Falun Dafa team at the 2008 Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade and Pier Festival
(click on photos to enlarge)

In April of last year, I wrote in this blog about Wenny, my best friend in China. Her Chinese name is Wen. Last night I just learned terrible news from China. Wen, who is a Falun Dafa (aka Falun Gong) practitioner, was arrested in Beijing on May 14 as a part of the communist government's persecution of Falun Gong. Her family could not find a lawyer for her since most lawyers in China do not dare to defend Falun Gong due to the fear of losing their job or even ending up in jail themselves.

Falun Gong is a Buddha School Qigong which teaches people to cultivate themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. The brutal persecution started in 1999 when the estimated number of Falun Gong practitioners in China was 70 - 100 million, overtaking the number of the Chinese Communist Party members. The government tried everything to crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners, including arresting and torturing them. Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death, and some became the victims of the bloody organ harvesting. The persecution has been going on for almost nine years now. Since the end of last year, the government has stepped up the persecution because they wanted to silence all dissenting voices before the upcoming Olympics so that the country will appear to be homogeneous. Between the end of 2007 and March 2008, more than 1,800 arrests that have been documented.

Back in 2000, my friend Wen, together with many practitioners, went to appeal to the high officials in Beijing and asked for the right to continue their practice. She was detained and sent to a "brainwashing center". She ran away in early 2001 and became destitute in order to avoid being recognized and persecuted again. In November 2001, she was discovered by police and was arrested again. She was on hunger strikes during the one month detention she had to endure at the Xicheng Detention Center in Beijing. She was later taken to the Fangshan Brainwashing Center, where police used all means to torment her mentally and physically - including physical torture and sexual assault. Since January 2002 she was on run again and did not return home for six years. Apparently she returned to her home last month and police took her away again.

Wen is a very close friend of mine and she has been almost like a sister to me. Because of the persecution, I have not seen her since 2000. I lost contact with her between 2000 and 2004 and only learned these horrifying things afterwards. Right now she is being detained at the Haidian Police Station in Beijing. I will try my best to rescue her. I'm looking for ways to do it in both China and U.S..

If you would like to help - yes you can help - please join the
Millions of Signature Global Campaign on the Global Effort to Stop the Beijing's Persecution of Falun Gong before the 2008 Olympics Games.

Download the petition form:
individual or multiple
And send your signed copy back to
Mailing address: P. O. Box 55-1698, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O. C.
Email: millionsignatures@stopccpspersecution.net

The petition will be sent to various governments, parliaments, national Olympic Committees, and international organizations such as the UN and the International Olympic Committee, before the opening of the Olympics. At the moment I'm writing this message, there have been 621,554 signatures from 104 countries and areas since January. For more information on the petition or forms in other languages, please visit
Millions of Signature Global Campaign. Please give your voice too - help Stop the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Persecution of Falun Gong!

Celebrating the World Falun Dafa Day in Los Angeles. Photos from Santa Monica Beach, California, Sunday May 11th.

April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appeal in Beijing





Recalling the "April 25" Peaceful Appeal

By Li Ming

(Clearwisdom.net) Nine years ago, on April 25, 1999, more than ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners went to appeal in Beijing of their own accord. This large-scale, peaceful appeal under the Chinese Communist regime shocked the world and was viewed as a miracle in China's recent history. Soon afterwards, Jiang Zemin's clique launched mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners nationwide on July 20, 1999, marking the beginning of a most brutal persecution of cultivators. What was it about the "April 25" appeal that so frightened the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?

Recalling "April 25"

On April 11, 1999, He Zuoxiu published an article titled "I Do Not Agree with Adolescents Practicing Qigong" in the magazine Science and Technology for Youth (published by Tianjin College of Education). The article singled out and attacked Falun Gong by fabricating stories, slandering and falsely blaming Falun Gong, vilifying the image of Falun Gong practitioners, and defaming the founder of Falun Gong. After the article was published, some practitioners in Tianjin felt that they needed to clarify the facts to the departments involved and hoped to mitigate the article's adverse impact by talking with the editorial office of the magazine. From April 18 to 24, several practitioners went to Tianjin College of Education and a few other relevant departments to clarify the facts.

