was chained to a radiator, in a position in which I could not stand up nor sit down. After a few days of this, I could no longer endure it. In desperation, I slammed my head on the radiator hard and was taken to a hospital, where I received 11 stitches. Nine days later, Li Xinhua arrived to interrogate me. My arms were still numb and could not function from being chained to the radiator for so long. My legs were in so much pain that I could not move them at all. I don’t remember what tortures they used to interrogate me. A prisoner at the detention center told me that I was strapped to a Tiger Bench.

After I was released, my family told me that they had paid a 1,000-yuan bribe to the police to have me released.

On February 24, 2004, several people knocked on my door, but I refused to open. They then brought crowbars and broke the two locks on my door. Without saying anything, the policemen, including Liu Chengye, dragged me to a police vehicle and took me directly to the Lanzhou Women’s Forced Labor Camp.

In the camp, the guards had two vicious drug addicts monitor me. They did not allow me to sleep if I did not memorize the prison rules. One of the collaborators, Liu Shen, and captain Zhang Zizhong allowed the guards to treat me that way. After being sleep deprived for a while, I developed health problems including high blood pressure. When the conditions became worse, I could barely stay conscious. Fearing that I might die, the prison doctor did not want to shoulder the responsibility and allowed me to rest. Liu and Zhang checked on me every other day. When my condition improved, they applied brainwashing techniques on me, trying to force me to renounce Falun Dafa.

Twenty days before I was released, there were four people taking turns monitoring me. I was not allowed to have contact with anyone else, and if I did, the person would be viciously beaten. I slept on concrete at night. I was released on August 12, 2005.

During the past years, the police or Chinese Communist Party officials have harassed me at my home. They would not listen to reason. In one instance, Li Tingqin from the Domestic Security Brigade kicked me repeatedly because I tried to explain the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa.

The following is information about the persecutors:

Li Xinhu, Captain of Jinchang City Public Security Bureau Anti-Falun Gong Division. Li has been participating in the persecution of Falun Gong since 1999.

Yang Faming, currently a collaborator at Guilin Road Police Station in Jinchuan District. Yang has been actively participating in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Liu Chengya, policeman at Guilin Road Police Station. Liu was previously an officer at the Domestic Security Brigade of Jinchuan Public Security Bureau. He has participated in many false arrests of Falun Gong practitioners.

Tao Yongqian, former police officer at the Lanzhou Road Police Station. Tao participated in the persecution of practitioners Ms. Kong Shuying and Ms. Yang Xiufang. Tao is now with the Guilin Road Police Station and continues to participate in the persecution.

Li Xuhe, captain of the Domestic Security Brigade of Jinchuan City Public Security Bureau. His phone number is +86- 935-8396178 (mobile). He’s been actively participating in the persecution of many practitioners since 1999.

Contact Numbers:
(China country code +86)

Jia Delan, collaborator of the Domestic Security Brigade of Jinchuan City Public Security Bureau: 935-8396179
Li Tingqing, member of the Domestic Security Brigade of Jinchuan City Public Security Bureau: 935-8396180
Dai Baiji, 13830566862, 935-8811323
Guilin Road Police Station in Jinchuan City: 935-8396360, 935-8337517
Director: 935-8396420
Collaborator Yang Faming, 935-8396421
Deputy Director Wang Xiaogang, 935-8396422
Office work staff Tao Yongqian, 935-8396423
Duty Office, 935-8396424
Liu Xingguo, 13909452601
Jinchang City Detention Center, 935-8396280
Discipline Committee, 935-8396159
Prosecutor’s Office, 935-8325353
Police Information Center of Jinchang City Detention Center
Director Zeng Xiangjun, 13830588157
Collaborator Shan Xuejun, 13830565117
Female police, 15809455841
Office, 935-8396280, 935-8396281, 935-8396282, 935-8396283, 935-8396284

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

No One Is Anxious to Join the CCP

(Minghui.org)

A Letter from China:

I am an entry-level employee at a large state-run corporation. The Chinese Communist Party committee within the corporation has sent out several memos to solicit our applications to the Party, probably for publicity for the Party’s upcoming anniversary on July 1. The memos were forwarded to each and every department, but no one submitted an application. The committee then had management at each level solicit applications within their own divisions in person.

One day I overheard an interesting conversation.

A lobby manager said to a clerk, “I heard our boss asked you to submit an application to the Communist Party. Did you?”

“Why did they approach a lowly clerk like me? Is it because no one else wants to join the Party?”

A sales manager joined the conversation. “Why did they choose you? Let me tell you why. They had already talked to us mid-level managers, but no one was interested. That’s why they try to solicit applications from entry-level level employees. What good is a Party membership anyway? Unpopular. That’s what you get.”

The lobby manager added, “I am close to retirement. I have never applied to the Communist Party. Not interested.”

I joined in, saying, “Quitting the Party is popular these days. It’s bad luck if you join. You will regret it.”

The next day a colleague from a sister organization came to visit the lobby manager. He used to be a member of the Communist Party. He asked the lobby manager, “Are you a member of the Party? Quit right away if you are. Everyone is quitting the Party these days.”

A Letter from Beijing

I used to work for a large state-run corporation in Beijing. Mr. Wang, a former colleague of mine, quit the Communist Party and its two student organizations he belonged to a long time ago. Everything has been going well for him ever since. His child does well at school. He is happily married. He does well at work.

However, the corporation has participated in the suppression on Falun Gong. One day Mr. Wang’s boss told him to join the Communist Party as a condition for promotion.

He flatly refused.

“No promotion could tempt me to join the Party,” he declared when he told me the story.

Wang did not get the promotion, but he got a salary increase all the same. He was also given a car and a chauffeur. He believes it was his reward for quitting the Party.

Another Letter from Beijing

My daughter goes to a prestigious college in China. When she was about to finish middle school, she came home one day and told me what had happened at school.

“Dad, my schoolteacher asked me again to submit an application to the Communist Party Youth League. She said I was the only student in class that had not joined. I told her I was not interested.”

In fact, she had already quit the Young Pioneers (she had joined back in elementary school) because she did not want to be associated with a group that persecutes its own people.

She said proudly, “As long as I am here, memberships in the Youth League in my class will never be 100%!”

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: People Awaken

Chinese Delegation Tries to Thwart Falun Gong Protests in Denmark, Causing Public Outcry (Photos)

June 19, 2013 | By Minghui reporter Shuhui from Denmark

(Minghui.org) On June 4-7, 2013, Yu Zhengsheng, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Political Bureau Standing Committee Member and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, visited Copenhagen, Denmark. Falun Gong practitioners exposed the Chinese regime’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong and called on Denmark officials to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Chinese delegation that accompanied Yu demanded that the Denmark government do whatever it needed to do to limit or stop Falun Gong’s presence and influence during Yu’s visit.

To that end, the visiting delegation pressured Denmark officials to cancel all media permits issued to both The Epoch Times and NTDTV —two independent international Chinese companies known for their objective news reports.

National media companies condemned the CCP’s attempt to undermine free speech in Denmark, with many MPs expressing outrage.

Practitioners peacefully protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Denmark

Performing the Falun Dafa exercises in Copenhagen’s King’s New Square

Passersby sign a petition calling for an end to the persecution

Chinese Delegation Tries to Obstruct Practitioners’ Peaceful Protest

From the moment that Yu Zhengsheng stepped off his plane , he was met with solemn protests wherever he went.

On June 5, practitioners went to the Chinese Embassy in Copenhagen to protest the Party’s 14-year persecution of Falun Gong and called on the Danish government and its citizens to help stop the organ harvesting of live Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Practitioners then clarified the truth to passerby in New King’s Square and held banners in both English and Chinese. People who had never heard about the persecution were shocked and signed a petition supporting Falun Gong.

When the Chinese delegation saw the practitioners’ banners exposing the regime’s crimes, they told Danish officials to order the police to stop the protest.

Chinese Delegation Petrified of Practitioners’ Yellow T-shirts

On June 6, three practitioners who were wearing yellow T-shirts were forcibly pushed into a waiting police car and driven far away.

Ms. Wu, who was not wearing a yellow T-shirt, asked the policeman standing next to her, “Why did the police force those women into a car and then drive away? They were just wearing yellow T-shirts; they weren’t even holding banners!” The policeman replied, “The Chinese delegation said that they do not want to see any more yellow T-shirts for the remainder of their visit.”