On April 23 and 24, officials from the Tianjin Bureau of Public Security sent armed police officers to beat and disperse Falun Gong practitioners who went to appeal. Some practitioners were injured and bleeding; 45 were arrested by the police. When practitioners asked for their release, officials from the Tianjin Municipal Government told them that the Ministry of Public Security had intervened in the matter, and without authorization from Beijing, the arrested practitioners would not be released. The authorities of the Bureau of Public Security in Tianjin suggested to the practitioners, "Go to Beijing. The matter can only be resolved if you go to Beijing."

The fact is that, long before 1999, officials from the Ministry of Public Security had assigned agents to investigate Falun Gong nationwide in an attempt to collect evidence to prosecute Falun Gong. However, they could not find anything of which to accuse Falun Gong. For years, there had been attacks on Falun Gong in the government-controlled media, but this time it had accelerated to the point where armed policemen used violence against practitioners. The intensified persecution shocked practitioners and news about the "Tianjin incident" quickly spread among them around the country.

On the evening of April 24, practitioners from various places, who trusted and had high expectations in the central government, went to the Appeals Office of the State Council, hoping that the "Tianjin Incident" could be resolved in a just and fair manner. Around lunchtime on April 25, China's then-Premier Zhu Rongji received Falun Gong representatives, who raised three requests: 1) Release the arrested practitioners in Tianjin; 2) Allow practitioners to have a relaxed cultivation environment; 3) Allow the publication of Falun Gong books.

The peaceful appeal in Beijing, in which more than ten thousand practitioners participated, remained in good order from the beginning to the end, without any noise, posters, or slogans. After Premier Zhu received Falun Gong representatives and made a preliminary decision to resolve the matter, Falun Gong practitioners left quietly. The peaceful appeal and the end result gained praise from the international community at that time.

However, Jiang Zemin was furious over Falun Gong's peaceful and rational appeal on April 25. He went berserk and personally launched the comprehensive persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999.

Falun Gong's peaceful appeal demonstrated the true demeanor of spiritual cultivation

Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal demonstrated the true demeanor of spiritual cultivation. The three requests raised by practitioners during their appeal on April 25 not only reflects the fact that they cherish their spiritual practice, but also demonstrates their firm adherence to the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and their efforts to safeguard the rights of the broad mass of people, so that they would be able to practice spiritual cultivation. The fact is that, after people started to practice Falun Gong, they regained good health, and many who were terminally ill gained a second life. Falun Gong helped people understand the principle of "good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil" and enabled young people who had gone astray to mend their ways. Falun Gong has helped people to understand the meaning of life and let go of personal fame and gains, be kind to people, and think of others in all circumstances. As a result, their family life has become harmonious, conflicts between neighbors were dissolved, social environments and social order have greatly been improved, and all these have naturally improved the quality of life for people and their living environment. None of these is achieved by political or economic means, but a natural result of Falun Gong cultivation that enables people to return to their true nature and to improve their moral standard.

The peaceful "April 25" appeal effectively demonstrated the demeanor of Falun Dafa spiritual cultivators. They asked for a relaxed cultivation environment so that people could enjoy the basic right to return to their true selves and be good people through cultivation based on the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." This is something fantastic for any civilized society and will only bring tremendous benefits to the society. This is also the reason why Falun Gong has been able to spread to over 80 countries and regions within such a short time of a few years, and has received over a thousand proclamations from various countries in recognition of Falun Gong's merits.

The CCP is most fearful of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance"

Why was the CCP so frightened by Falun Gong's peaceful appeal?

The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has offered penetrating analysis on the evil nature of the CCP. No matter how hard the CCP tries to beautify itself, it cannot conceal its deceitful, evil, and violent nature. The history of the CCP is one of evilness, which destroys the morals of humanity. This Party stops at no evil and has been guilty of embezzlement and corruption, whoring, burning down people's property, killing, and seizing public wealth. The Party head, Jiang Zemin, even sold out China's territories as head of state. As evil personified, the Party forbids people from having morals or a conscience.

For close to 60 years under the tyranny of the Communist regime, China's five thousand years of divine culture has been ruthlessly destroyed through the CCP's political purge movements, such as the "Anti-three" and "Anti-five" campaigns, the "Great Leap Forward," the "Anti-Rightists" movement, the "Great Cultural Revolution," and more. The CCP has forced the Chinese people to betray their basic code of human conduct handed down by traditional Chinese culture. Around 80 million people have perished due to these purge movements the CCP has inflicted upon China. The CCP is speeding up the destruction of human nature in its ruthless killing.

The CCP needs evil conditions to support its existence, and the destruction of human nature and human morality provides the very soil for the Communist regime to maintain its living. For this reason, the noble demeanor demonstrated by Falun Gong practitioners during the peaceful "April 25" appeal and their just request for the right to practice spiritual cultivation became a thing to be greatly feared by the regime. The fact that Falun Gong attracted close to 100 million people from all walks of life in China within a short period of a few years, by word of mouth, from heart to heart, and the fact that so many people from all sectors have taken the path of cultivation and become kindhearted, scared the CCP most.

See through the evil CCP for what it is and be a dignified Chinese

During the last nine years, in order to continue the persecution, the CCP has used lies to slander and defame Falun Gong and used personal interests and benefits as well as threats to bind the Chinese people to its persecution machine, making them directly or indirectly participate in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners who believe in the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The CCP is purposefully destroying people's morals and conscience.

In recent years during the persecution of Falun Gong, China has experienced natural and man-made calamities one after another, and criminal cases of all kinds are on the rise. The people living in China sense this intensely.

While persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, the Communist regime uses all kinds of evil means to destroy people's morals and conscience and abuses human nature. Its conduct has enraged heaven and earth and it cannot be tolerated. The time when gods bring the evil CCP to account is not far away!

As Chinese people, including the Communist members and high-ranking Communist officials, we are descendants of Yandi and Huangdi: why would you choose to sink so low and confuse "loving the Party" with "Loving China" and become sacrificial objects for the evil CCP? Gods cherish every being, and each being should also cherish his or her own life in the first place!

For the last nine years, Falun Gong practitioners have given no thought to their own life or death and have made unremitting efforts in clarifying the facts to people and distributing the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The reason for this is to help people recognize the evil nature of the CCP, break away from it, and reject it, so that they can be clean Chinese people and be able to choose a bright future for themselves.

(http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/4/26/96771.html)

April 8, 2008. California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher holds Human Rights Torch with Diana Mathias, representing the Goddess of Justice.




Human Rights Torch Relay Arrives in Los Angeles

Winner of The 9th Annual Great American Song

The Olympic Spirit hangs its head in shame
When police states are allowed to host the games
Like Germany when Hitler reigned supreme
Seeking glory for his murderous regime

Now China wants to shine upon that stage
East and West are eager to engage
But human rights the CCP * disdains
Feels like 1936 again.

Can you hold an international track meet
When you got a labor camp right down the street?
Can you sponsor the Olympics in 08
When you still imprison people for their faith?

The CCP will change what can be seen
They'll even paint the grass and mountains green
But their evil nature always will remain
Feels like 1936 again.

They torture people seven days a week
The shock batons are sizzling as we speak
They harvest organs from the Falun Gong
Then cremate them to hide what's going on.

Put me on your blacklist I don't care
I hope the people boycott this affair
The stench of genocide is in the wind
Feels like 1936 again.

Reports about the slaughter of the Jews
Quite often didn't even make the news
The world still seems to have a tendency
To ignore big crimes against humanity

When virtue comes in second place to trade
Freedom, hope and justice start to fade
The Olympic flame is flickering and dim
Feels like 1936 again


* The letters "CCP" are an abbreviation of "Chinese Communist Party."

To listen to the song, go to
Feels Like 1936 Again

February 23, Los Angeles City Hall