Wu said: “If I were the Danish government, I would tell the Chinese delegation: ‘Denmark is a democratic country, and as such, people can wear whatever they want here; we have no right to interfere.’” The policeman said that he shared the same view.

“Do you know why those three women came here, today?” Ms. Wu asked the officer. “They just wanted to tell people about the ongoing persecution in China and to ask them to help stop the Chinese regime’s practice of organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners.

“In China, if you write a letter to your relatives and mention the fact that Falun Gong is good and that the persecution is wrong, you will be imprisoned for three years.” The policeman understood but said that he could not do anything about it.

A reporter from Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet asked Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li what she thought about the situation. “The three of us were quietly standing there wearing yellow T-shirts,” she explained. “As Danish citizens, we have a right to tell visiting Chinese officials to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Several officials said that they empathized with Falun Gong but they had to carry out the orders that were passed down to them.”

Media Condemns CCP’s Undermining of Free Speech in Denmark

The Danish Parliament and Royal Family media departments had issued official permits to The Epoch Times newspaper and NTDTV , giving their reporters permission to attend two meetings between the Chinese delegation and Denmark officials. However, these reporters were later told that the Danish government was “only allowing state media to report” on these two meetings.

Later that afternoon, these same reporters were refused entry into the Royal Palace, due to so-called “plan changes.” They were told that only Danish Royal photographers and specifically chosen Chinese reporters would be allowed to enter the Palace.

Major media companies in Denmark were in an uproar over the CCP’s antics, and publicly condemned them for interfering with the freedom of speech in their country.

On June 8, the Jyllands-Posten newspaper published a full-page article admonishing the way that the Danish government had grovelled to the CCP. The photo caption in the article read: “China’s No. 4 figure, Yu Zhengsheng meets with Danish MPs. The above photo was supplied by China’s official media photographers because Danish reporters were not permitted to take any photos, save for the photo of Yu walking up the Parliament steps.”

The article noted that according to the original official schedule, Yu and his delegation were due to meet with the Chairman of the Danish Parliament, on the morning of June 6. It is customary thatall media reporters be allowed to photograph such an event.

Thus, on June 5, the Danish Parliament media department, which is responsible for issuing media permits, had sent an email to The Epoch Times reporters stating, “Your application to attend the meeting between Mr. Yu and the Chairman of the Parliament has been approved.”

However, later that afternoon, the Danish Parliament media department informed The Epoch Times that they had withdrawn their original permit, stating: “At the request of the Chinese delegation, only official Danish photographers will be permitted to attend the event. The Danish Parliament has chosen to accept the request.”

According to Jyllands-Posten , Danish officials were initially reluctant to go along with the Chinese delegation’s request. The Chinese delegation responded by saying, “Ok, then let’s not have any media present at the event!” At that point, the Danish Parliament agreed to reduce the number of reporters at the event and cancelled the media permits of The Epoch Times and NTDTV .

It is common practice for the Danish government to invite all media companies to the Parliament building’s Meeting Hall, whenever a foreign official visits Denmark. Danish officials could not clearly explain why they had changed this longstanding policy at the behest of a visiting Chinese official.

MPs to Question Danish Foreign Minister

When a Jyllands-Posten reporter questioned Denmark’s Deputy Minister of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Søren Espersen, about the controversial incident, the minister replied, “This is totally unacceptable and should stop immediately! This is unheard of in Denmark.

“If the CCP does not like our democracy, then they should just leave. I will ask Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal to explain before the Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee why this thing was allowed to happen, and of course, we will also discuss why similar things happened during President Hu Jintao’s visit last year.”

When reporters from Ekstra Bladet interviewed Mr. Simpson, a People Party Parliamentary member, and Pernille Skipper, the Red-Green Coalition Party judiciary spokesman, Mr. Skipper said: “These things keep happpening again and again, with all dissenting media being prohibited from attending scheduled state events.

“Again and again, the police have forced protesters to disperse simply because of an innocent banner. Skipper said that he would ask Mr. Bødskov what really happened; who is issuing these orders to the police, what does freedom of speech and freedom of assembly means in Denmark, and why are the police stopping people from expressing their views?”

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Persecution Outside China